Imagine a time when any ordinary citizen of the world can packhis or her bags and catch a commercial flight to Mars. Or maybe aperson could buy a ticket for a cruise through the Milky Way andswim its celestial waters.
"First stop, Venus. She's a beaut', isn't she?"
Perhaps a ride to work in this vision of ours consists oflooking out the window to watch the raging storms of Jupiter, hisgreat red eye glaring back.
And then there are those with their own personal rockets forquick and easy vacationing. Or escape from Earth in hard times,like space-age Pilgrims.
Sound like science fiction? Fantasy?
How about a not-so-distant reality?
Writers like Ray Bradbury dreamed up ideas such as these morethan fifty years ago. In his Martian Chronicles, travel by rocketis about as common as driving a car. But there's a chance he maysee some of these fantasies becoming reality in his lifetime.
With the second successful flight of SpaceShipOne (potentialname of the President's personal rocket ship?), a privately fundedspacecraft, the future of space travel has just begun.
The craft, fueled by laughing gas and tire rubber, flew over 62miles high twice in one week, setting a new record. Keep in mindthat this was not a NASA event. It was an event dedicated to thepursuit of widespread space travel.
This means that trips to space will soon become more common. Noneed to go to school for a decade to become an astronaut. The onlything between you and the final frontier will be a decent chunk ofmoney.
At this point, carrying civilians in commercial space flightspurely for entertainment seems to be the goal, like the ultimatethrill ride, or extreme cruise. According to aircraft designer BurtRutan, SpaceShipOne's $10 million victory is only the beginning. Indevelopment is "a manned tourism system...that's at least a hundredtimes safer than anything that's ever flown man to space."
Apparently, a dramatic, space-age version of the horse-drawncarriage ride is not such a crazy idea. Once things get rolling --or flying -- it just may be the new standard for a romanticdate.
To the guys of the next few generations: you might want to startsaving up. Rutan claims that the ultimate goal is to make a typicalspace flight cost about as much as a "low-cost" car. But, whoknows, maybe with inflation, things will even out.
For now, though, the plan is to provide citizens space flightsby 2007, at costs greater than $200,000. Yes, it may take a whilefor prices to drop low enough to make this a popular familyvacation (this could make for an interesting Chevy Chase movie,come to think of it), but it's a start.
And according to Brian Binnie, pilot of SpaceShipOne, theencounter with space is well worth the money.
"There's a freedom there and a sense of wonder that, I tell youwhat, you all need to experience," he said.
It's as good an advertisement as any. But don't be too alarmedif one night you lay down for a good stargazing session only towatch a giant billboard floating by, promoting the latest spacecruise.
You might start to worry, though, if it's suddenly replaced byan ad for the presidential candidates of 2008.
Write to Nick atnick_davidson02@yahoo.com
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