And NASA manages to waste money left and right....
http://www.economist.com/science/dis...ory_id=4269835
Sinatra, eat your heart out
Aug 11th 2005
From The Economist print edition
Got $100m? Then an American firm can fly you to the moon
SIGHS of relief all round greeted the touchdown of STS 114, as the latest space-shuttle flight is known to the cognoscenti. In truth, this was the most mollycoddled mission in NASA's history, so if anything serious had gone wrong with it the agency would probably not have emerged intact from the wreckage. Now, although there are still doubts about whether there will ever be an STS 115, the show can go on. And the next act, expected within a few days—or weeks at most—will be the unveiling of detailed plans for a return to the moon.
But NASA has been upstaged. This week, Space Adventures, a firm based in Arlington, Virginia, announced that it is offering a private trip to the moon for two fare-paying passengers. The catch is the fare—the small matter of $100m a seat.
Russia, United States
Space
Space Adventures is offering private trips to the moon. NASA reports on Discovery’s latest voyage.
Space Adventures would not, of course, transport the lunar tourists in its own fleet. The hardware and the pilots would, like those for its trips to the space station, be provided respectively by RSC Energia, Russia's leading spacecraft-maker, and by the Russian Space Agency. However, unlike the space-station jaunts, a trip around the moon would not be a mere commercial recapitulation of a type of mission that had already been flown.
Soyuz, Russia's manned spacecraft, is a tried and tested design, but it has never been to the moon. For that to happen, a Soyuz capsule will have to be launched into orbit on one booster rocket, and then dock with a second booster that has been launched from Earth as a separate payload by yet a third booster. The second booster will provide the oomph necessary to get to the moon and back. Alternatively, for the full extraterrestrial experience, the Soyuz might dock with the space station, allowing passengers a few days in Earth orbit before they go on to the moon.
Eric Anderson, the president of Space Adventures, says that one of the things that makes Soyuz suitable for this mission is that during the cold war space race, the Russians were developing a stripped-down version of Soyuz for a trip to the moon. Nevertheless, some extra research and development would be necessary, as well as modifications to the navigation system, and the enlargement of the craft's window. The latter will have the double benefit of giving passengers a better view and allowing high-resolution pictures of the surface of the moon to be taken. Surprisingly, such holiday snaps would be the first close-up, high-res photos of the lunar surface, which would add a gloss of scientific respectability to the whole enterprise.
According to Mr Anderson, the $200m mission fee will cover the cost of a test launch with an unmanned Soyuz, as well as the costs of the modifications. And if somebody stumped up money now, the mission would be ready to fly in five years. The big question is: who would pay $100m? Space Adventures' market research suggests that at least 1,000 people could afford to do so. Whether any of these billionaires are also brave enough to venture into deep space, and to the far side of the moon, remains to be seen.
Fly me to the moon and let me play amongst the stars, let me see what spring is like on jupiter and mars, in other words, hold my hand, in other words, baby kiss me.......fill my life with song and let me sing forever more, you are all i've wanted all ive worshipped and adored, in other words hold my hand, in other words im in love with you...
Been there, done that.
taking donations.. I've always wanted to see the moon....
I'm in. Will they take a check?
Can you imagine making love to you sig other with the view of earth from the moon in the background...
Awesome.
There was a vote at CNN.com yesterday about whether or not people would pay 100 million to fly to the moon. Most people said no. I might say yes if I were a billionaire though.
THIS GUY WILL GET YOU THERE FOR FREE
If I were Bill Gates, I would...100 million to him is like a dollar to us.
Thats pretty stupid. We need like 500 years of technology, or a few significant breakthroughs before this becomes practical.
Does anyone remember that one website which was selling plots of land on the moon? They gave you official certificates of ownership, it wasn't that expensive if memory serves.
I got a better deal for ya. $10-15 bucks, a couple hits of good acid, you can go the moon for about 12-14 hours, see all kinds of .
Let me go to the bank, whos coming with?
This company has a successfull record. The equipment is in place, the only thing needed is the actual funding. It's not far fetched in the least.
And I'm with Jim. If I had the money, I'd do it in a heartbeat. How many people have gotten the chance to fly to the Moon?
What? Are you kidding? It was done almost 40 years ago by nerds with sliderules & bowties!Thats pretty stupid. We need like 500 years of technology, or a few significant breakthroughs before this becomes practical.
Seriously, we built skylab years ago, and we can't even finiish a dumbed down version of the ISS.
That's a Russian ticket not Nasa... remember Russia owns half of the modules on the ISS. But this project would not spend any Nasa money.
Russia is currently the only country capable of launching a spacecraft to reach the ISS, so I would say NASA definetly shares in the blame.
I wouldn't go to the moon if someone paid me. Getting shot into space, seeing the moon and coming back seems like a waste of time.
Can you imagine making love to you sig other with the view of earth from the moon in the background...
Awesome.
Moonraker?
I wouldn't go to the moon if someone paid me. Getting shot into space, seeing the moon and coming back seems like a waste of time.
no joke...maybe if i was still young and thought it would be like a sci fi adventure movie
if i really did go i would spend the entire time hyperventilating because i'd be scared the space ship would have a leak or my space suit would be ed up, etc
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