Virgin Galactic’s New CEO a Familiar Face

George T. Whitesides became the first CEO of Virgin Galactic.  Amongst other things, he was Yuri’s Night co-founder and National Space Society director, and until very recently NASA‘s Chief of Staff.  Not bad for a space guy.

Both he and his wife, Loretta Hidalgo-Whitesides,  are extremely influential space activists, especially in the realm of inspiring young people about space travel.

In 2006 Mr. Whitesides presided over the Space Tourism Society’s ORBIT Awards show, where awardees included Buzz Aldrin, Robert Bigelow, and space tourists Dennis Tito and Gregory Olsen.

Space Adventures + Armadillo Aerospace = Virgin’s Competition?

You know things are heating up in the Space Tourism arena when you see new joint ventures like this. I did not realize Armadillo’s tech has matured enough to carry people.  Space Adventure’s forté is marketing, and they do it well.  But can they beat the caché of Virgin Galactic?

Space Tourism Firm to Offer Suborbital Joy Rides at Lower Costs

http://www.space.com/news/space-tourism-new-deal-100430.html

Source:  space.com

14 Far-Out Visions of Space Tourism

Not our ideas, but still a fun collection of images depicting life in space.

http://listicles.thelmagazine.com/2010/05/14-far-out-visions-of-space-tourism/

Happy Space Tourism Day!

A thrilled Dennis Tito just after returning to Earth from his adventure as the world's first private space traveler back in 2001.

Today is the 9th anniversary of Dennis Tito, the first private space traveler.  In 2001, he took off to the International Space Station for a personal and historic adventure!  His trip blasted open the doors for six other space tourists, who paid an estimated $20-30 million and 8 months of training in Russia for the privilege to walk among the stars.

The path to the stars was not easy.  Then-NASA administrator Daniel Goldin was vehemently against the trip. He asked, “Would people visit a hotel when its under construction?”  The Russians disagreed, citing the need for cash to keep their own space program running.

http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/goldin_tito_010315.html

Here’s a link to Dennis Tito’s bio on Wikipedia:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Tito

A few weeks after his flight Mr. Tito testified before Congress http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=9842

For a list of space tourists to date, check them out here on the Society’s web site: http://www.spacetourismsociety.org/STS_Web_Links/Private_Space_Traveler_Websites.html

The Society honors Dennis for this great achievement in promoting the fledgling space tourism industry.

Obama sets the Plan

President Obama outlines his new vision for NASA on April 15 at the Kennedy Space Center.

After weeks vagueness, assumptions, and accusations, President Obama made it clear today that the new NASA budget will not only open doors to private companies, but also develop new rocket engines and means to get to Mars by 2030. Yes, Mars. Why not the Moon, well as the President stated, “we’ve already been to the moon.”

Check out the the official speech here on NASA’s website:
http://www.nasa.gov/about/obamaspeechfeature.html

What does this mean for space tourism? It means the door is open for new markets in space AND NASA gets to keep reaching further and farther. So stop whining, you pessimists, and smell the coffee! Outer space is finally open to the rest of us!

Stepping Stones to Greatness: The 2006 X PRIZE Cup

It could be called the “Little Rocket Show.” The X PRIZE Cup, which took place in Las Cruces, Nevada on October 20-21, was a showcase of potential rocket technologies that will one day get us regular folks to the stars. This second annual event, despite many organizational hurtles, still put on a good show.
Highlights of the show include three mostly successful flights of the Armadillo reusable rocket. The rocket flew to compete for the NASA Lunar Lander Challenge, sponsored by Northrup Grumman. The challenge requires a team to vertically launch and land a vehicle to a specific target and fly it back its starting point. As the only competitor ready in time for the X PRIZE Cup, John Carmack’s Armadillo Aerospace team should have been a shoe in… if it didn’t keep breaking its shoes. Each flight and maneuver was a success, but the vehicle kept landing hard, causing minor damage to its landing gear. On the fourth and final flight attempt, the vehicle simply toppled over.
Orion Aerospace gets kudos for most unusual application of rockets. Emblazoned with the saying “In Thrust We Trust,” the rocket truck had several successful static test firings. Too bad they weren’t allowed to drive it. The rocket bike added some humor to an otherwise serious event. A small engine attached to a bicycle was failed to stay lit after several attempts. Well at least the pilot could ride home to base!

