Fresh back from his orbital joyride to the International Space Station, millionaut Richard Garriott has left struggling NCsoft and the MMO game he helped to create, Tabula Rasa, to pursue “new interests.”
“Many of you probably wonder what my plans are, now that I have achieved the lifelong dream of going to space,” he wrote in a brief note on the Tabula Rasa site. “Well, that unforgettable experience has sparked some new interests that I would like to devote my time and resources to. As such, I am leaving NCsoft to pursue those interests.”
Continue reading ‘Garriott Leaves Struggling NCsoft as Company Announces 50 Percent Drop in Profits’
Will Oberstar kill the NewSpace industry?
Taylor Dinerman
The Space Review
“Small NewSpace companies have no reason to be complacent. If the published rumors are correct and Jim Oberstar—the Congressman from Minnesota whose proposal a few years ago to regulate the safety of the space tourism industry as if it were the airline industry failed to gain any traction in the House—becomes Secretary of Transportation, there will be trouble. Suborbital space tourism as it is currently being promoted by Virgin Galactic, XCOR Aerospace, and others, is in its infancy. The first flights of SpaceShipTwo or the Lynx have not yet taken place, but few serious observers doubt that it is going to be a moneymaker for those involved. If, and it is a big if, the government regulates it with a light hand.”
Jet set for blast off…
Kippreport
“On track to becoming the world’s first commercial spaceline, [Virgin Galactic] is launching a consumer space travel program whose first flight is scheduled to take off in late 2009. And they have an office in the UAE.
“The reason is obvious. In 2007, the Middle East saw a 15 percent increase – the highest in the world – in the number of high net worth individuals, according to consulting firm Capgemini Group. In addition, global market turmoil does not traditionally quell the appetite of your typical Dubai luxury consumer. ‘Even as financial market turmoil made an impact on the United States during the second half of 2007, luxury goods makers, high-end services providers and auction houses all found ready clients in the emerging markets of the world,’ says Capgemini and Merrill Lynch’s 2008 World Wealth Report.”
$4,000 to ride weightless on Europe’s “Darebus”
Reuters
“Europe plans to enter the fledgling space tourism market by offering a chance to experience weightlessness to help pay for scientific research.
With Europe’s space ambitions facing a budget squeeze due to the weak economy, the plan to mix science with adventure was unveiled during a ‘zero G’ flight for European officials on a converted Airbus jet…
“Novespace, a unit of France’s CNES space agency and the 17-nation European Space Agency, claims to be leading the field in scientific deployment with a converted Airbus A300 jetliner.”
The new edition of Space Lifestyle online magazine is now online. Stories include:
- SpaceX Arrives in Orbit: How They Got into Space
- Marriages Made in the Heavens?
- India Goes to the Moon, China Takes a Spacewalk.
Regulations for informing space tourists about the risks they face on suborbital flights need to be clarified, according to a report presented to the FAA’s Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Council.
The review, done by A-P-T Research, Inc., notes that there is uncertainty over whether waivers signed by tourists would cover the inherent risks of space tourism and protect space tourism companies from being sued for negligence.
Continue reading ‘Report: Rules on Informed Consent of Space Tourists Need to Be Clarified’
There is sufficient capacity in the insurance market to cover both government and commercial launches, although any failures could drive up costs and cause insurers to reduce or eliminate coverage.
That is the main conclusion of a review done by the firm Willis Inspace. The company’s senior vice president, Raymond F. Duffy Jr. , presented the conclusions to the FAA’s Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee (COMSTAC) on October 30. The conclusions included:
Continue reading ‘Report: Liability Coverage Sufficient for Government, Commercial Launches’
The Independent reports that Virgin Galactic’s WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft will make its first test flight in California by November 19. “Sir Richard Branson…hopes to be at the Mojave Air & Space Port in the Californian desert for the first flight and plans to make a test flight himself,” the newspaper reports.
The first flight will take place about 3 1/2 months after the aircraft was rolled out in the desert. WhiteKnightTwo will carry aloft SpaceShipTwo for suborbital tourism flights beginning in 2010.
Space Adventures CEO Eric Anderson and space tourist spaceflight participant astronaut millionaut Anousheh Ansari will be among those promoting civilian spaceflight during the Global Space Technology Forum in Abu Dhabi from November 16-18.
Zawya.com quotes Anderson as being bullish on space tourism. “The momentum is building for space tourism, we’ve turned a corner and proven that a market exists for space tourism. Space was previously controlled by a small number of governments, and it’s now opening up to the private sector. There’s been a paradigm shift and we’re moving into an era of personal space flight.”
Continue reading ‘Anderson, Ansari to Promote Space Tourism in Abu Dhabi’
With Virgin Galactic planning to fly space tourism flights from Kiruna, Sweden, the European Aviation Safety Agency has started to develop safety rules for civilian spaceflight - although the scope of the regulations will be limited, New Scientist reports.
“But the agency admits it cannot legislate for flights beyond the atmosphere: “EASA has no competency nor mandate for outer space, where international law applies.” The International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety wants a United Nations-backed global agreement that mandates safety measures in space.”
Fresh back from his orbital joyride to the International Space Station, millionaut Richard Garriott has left struggling NCsoft and the MMO game he helped to create, Tabula Rasa, to pursue “new interests.”
