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Space Tourism

An 18 year wait.

An 80-year-old former English Olympian with Parkinson’s disease is to blast off on Virgin Galactic’s first space tourism flight next month – 18 years after buying his 250,000 dollar (£194,500) ticket.

Jon Goodwin competed as a canoeist in the 1972 Games in Munich and said he will be the first Olympian to become an astronaut when the VSS Unity takes off from New Mexico in the USA for a 90-minute trip into space on August 10.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/world/arid-41194483.html
 
Has the 'value' of his ticket increased since then?
Was it a sound investment?
 
And another flight yesterday though we only got to hear who flew after the event: spacenews.com
perhaps three white men not quite going into space is already not newsworthy.
 
oxo66 said:
perhaps three white men not quite going into space is already not newsworthy.
Click to expand...

Let's not bore on about whiteness and the media, please.

Your wider point is definitely valid: amazing to step back and reflect that leaving the planet is fast becoming jejune.

"Are they doing anything new up there? If not, we've got a stoat attack in Wisconsin and the Cardassians are launching a new brand of perfume."
 
I note that the latest Virgin Galactic flight reached 88.6 km, which is the highest of their 4 launches in 2023.
Looks like they are gradually creeping towards the Karman line at 100km.
I do wonder what is preventing their spaceplane from pushing for that extra 11km. Is it fuel capacity, or some other constraint inherent in the design?
 
blessmycottonsocks said:
I note that the latest Virgin Galactic flight reached 88.6 km, which is the highest of their 4 launches in 2023.
Looks like they are gradually creeping towards the Karman line at 100km.
I do wonder what is preventing their spaceplane from pushing for that extra 11km. Is it fuel capacity, or some other constraint inherent in the design?
Click to expand...
I suspect caution. Don't wanna have a hull breach.
 
blessmycottonsocks said:
I note that the latest Virgin Galactic flight reached 88.6 km, which is the highest of their 4 launches in 2023.
Looks like they are gradually creeping towards the Karman line at 100km.
I do wonder what is preventing their spaceplane from pushing for that extra 11km. Is it fuel capacity, or some other constraint inherent in the design?
Click to expand...

Nope. Yesterday's flight reached 'only' 87.4km (54.3 miles) at apogee.
Virgin Galactic haven't said they are planning to fly to 100km any time soon.
 
blessmycottonsocks said:
I note that the latest Virgin Galactic flight reached 88.6 km, which is the highest of their 4 launches in 2023.
Looks like they are gradually creeping towards the Karman line at 100km.
I do wonder what is preventing their spaceplane from pushing for that extra 11km. Is it fuel capacity, or some other constraint inherent in the design?
Click to expand...
Is there any particular reason the Karman line should be a goal? I doubt it has much impact on the experience.
 
PeteByrdie said:
Is there any particular reason the Karman line should be a goal? I doubt it has much impact on the experience.
Click to expand...

No, it's essentially an arbitrary figure. 100 km is the FAI-sanctioned boundary for 'space'; NASA use 50 miles.
 
oxo66 said:
No, it's essentially an arbitrary figure. 100 km is the FAI-sanctioned boundary for 'space'; NASA use 50 miles.
Click to expand...
enh?
100km = 62.14 miles
50 miles = 80.47km

hmm.... so if they got up to 88km, then that meets the NASA standard.
 
marhawkman said:
enh?
100km = 62.14 miles
50 miles = 80.47km

hmm.... so if they got up to 88km, then that meets the NASA standard.
Click to expand...
I've never heard of the NASA one before, only the Karman line. It strikes me that we're all conceived in space, will die in space, and will have been in space for every moment between, because Earth is a planet in space. There's no point at which space begins. I've read a lot of talk about whether these tourists are actually going into space, some saying they're doing no more than the reduced gravity training flights are doing, just a bit higher up. But if being weightlessness due to being in free fall isn't enough to count as being in space, how are the astronauts on the ISS in space? They're still very much under the influence of Earth's gravity (about 90% at that altitude), and there's still the odd particle of atmosphere at 400km up.

