It's Happening... Commercial Space Exploration Targeting The Super Rich

Successful SpaceX 3rd launch of Falcon, Dragon now in orbit, in a few days will be first private spacecraft ever to visit international space station. Oh, thank the goddess we will finally be able to get off this darn rock since we're messing it up so darn badly.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Immanuel Goldstein 

It looks to me more like “tourism” than “exploration”, the latter being actual hard and sometimes dangerous work (much of that work is likely to be done by robots).

Although commercial exploration is definitely probable, once private enterprises are able to derive profit from mineral extraction and manufacturing in space.

Nah mate. SpaceX will probably be key to Moon and Mars human missions by 2030. SpaceX has said that manned exploration is important. Of course the robots are there to make sure the porch light's on, the home fire's burning and your beds are made on Mars. But a human on Mars by 2030. Damn, that's gotta be kickass.

Also robots of course will be important for Europa missions, to mine the water and "fling" it to the Moon and Mars, as well as drill into the warm water below the icy crust. Then, manned missions by end of the century. Phew. Maybe we won't kill ourselves on this rock after all, though certainly, an amazing and beautiful rock. Gaia smiles on humanity today.

Though mark my words, Boom! the space tourism industry just ~came to life~. I should be alive also barring any unforseen circumstance and should be able to take a trip up to orbital space hotel or moon space hotel, around by the time I'm 60 years old. Sweet.

Also, suborbital transcontinental flights by 2050 easy. Sydney -> London 5 hours max. LA -> London 3 hours max. NYC -> Shanghai 4 hours or so.

Now I know why I dreamt of last night, I was on an Asari (from Mass Effect) ship as beautiful as the Asari themselves, and the g-forces and simulated gravity was sweet, but also the ship could fly atmospheric, space, and underwater as well. I remember saying to them, please help us, humanity needs a little lift right now.

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Originally Posted by IQatEdo 

Hi

 

Yes, have been following SpaceX and am looking forward to the next launch attempt.

 

Are you familiar with this:

 

http://www.reactionengines.co.uk/skylon.html

 

Would be amazing for this project to 'fly'! (...and not just because it is cooler than a J-type 327 Nubian royal starship - http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/J-type_327_Nubian_royal_starship)

 

All the best.

Kickass. We can do it. Commercial space travel. Phew. For a while there it really looked like we're just going to nuke ourselves and never achieve what we as kids grew up dreaming of. My Dad who's now 70+, I'm glad he's still alive to see all this unfold, hopefully for several more years too. I remember in Malaysia as a kid the US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur used to have videos (from Planetary Society, I think) and other stuff you could borrow from their public library. Of course, sadly, the Embassy is still there but behind tons of concrete and barbed wire, with probably most of the operations in basement levels.

Of course, non-astronaut private citizens to the Moon and Mars will be like the elite that went on fancy cruises 100 years ago... In a 100 years time we'll complain of MarsEconomy flights where they pack you in like cattle and sedate you for the 1 month trip, while the billionaires (trillionaires, I guess) have a pool, spa, gym, fast Internet and so on for that 1 month journey.