The most consistent rocket launches came from Tripoli Rocketry Association. This venerable society of rocketeers has decades of launch experience, and they proved it with the successful launch and parachute landing of several large rockets. Early in the show, Tripoli volunteers helped dozens of children launch hundreds of small Estes-class model rockets.

This year Rocketman joined the event. A long time staple of concerts and large events such as the 1984 Olympics, he flew on cue for thirty seconds to an amazed crowd.
Speaking of children, over six thousand children, some from as far as El Paso, Texas, arrived by bus and attended the X PRIZE Cup. It was an amazing sight to see so many kids. Hopefully some great rocket heroes will emerge from these bright and eager folks.

The X PRIZE Cup exhibits were spread across the Las Cruces airport, once again bordered by shipping containers covered with giant colorful banners. Robots were all over the show. NASA had a model of the Mars Opportunity rover, plus they had a mini rover that kids could control. Our friends from the Robotics Society of America made a strong impression with visitors by demos of RoboNova bots, a moon rover and R2-D2. Sandia National Labs demonstrated some all-terrain worker bots that assembled building blocks. Finally Lockheed-Martin gathered attention by its entertainment bot.

The Space Elevator competition sponsored by Elevator 2010 offered a $100,000 prize for the first team to climb 200 feet under solar power. The contest coordinator was none other than Roger Gibertson, well known in the robotics world as founder of Mondo-tronics, and the Robot Store. Fragile solar-powered machines attempted to crawl up a ribbon held by a giant crane. At least 13 teams competed from as far away as Germany. The University of Saskatchewan team, led by Edwin Zhang, reached the highest altitude under beamed power, about one third of the full distance. At that point, their 10.7-square-foot (one-square meter) array of space-grade solar cells yielded insufficient energy to continue.

VIPs galore also graced the event. A dozen astronauts took turns on the big speakers tent to talk with visitors. Apollo 11 astronaut “Buzz” Aldrin took the stage and talked about his early days and what inspired him to fly. At the X PRIZE Foundation tent, the newest private space traveler, Anousheh Ansari signed autographs and spoke to visitors.
The 2006 X PRIZE Cup was a good show. Once the difficulties inherent in a young event are worked out, the Cup could become a leading showcase for space technology and a jump start for a golden space age.

Anousheh’s Orbital Journal

“The really cool thing about Anousheh’s flight … is that she is one of us! A person with a dream! Whether you’re a young girl, a mom, an engineer, American, Iranian, from Dallas or just a dreamer… you can imagine taking this flight into space someday.” —Peter H. Diamandis (Chairman, X PRIZE)

Keep up to date with the adventures of the first female spaceflight participant on the X PRIZE blog: http://spaceblog.xprize.org/

Bonus! Watch her adventures on Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/spaceexplorer/

and NASA TV:
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/

Anousheh Ansari Theme Song

Anousheh Ansari has a theme song!

Grammy Award-winning production and DJ duo Deep Dish announced the
recording of ‘Be the Change’, an eclectic musical work dedicated to
Anousheh Ansari’s historic Space flight as she became the world’s
first female private space traveler.

You can hear the song on their website:
http://www.deepdish.com/
and on Anousheh’s website
http://www.anoushehansari.com/

Anousheh Ansari is onboard ISS!

History was made today as Anousheh Ansari, a key supporter for the X
PRIZE, floated though the airlock onboard the ISS. Her presence there
marks a giant leap for the space tourism industry. Private space
travel is an international endeavor. As more space infrastructure is
developed, the more people will journey to orbit and beyond.

Our goal at STS is to inspire people to develop that infrastructure.
Your designs, your ideas lead the way.

Keep up to date with the adventures of the first female spaceflight
participant on the X PRIZE blog: http://spaceblog.xprize.org/
The main STS website is also tracking Mrs. Ansari’s adventures:
http://www.spacetourismsociety.org/

Bonus! Watch her adventures on Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/spaceexplorer/

and NASA TV:
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/