Star Stuff »
Lots of great news on space adventures this week. The biggest news to many, perhaps, may be the first of two launches of SpaceShipOne, as it strives to nab the Ansari X Prize. Frankly, I'm not sure. This is big news, to be sure, but Burt Rutan and his crew already did it. They haven't done it twice within the two week window after filing the necessary info with the X Prize committee, but they have already done it. It was months ago. It will be neat if they pull of the X Prize attempts, but what have they done for me lately?
Well, Richard Branson hooked up with the group in order to license their design for space tourism. That's pretty cool. Also interesting on the press release that the group is touted as "Paul G. Allen's Mojave Aerospace". Hmm. Wonder if that has anything to do with the nearness of the prize. I also wonder what will happen if something should prevent the group from getting the prize and one of the other contenders should pull it off.
But that's not all. Another name from an industry not normally associated with space, Robert Bigelow, owner of the Budget Suites of America hotels, has some truly spacey thoughts up his sleeve. First, his company Bigelow Aerospace plans on expandable habitats in space, with hopes to have them aloft as early as April of 2006. To jumpstart interest in the concept, he's offering a $50 million prize for companies who can create a 7-person vehicle capable of connecting with his orbital outposts. Sweet.
Finally, if space isn't really your bag, how about just experiencing zero gravity?
