When Are YOU Going Into Space????

If I had that kind of money I'd have a house built. I'd get much more enjoyment for much longer out of the house.

Jessica McIntosh

So 'glad' to see a billionaire sent into space from a spaceport built with $200M in gov't subsidies. Totally a great expenditure of resources to let the super rich build off our backs. I'll be lucky if I can afford a flight to another continent let alone low earth orbit lmao

Crobisaur

I agree with Circuitmike. No orbit, no soup one year!

Not to understate his fantastic achievement, but for me it has to go high enough to see a large curvature of the earth. I want to orbit it and see all the lights of the cities of the world when the Earth rotates into darkness. I want to see the thin blue layer of the atmosphere at a distance where it would be truly life-changing! To look in awe at our world below and realize that all those dark areas of land at night are places like you showed in your video. Not so fortunate. I'm up there looking at the "whole picture" and contemplating all those millions of people who can't get fresh drinking water, are at war, or famine. They can only look at the stars. $2.50 is a fortune for some. I would hope that selfish overall look at the planet would redriect my attitude towards those less fortunate than me. All those people in the dark parts of the planet. Branson cannot cure the world with his fortune even if he combined it with with Bill Gates. But if 1 person can help 1000 others? THAT would be worth the trip. I hope it would completely change my perspective and priorities as a millionaire. But that's never going to happen. They're going to have to get into the orbit the shuttle used to, and where the space station resides, to make it the kind of trip I'd pay those kinds of dollars for. And I can't contemplate that as normal person where I am not guaranteed a paycheck every month. Not for some high atmosphere "tease" at orbit with just a few minutes of weightlessness. That specialized KC-135 zero-G aircraft can give you temporary weightlessness too and I'll bet the Air Force would welcome $250,000 to provide that service. Actually, I'm a "normal" American citizen and the kind of money we're talking about here could never be considered "disposable" by me for a sub-orbital trip. Just 5% of that is a fortune to me. And if they do get to the heights the shuttle could, do they have the detailed map of space debris that the USAF keeps track of for at incredible expense? I was expecting that amazing curvature of the earth and deep blue atmosphere, but didn't see that in the flight footage so far. Just a lot of noise and vibration in daylight. If billionaires want to push the envelope of technology with their wealth, then I'm all for it. It beats spending it on gold bath and toilet fixtures in the bathroom of a privately-owned 747. Yes, those a re really out there! So, I say GREAT WORK! But it's just not going to be anything I can consider putting into a real "bucket list" in my lifetime. And, hey, what's a spce travel without a HAL-9000 looking over all operations?

Matt Wietlispach

Gauntlet has been thrown down!

Blue Origin expels water vapor, Virgin is the most toxic but far more efficient than commercial airliners.

For the longest time only folks who made three figure salaries went to space, you just needed to commit to education. I can’t jump on the begrudge millionaires and billionaires who are making space tourism viable bandwagon. They haven’t spent a fraction to get to Earth’s edge that the worlds governments have and they don’t just chunk their junk into our oceans. So hats off to Elon and Sir Richard. Jeff who? lol just kidding, I would choose Blue Origin over Virgin and Starship over all (sorry NASA, your dead last on my bucket list).

Ok Fran now we need to crowd fund your trip into space. Then rename your Lab to The Fran Sky Lab.....XD

Bart de Boisblanc

Cool news, Fran. Thanks. But the REAL question is, when did you decide that black Cabochon is now your Go-To chapeau? JK... you can make a 5 lb potato sack look cool. It's always nice to see you...

So how many regular run-of-the mill everyday billions of tons of greenhouse gases do we get to enjoy from these tourist rockets?

Frank

I don't think it should count as space flight if you don't achieve at least one full orbit. Your move, billionaires!

Circuitmike

So adjusting for inflation, that should be just a dollar in today's money? :D

Maarten Daalder

And by the time our children are our age, they will have Stanley Kubrick style regular flights to the Commercial Space Station/port for travel to the moon. Prices should be in the tens of thousands by then.