public space travel in 20 years?

Hey, but they would be microscopic.

A design similar to Rocketplane Kistlers will do the trivk.

Use a jet/air-breathing rocket to get you to a decent speed while your still under the ceiling (maximum height a jet can go), coast to your apogee, then boost into orbit using a rocket.

Can Ozone be burnt?

Ozone is awesome. But regular Ozone is unsable and decomposes to Ozone/Oxygen mix which then promptly explodes.

Cyclic Ozone is a holy grail of rocket fuels.

S.a

I'd love to think we'd be traveling in space in 20 years. We're well on our way, I think.

It's just a beginning but Virgin Atlantic is starting commercial space flights by next year and it should be affordable for the middle class in 2010 as a ticket is expected to cost around $20,000.

A ticket costs $200,000

do you mean $20,000 in 2010?

I don't think that's even possible if they start their operation in 2009. At least, that's what they orginally intended. With the current delays with the enginesafety (or whatever you want to call it) it's more likely that they will fly their first customers mid 2009 at the earliest. And take into account that the first bunch of customers will be Branson himself and probably Rutan also. So unless they'r gonna start fly all of the ships at once, it could take a while.

And 'god' forbid something goes wrong in those early flights. That will bring it back to the drawing board.


Question is, do you define suborbital hops as space travel? Yes, they go into space for a few minutes, but it's not really traveling into space. Yes, it's a start and hopefully it will be a good start for actual spacetravel, but i don't see it as spacetravel itself.

I think the sabre looks very promising. Not for SSTO as proposed, but for the first stage of a multistage vehicle. I imagine an engine like that could produce thrust and lift at much higher altitudes than regular jet engines. The first stage would have to be a winged aircraft like the white knight or this russian design that Rob Goldsmith posted.

Just want to throw my 2 cents in here, even if we some how had the chance to privately start going to space in 10 to 20 years . The way I look at it , is our goverment would do something to keep that from ever happening, since the fat dogs in congress couldn't get their pockets packed by the ideal. Think about it they give their own self raises at our expense, more than you or I would ever get from our real jobs where we actually do work, instaedof just sitting around feeding off the working man...

Hi,

The problem is that space is an experimental area and a reserved place of play for scientist and billionaires.
More than 99,9% of human are exclude directly or indirectly from space exploration.

America was build by burglars and immigrants ,it would be the same for Space.

adkomans

As always it all depends on launch costs. If we go slow evolutionary way to 1000 $/kg to LEO, nothing much will change- private space travel will be confined to the Mega-Rich. If on other hand privatization works and reusable airbreathers are brought into play with 100$/kg to LEO pricetag, all sorts of bussinesses will spring up including space tourism- but mostly confined to the rich and the subsidiced. And if the economy of scale or some new incredible propulsion tech is brought into play with 10$/kg to LEO, chances are you would know a friend of a friend who went up in space at least once.

Yes I do. It was Mr. Branson himself who said it.


I didn't hear about any delays. Perhaps I've missed it. But the first passengers will have a training at the end of this year.
Actually Branson and his parents already went to space. I don't want to spam, so no links, but I have posted some videos about it on my forum.

You're right, it's not really in space and it's only 5 minutes, but it's a very good beginning. I would personally sell my last pair of socks to experience this.

Sciencedaily also had an article about space flights in 2010, but they mentioned a price of $80,000 per person.
There's also an Indian company with similar plans.
I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Prototype drawing of the space hotel



[size=150]Seeking an out-of-this-world travel destination? Outer space will rocket into reality as “theâ€

It might depend on what is called public space travel. The EU has in mind to lease Columbus to european companies that could sned their own employees there - a few engineers, scientists.

Another aspect of meaning is the plan to return to the Moon and stay there. This will involve tasks handymen do on Earth. Will engineers and scientists do those tasks on the Moon? Are robotics that advanced that the tasks of handymen can be transferred to robots completely, 100%?

If public space travel in 20 years means sending employees of private compabies or sending people that do the work of handymen then I suppose it to be very likely if space-fit tools are developed.

So does it require the development of those tools?



Dipl.-Volkswirt (bdvb) Augustin (Political Economist)