Alan Boyle: Who wants to go to space?

Studies have indicated that thousands of people would eventually be willing to take suborbital rides like Monday’s scheduled SpaceShipOne trip. But at what point does the allure of a rocket-powered thrill outweigh the perceived risk of catastrophic failure? If you had the money and the opportunity, would you take a passenger seat on Monday’s flight?
Most of the folks who have already signed up for a future suborbital jaunt say they would, according to an informal survey by Space Adventures.
The Virginia-based company has collected deposits from more than 100 would-be space tourists — and claims the title of the world’s first “spaceline.” (That point is debatable.) In addition to its suborbital aspirations, Space Adventures already has helped put millionaires Dennis Tito and Mark Shuttleworth in orbit, and is currently working with inventor/entrepreneur Greg Olsen. There are even rumblings that the company may be involved in talks on a future space-themed reality-TV show. Read More