April 26, 2024

Private astronauts are not ‘space tourists’ (op-ed)

After our Mircorp company took over the Russian Mir area station as the worlds very first commercial space center, we needed to figure out how to pay the bills. Training, skills and danger to self add up to such a life-altering and life screening activity as being much more than sitting in the back of a safari bus and tossing treats at animals in the Serengeti park a couple of counties over.One of the key points I made then and will make again now is that by calling anyone who isnt a federal government employee flying to space a traveler, we are trivializing an essential handoff from the Cold War gov-centric area programs of the past to the human-centric, equalized opening of the Frontier we must have if we are to survive as a types. Individuals like myself think that by opening the Frontier of area, we may expand our economy and take the pressure off of this embattled and wonderful world by accessing the energy and resources of space.

After our Mircorp company took over the Russian Mir space station as the worlds first commercial area center, we needed to figure out how to pay the costs. Training, abilities and threat to self include up to such a life-changing and life testing activity as being much more than sitting in the back of a safari bus and throwing treats at animals in the Serengeti park a couple of counties over.One of the key points I made then and will make again now is that by calling anyone who isnt a federal government staff member flying to area a traveler, we are trivializing a crucial handoff from the Cold War gov-centric area programs of the past to the human-centric, democratized opening of the Frontier we need to have if we are to endure as a types. People like myself believe that by opening the Frontier of space, we might expand our economy and take the pressure off of this embattled and wonderful world by accessing the energy and resources of area. (Image credit: NASA) Also, the money spent by individuals flying into space is not spent in area. Sure, the space programs on which all of this is built have actually been funded by taxpayers, be they American, Russian and those others whose countries have contributed to the space station.