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    Virgin Galactic

    So richard Branson is further extending his Virgin brand. virgin galactic offers you to go on a ship that can fly into space, and you may remain there for 5 whole minutes of weightlessness.


    Obviously it is not ready yet, but it will be very soon. Now am i the only one who is seeing drastic implementations with this venture? I mean if they get up there (which i already doubt), what happens if there is a solar flare and radiatin floods the cabin? what if space debree (and there is a crapload orbiting earth) hits the craft?

    So many things can go worng and i dont think travel insurance covers radiation poisining or being sucked into the cold vaccuum of space.

    Sig by Draygon.

    #2
    Solar flares you'll be moderately shielded from. The kind that would fry you in the cabin would also fry someone standing on the surface of Earth. It can happen, but that's just life when you orbit a giant ball of sustained thermonuclear explosion. If you are really worried, fly at night, and be shielded by the whole planet.

    As for the space debris, there is still some atmosphere at the height to which VG rises. There is virtually no debris there, as it looses orbit rather fast and burns up in lower atmosphere. Odds of VG craft getting struck by space debris on decaying orbit are roughly the same as getting hit by meteorite, which is just another hazard of living in the solar system. If you are worried about these things, I don't know how you sleep at night.

    Nonetheless, I'm sure there are going to be a lot of wavers to sign if you are going absolving Virgin Galactic of any and all responsibility for your well being.
    MWG Gate Network Simulation

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      #3
      I'd green ya if i knew how K^2
      sigpicRequiescat in pace Weedle

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        #4
        i'll comfort you. you're already being bombarded by radiation.


        unless you go further than the moon, you're pretty safe. earth magnetic field and all. also, there's debris, but most of it gets monitored.


        also, if we can get Vasimr to operate prefectly, we get to mars in a few weeks, so the amount of radiation stays low.

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          #5
          Hes going to put up a HUGE Virgin Mobile sign
          Carl Sagan on Nuclear self Destruction

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            #6
            I've been following this a bit, and the prototype SPACESHIP ONE has already flown three missions that I know of. SPACESHIP TWO is the one that will carry six passengers instead of two. I believe it is just going into the testing phase now, but the SPACEPORT is already being built in the desert.

            Also, they're using a two-stage dropship to get into space which is much, much safer than a rocket like the idiots at Nasa are going with instead of a spaceplane.

            Now, this first venture is suborbital...basically a high flying plane since it doesn't have to reach high speeds to sustain orbit.

            They do have an orbital planned, and a space station, and a trip to the Moon. This first venture is just the starting block, but they intend to expand greatly. Hopefully this will spark the orbital economy and jumpstart the colonization of space that should have happened 30 years ago.

            Oh, about the radiation and space junk...just put armor on the frickin ships. NASA is so stupid in what they do and people act like they are god.

            Yes, it's heavier, but any proper ship will have shielding. As for a space station, the weight doesn't matter, just make a couple extra trips with additional cargo and install the ballistic plates onto a hard frame. Oh, and yeah, NASA also didn't go for artificial gravity on their station, so the astronauts come back with bodies as strong as string cheese.

            There are answers to all of the concerns about the dangers of spaceflight and space tourism if you apply enough common sense and ingenuity.

            (Yes, I dislike NASA with a vengeance )
            Stargate: ROTA wiki

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              #7
              Armor? You're talking about building armor for a space ship? You're over simplifying it and i'll leave it at that.

              But seriously I highly doubt we have anything to worry about with Virgin Galactic. Between share holders, profit margins and everything else it's in their best interests to ensure nothing goes boom.

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                #8
                I've seen the artist's impression of how it'll appear in Focus Science & Technology monthly, and I must say, it does look well-organised and, well, safe. That's an impression based on the outside though.

                I think that while the voyage is comparatively short to, say, a trip to the moon or mars, I'm certain there'll be all the relevant paperwork for the passenger to sign along the lines of "I understand that if something goes wrong, I took the risk by going on this trip". Not to mention, the price of it would likely make it a minority enjoyment until it's made more widely available.

                I can't remember reading it anywhere, but is it an international venture?

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                  #9
                  Originally posted by IV View Post
                  I've seen the artist's impression of how it'll appear in Focus Science & Technology monthly, and I must say, it does look well-organised and, well, safe. That's an impression based on the outside though.

                  I think that while the voyage is comparatively short to, say, a trip to the moon or mars, I'm certain there'll be all the relevant paperwork for the passenger to sign along the lines of "I understand that if something goes wrong, I took the risk by going on this trip". Not to mention, the price of it would likely make it a minority enjoyment until it's made more widely available.