We seem to have decided that being in space is the experience of being weightless, being high enough to see Earth's curvature, and having little enough atmosphere to not see a blue sky above you. And I think that's fine, as an experience, considering we have the actual experience of being in space our whole lives.
 
marhawkman said:
enh?
100km = 62.14 miles
50 miles = 80.47km

hmm.... so if they got up to 88km, then that meets the NASA standard
Click to expand...

Yes quite so. But
PeteByrdie said:
I've never heard of the NASA one before, only the Karman line.
Click to expand...
the more broadly-accepted though largely arbitrary altitude is 100km
PeteByrdie said:
I've read a lot of talk about whether these tourists are actually going into space, some saying they're doing no more than the reduced gravity training flights are doing, just a bit higher up. But if being weightlessness due to being in free fall isn't enough to count as being in space, how are the astronauts on the ISS in space? They're still very much under the influence of Earth's gravity (about 90% at that altitude), and there's still the odd particle of atmosphere at 400km up.
Click to expand...
There's obviously a big difference between suborbital and orbital spaceflight. As we learnt at school, near earth orbit requires a velocity of 17,000 mph; Virgin Galactic's Space Ship two reaches about 2,000 mph. And of course you only get a few minutes of weightlessness per trip with Virgin Galactic (or New Shepard); a trip on a vomit comet would give you more cumulative free-fall time...
PeteByrdie said:
We seem to have decided that being in space is the experience of being weightless, being high enough to see Earth's curvature, and having little enough atmosphere to not see a blue sky above you. And I think that's fine, as an experience, considering we have the actual experience of being in space our whole lives.
Click to expand...
I hadn't thought of it quite like that. But it does seem reasonable to want those three things, and not get hung up on how they are experienced. In which case the budget space experience would be: stratospheric balloon ride: world view are quoting $50,000* for two or more hours at 100,000 feet to experience black of space and curvature of Earth. This is supposed to happen from 2015. Plus a ride on a commercial Zero-G gee flight, which can cost less than $10,000. The future is here, on a budget!

oxo

* this is rather less than any of their potential competitors that I've seen. You pays your money...
 
oxo66 said:
There's obviously a big difference between suborbital and orbital spaceflight.
Click to expand...
Aye, I've often thought that whether one attains orbit should be a proper measure of whether one can be considered to have 'gone to space', from a spaceflight perspective. But it's significant that the general public have an impression that space should be a certain altitude above the surface of Earth, an impression encouraged by the press who like to talk about things being at the 'edge of space'. So, we've got to make things simple for them and give them a figure, however arbitrary.
 
PeteByrdie said:
Aye, I've often thought that whether one attains orbit should be a proper measure of whether one can be considered to have 'gone to space', from a spaceflight perspective. But it's significant that the general public have an impression that space should be a certain altitude above the surface of Earth, an impression encouraged by the press who like to talk about things being at the 'edge of space'. So, we've got to make things simple for them and give them a figure, however arbitrary.
Click to expand...
Well, one must also consider what body the definition was made for. both figures quoted earlier are unique to Earth. You COULD use them on Mars, but.... doesn't have quite the same... gravity.
 
"So, are we in space? We paid a lot of money to be here!"
"Yup. Stick your head out there, and breath in. If your lungs and intestines are sucked out your mouth then you're in space. Now, it's only $1000 for this certificate of being an official astronaut - the frame's extra!"
"Gee, honey ..."
 
Stormkhan said:
Space ... the final quibble!
Is it atmospheric reach? Is it gravity strength?
Click to expand...

Wikipedia says it's to do with atmosphere but it's not well-defined. The intro to the article includes

The Kármán line has no particular physical meaning, in that there is no noticeable change in the characteristics of the atmosphere across it, but is important for legal and regulatory purposes, since aircraft and spacecraft are subject to different jurisdictions and legislations.​
​
The line lies well above the altitude reachable by a conventional airplane or a high-altitude balloon, and is approximately where satellites, even on very eccentric trajectories, will decay before completing a single orbit.​

oxo
 
Yithian said:
Let's not bore on about whiteness and the media, please.

