On Tue, 21 Oct 2003 22:23:57 -0500, Douglas Drummond <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>The reason this is significant is that the first suborbital "tourism" >operations will be structured very much the same way. The "Fly a MiG" >operations in Russia are very similar since a new "student" requires >quite a bit of instruction on basic life support as well as aircraft >systems.
This is probably, long term, going to be the biggest item keeping prices up. (After the first few hundred flights, someone's going to take on Space Adventures, and compete on price. Not inside scoop - wouldn't say it even if I knew any - just common sense. 1000 flights at $98,000 each is not allergy money: it's nothing to sneeze at.) Spaceflight participants - "passengers" is too general a term - will absolutely have to be trained in how to use the survival equipment. Even if it isn't required by the regulations (and that will be up to the service provider), it'll be required by the business plan. Doing in your customers, or even getting them bent, is bad for business.
I'm not sure I agree with this. I don't see why a suborbital flight can't be closer to an amusement park ride.
John Carmack
_______________________________________________ ERPS-list mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.erps.org/mailman/listinfo/erps-list
