Space tourism faces regulatory hurdles
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Thrill seekers are plunking down six figures to ride rockets that haven't even been built yet, and a new airline called Virgin Galactic promises to be up and soaring in the next three years. Still, the budding space tourism industry faces a myriad of safety concerns -- in the sky and on the ground -- that must be resolved before any paying passenger takes off.
CNN Story
SW: Firstly let me congratulate the team of SpaceShipOne. Their efforts and vision have brought us at the cusp of a new era for airline travel. This is a breath of fresh air during a time when there is much turmoil in the airline industry. To someday think that your children’s-children could be flying MHV (or some other “spaceportâ€) to a point in Australia in 3-4 hours is akin to some of the greatest achievements in aviation history.
Back to the article: Now that the proof that it can be done has been accomplished the regulatory work of how to accomplish it starts. Investors like Richard Branson (Virgin Galactic) and others to follow will require both the FAA and the ICAO to set safety and regulatory standards in the near future. The FAA currently has legislation before Congress to address this issue, and I suspect that as with everything new will evolve over time. I admit, I do not know if ICAO has legislation in place or “on the table†for a future date. If someone has that information it would be greatly appreciated.
As a wrap-up I would like to say that even though the team for SpaceShipOne and Virgin Galactic are first to cross the plate they are by no means the end-all be-all. There are still teams and creative flying enthusiast still to demonstrate their ideas to the world. These are exciting times, and I cannot wait to see what tomorrow brings.
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Thrill seekers are plunking down six figures to ride rockets that haven't even been built yet, and a new airline called Virgin Galactic promises to be up and soaring in the next three years. Still, the budding space tourism industry faces a myriad of safety concerns -- in the sky and on the ground -- that must be resolved before any paying passenger takes off.
CNN Story
SW: Firstly let me congratulate the team of SpaceShipOne. Their efforts and vision have brought us at the cusp of a new era for airline travel. This is a breath of fresh air during a time when there is much turmoil in the airline industry. To someday think that your children’s-children could be flying MHV (or some other “spaceportâ€) to a point in Australia in 3-4 hours is akin to some of the greatest achievements in aviation history.
Back to the article: Now that the proof that it can be done has been accomplished the regulatory work of how to accomplish it starts. Investors like Richard Branson (Virgin Galactic) and others to follow will require both the FAA and the ICAO to set safety and regulatory standards in the near future. The FAA currently has legislation before Congress to address this issue, and I suspect that as with everything new will evolve over time. I admit, I do not know if ICAO has legislation in place or “on the table†for a future date. If someone has that information it would be greatly appreciated.
As a wrap-up I would like to say that even though the team for SpaceShipOne and Virgin Galactic are first to cross the plate they are by no means the end-all be-all. There are still teams and creative flying enthusiast still to demonstrate their ideas to the world. These are exciting times, and I cannot wait to see what tomorrow brings.
h34r: 