                  I can't remember reading it anywhere, but is it an international venture?
                  It's not governmental at all, if that's what you mean. This is purely a business venture by the Virgin corporation, as I understand it.
                  Stargate: ROTA wiki

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                    #10
                    Originally posted by Aer'ki View Post
                    It's not governmental at all, if that's what you mean. This is purely a business venture by the Virgin corporation, as I understand it.
                    Aah, I wasn't sure if multiple countries were involved in the project or not. Thanks

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                      #11
                      Obviously it will be somewhat safe, all im saying is there is a chance of something going wrong more so here than for example an airplane.


                      Have you seen the concept art of the spaceport? looks amazing.

                      Sig by Draygon.

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                        #12
                        Originally posted by Dragon_Heart View Post
                        Obviously it will be somewhat safe, all im saying is there is a chance of something going wrong more so here than for example an airplane.
                        You are riding a controlled explosion to the edge of the atmosphere. I think that's a safe assumption. But it should still be safer than, say, jumping with parachute. At least, it could be made to be. So I doubt the minimal risk that's still there will put a lot of people off.

                        Most important thing here is not even the trips themselves, but the fact that this will attract new interest from the public, and hopefully, put more private sector money into space exploration. We are currently at least 30 years behind on that stuff. Perhaps more. Space Shuttle, the biggest advancement we've had in space tech, is falling apart. Its replacement is not in sight. The one project that actually looked like it was going to give us a single-stage reusable space craft has been scraped. It's really bad. But if Virgin manages to make some money with the venture, things might change. And we need change. We, as a civilization, need to get off this rock.
                        MWG Gate Network Simulation

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                          #13
                          Originally posted by K^2 View Post
                          You are riding a controlled explosion to the edge of the atmosphere. I think that's a safe assumption. But it should still be safer than, say, jumping with parachute. At least, it could be made to be. So I doubt the minimal risk that's still there will put a lot of people off.

                          Most important thing here is not even the trips themselves, but the fact that this will attract new interest from the public, and hopefully, put more private sector money into space exploration. We are currently at least 30 years behind on that stuff. Perhaps more. Space Shuttle, the biggest advancement we've had in space tech, is falling apart. Its replacement is not in sight. The one project that actually looked like it was going to give us a single-stage reusable space craft has been scraped. It's really bad. But if Virgin manages to make some money with the venture, things might change. And we need change. We, as a civilization, need to get off this rock.
                          I don't know if you're aware, but the virgin ship design isn't single stage...it's a two stage dropship.

                          There is a carrier 'plane' that takes off from a standard runway with the 'ship' hung under it's belly. It carries it up several miles where the atmosphere is thinner then releases it. It drops for a second or two then rockets off into space.

                          It is very much like the design used in stargate when the 302 needed to get the active gate into space. Thing is, the 'plane' is specially designed and the ship is hung underneath, not on top.

                          I believe with our pathetic space tech right now, using aero-tech for the first stage is the most efficient. We've had 100 years to work on it, but our space tech is not up to par. The two stage dropship is definitely the way to go, and I'm very glad Virgin and the creator of Spaceship One decided to go this direction(can't remember his name).

                          FYI...dropship is a ship used to go up and down, nothing more. Starship is a ship designed to fly in space but not to land. I believe the plans to get to the moon include using a starship to ferry people from a station in low earth orbit to another station in lunar orbit, establishing a basic transit system using a thing NASA seems oblivious to...infrastructure.

                          Oh, by the way. The spaceport design is really cool. Their website says its under construction now, so this is more than just planning.
                          Stargate: ROTA wiki

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                            #14
                            Spaceport NM is very cool! They've been working steadily on it for the last three years. Already they've had several space shots from it. Satellites, etc. It's where James Doohan's remains were shot into space from.

                            A large part of what is holding up major construction is the 20 or so miles of rough dirt road leading up to it. (I live just on the other side of the mountain from it)

                            Looking forward to its completion.
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                              #15
                              Originally posted by Aer'ki View Post
                              I don't know if you're aware, but the virgin ship design isn't single stage...it's a two stage dropship.
                              Yes? Your point is? It's a variation on the design of Space Ship One, which is just a small hybrid rocket, and other than the low cost, there is hardly anything interesting about it.

                              A cryogenic LH2 aerospike engine, in contrast, is light and efficient enough to allow for a single-stage-to-orbit operation. VentureStar is the project I was referring to. It is the only design so far that was likely to achieve the SSTO goal. With proper funding, its successor still might, especially since many advancements have been made in the field of composite materials.
                              MWG Gate Network Simulation

                              Looks familiar?

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