Your wider point is definitely valid: amazing to step back and reflect that leaving the planet is fast becoming jejune.

"Are they doing anything new up there? If not, we've got a stoat attack in Wisconsin and the Cardassians are launching a new brand of perfume."
Click to expand...

Nice piece in The Atlantic about personal privacy vs commercial publicity as spaceflight becomes routine.
 
art in Space, the Bezos rocket fuselage.

Amoako Boafo - the Ghanaian artist who has exhibited in space​


Amoako Boafo next to one of his self-portraits
IMAGE SOURCE,NOLIS ANDERSON/MARIANE IBRAHIM GALLERY

Amoako Boafo, who has become a superstar in the art world, has been back home in Ghana, where one of his self-portraits is being exhibited. He told journalist Stephen Smith that he never intended to be an artist.
Short presentational grey line

For all Amoako Boafo's head-turning success, he is a reluctant interviewee. Not yet 40, he has had his canvases displayed in the galleries of the mega-dealer Larry Gagosian, who has hailed him as "the future of portraiture". Boafo says he used to vie with his friends to see who could do the best drawings of their favourite superheroes, but art simply wasn't a career choice when he was growing up.

"All I know is that studying portraiture growing up, it never dawned on me that it was a form of art that artists of colour could reference and study," he says of Gagosian's high praise. "So to see that my work is regarded in that way, is a lot to process."

His is a real-life rags to riches story. The Ghanaian used to scavenge for food in rubbish bins in his hometown of Accra to support his mother and grandmother. Now his portraits of black subjects, often painted with his fingertips, can command up to seven figures at auction.

He has emblazoned his work on to the fuselage of Jeff Bezos's rocket ship, becoming one of the first artists to exhibit in space. It doesn't come more ragged, it doesn't get much richer.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-67378499
 
So Bezos gives him a platform and others pay for his work?
I'm all for any artist struggling for a living, of course. But what's in it for Doctor Evil?
 
Assuming that Venus (for example) has the same climatic conditions as earth, how would humans have evolved there when you consider that a Venusian day is equal to 243 earth days (regarding sleeping and working patterns for eg)?
 
Floyd1 said:
Assuming that Venus (for example) has the same climatic conditions as earth, how would humans have evolved there when you consider that a Venusian day is equal to 243 earth days (regarding sleeping and working patterns for eg)?
Click to expand...
probably like people who don't work "day shift" do. sleep when tired, ignore light.
 
If you find you have too much money you will soon be able to

enjoy a Michelin-star meal in space- for $500,000​

The spacecraft, which carries six guests, will make its maiden voyage next year, Bloomberg reports. Test flights are set to begin next month, the outlet reported, and demand is even higher than the stratosphere.

‘We’ve already had dozens of qualified participants express tremendous interest in this experience and, with only six seats available, we foresee us securing all passengers in the next few weeks,’ SpaceVIP founder Roman Chiporukha told Bloomberg.
Click to expand...

I’m not sure what makes participants qualified aside from a fat wallet.

Meanwhile Munk, a Michelin-star chef who owns two restaurants in Copenhagen, is seeking to create a culinary experience which complements the journey itself, with a menu consisting of ‘aerogel-inspired food and encapsulated aromas’, the outlet reports.

According to SpaceVIP, diners will embark on their journey on a spacecraft known as ‘Spaceship Neptune’- a pressurised capsule propelled by a hydrogen-filled balloon

After ascending over 100,000ft above sea level, explorers will dine as they watch the sunrise over the Earth’s curvature, SpaceVIP claimed in a post on Instagram.
Each passenger will be outfitted in made-to-measure outifts by French fashion house Ogier, the company claims, with proceeds from the expedition benefiting The Space Prize, which promotes women in the space field.
Click to expand...
 
Stormkhan said:
You can pay more for a gold-wrapped steaks in Salt Bae's ostentatious money pits.
Click to expand...

Space Perspective's website is still quoting $125,000 for their 'budget' option. That doesn't includes a meal. It doesn't say if you can bring your own snacks, bottle of water etc.
 
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