There are lots of things happening in private spaceflight at the moment, and I couldn’t be happier, except for maybe if someone came up with an FTL drive. However, baby steps are better than no steps, which is where we’d be if we relied upon NASA and the bottom feeders in Congress. LOL, NASA is really making things cook with their Space Launch System, who knows how many billions down the drain and not a single flight. Don’t let anyone kid you, that program exists as a cash cow for major defense contractors and tons of congressional districts.

Thousand dollar hammer, anyone?

Elon Musk’s Falcon Heavy is already a proven concept (as opposed to the SLS), and the BFR will probably fly long before NASA does jack with their outdated toy- which will probably be cancelled after all the money burned up in its development. It really is a crying shame and a tremendous waste of resources.

What caught my eye today was something on the space tourism front, namely a successful test flight for Branson’s SpaceShipTwo. I’ve included a link with a good article and a cool video of the nifty little ship flying. It works, and pretty soon people with disposable cash who want to see a black sky should be able to buy a ticket, maybe later this year.

Space tourism will play an important role in getting us out there- after all, who can top saying “Yeah, I’ve been to the moon” at a cocktail party? Make no mistake, the search for new experiences is part of what will drive this current wave of exploration.

I’m kind of hoping that by the time I leave this mortal coil that “yeah, I’ve been to the moon” will no longer be a great one-liner at a party, it’ll be a yawn. Space travel as a routine, industry in the outer reaches of our system- it’s kind of a prerequisite for interstellar travel, which is where this should eventually be heading.

Now that the government monopoly is cracked, we actually have a chance of making this happen.

Good luck, all of you billionaires with a vision.

Beats the hell out of yet another jerk with a fancy yacht.