British Scientists Invent 'Skylon' Spaceplane That Will Take Tourists Into Orbit At Five Times The Speed Of Sound

The 270ft-long Skylon space plane will be able to take passengers into space at a fraction of the current cost

From The Daily Mail:

A space aircraft that can take off from an ordinary airport runway before carrying tourists into orbit could be a reality with 10 years, according to British scientists.

The 270ft Skylon plane will cost about £700m to build and will be able to carry 24 passengers.

Built by British engineering firm Reaction Engines, the aircraft has no conventional external engines.

Instead the Skylon will travel at five times the speed of sound using two internal engines that suck hydrogen and oxygen from the atmosphere to send it 18 miles above the ground – and out of Earth’s atmosphere.

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Russia Will End Space Tourism Flights When Shuttle Retires

Charles Simonyi Prepares for Space Courtesy of Space Adventures and Charles Simonyi

From Popular Science:

Well, it looks like Charles Simonyi might have to wait a while for a third trip, because space tourism is going on hiatus. With the shuttle's cancellation leaving Russia as the only country able to service the International Space Station (ISS), the Russian government has announced it will no longer let civilians hitch a ride on Soyuz flights.

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Space Pilot Jobs Set To Take Off

Photo: Richard Branson's Virgin company already hopes to send people into space

From The BBC:

Becoming the pilot of a spaceship may seem the stuff of science fiction, but it could be a regular job in just 20 years time, a report has concluded.

That is one of the findings of a government study into jobs of the future, which also suggests people will be employed to make human body parts.

It names 20 jobs that could be common by 2030, including "vertical farmers" growing food in multi-storey buildings.

It also says surgeons may be employed to give people extra memory capacity.

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Who Should Be the First Band To Play in Space?

Spandau Ballet

From Popular Science:

This morning an odd story surfaced and began orbiting the Web: Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic signed '80s rock heartthrobs (now aging '80s rock heartthrobs) Spandau Ballet to be the first band to rock out in space. Citing a press release of dubious origin, several blogs and even the UK's Daily Mail reported the story, even naming possible songs the group would play during a five-minute weightless set.

But we can all breathe a collective sigh of relief. The Internet has hoodwinked us once again.

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Virgin Galactic's Unveil Is Tip Of The Iceberg For Private Spaceflight

Masten's Xoie flies against a backdrop of Mojave's windmills to the west. (Photograph courtesy of Mike Massee and Masten Space Systems)

From Popular Mechanics:

In the Mojave desert on Monday, strong winds and cold weather swept through Virgin Galactic's unveiling of SpaceShipTwo, an event that brought together the eager, capable and readying private space industry. Attendees heard grand talk of a new day of spaceflight arriving, but how significant, really, was Monday's event? Space analyst Rand Simberg reports from on the scene.

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Rutan And Branson Make A Giant Leap For Space Tourism

From L.A. Times:

The intergalactic entrepreneurs unveil the VSS Enterprise, the world's first commercial passenger spacecraft. Tests are expected to start early next year, and flights could begin in 2011.

On a wind-tossed desert night, the dream of space pioneers Richard Branson and Burt Rutan to bring space flight to everyone -- at least everyone who can afford it -- drew closer to reality when the pair unveiled the world's first commercial passenger spacecraft.

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First Look at Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo

Image: VSS Enterprise stowed under the dual-hulled Virgin Mother Ship (VMS) Eve at the unveiling of the first SpaceShipTwo in the Mojave Desert (Virgin Galactic)

From Discovery News:

After two years of construction, Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo has been shown to the public for the first time. The first of a planned fleet of six SpaceShipTwo's has been named Virgin Space Ship (VSS) Enterprise.

WATCH VIDEO: Kasey-Dee Gardner sits down with one of Virgin Galactic's maiden space travelers and finds out his three biggest fears about this sub-orbital spaceflight.

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In 2010, The Civilian Space Industry Finally Takes Off

The Final Countdown: October 15, 2009: Virgin Galactic’s bullet-nosed rocket, SpaceShipTwo, sits in the hangar of Scaled Composites in Mojave, California, awaiting a paint job before its public debut in December. Click here to launch the gallery for a closer look at SpaceShipTwo under construction. John B. Carnett

From Popular Science:

Who needs the space shuttle? Take a tour inside the private space industry and its innovative, efficient plans to get astronauts into space when NASA retires its old ride.

For a traveler heading up the highway toward the Mojave Air and Space Port, in the desert 70 miles north of Los Angeles, the surroundings are ghostly. Silent 747s and DC-10 jumbo jets from defunct airlines, along with smaller 727s and DC-9s, some cut up or resting on pylons, are visible from miles away, looking frozen and forlorn. Parked along the road at the airport entrance is a 1962 Convair 990, which began its life as an American Airlines jet airliner. Now the wind whistles through its nacelles and birds nest in its wheel wells.

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Ottawa Businessman To Be Canada's Second Space Tourist

John Criswick, an Ottawa entrepreneur who has booked a US$200,000 flight on board Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo, stands in front of the plane at its unveiling in July 2008. (HO, Virgin Galactic/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

From CTV News:

MONTREAL — An Ottawa entrepreneur plans to be in California on Monday for the official unveiling of a vehicle that will help him fulfil his childhood dream of being an astronaut.

John Criswick and 13 other Canadians are among 300 space tourists who have made reservations with Virgin Galactic for a trip that will take them on a flight 110 kilometres above the Earth.

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Richard Branson Joins The Space Race

An artist's impression of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo transported by WhiteKnightTwo.

From The Guardian:

For $200,000, you too could soon be blasting out of the Earth's atmosphere thanks to Richard Branson. But is this really a revolution in space travel?

The Mojave desert, 160km north of Los Angeles, is best known for its unforgiving weather and ancient, almost alien, landscape. On Monday, however, it will play host to a very modern spectacle when Sir Richard Branson unveils the latest stage of his scheme to transform space travel into a cheap, commercial proposition.

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Russia: No Space for Space Tourists

Soyuz Spacecraft

From CBS News/AP:

International Space Station Full with Crew for Near Future.

(AP) There is no space for tourists wishing to fly to the International Space Station, a top Russian space official said Thursday.

Since the space station's crew doubled to six people earlier this year, there is no longer room for tourists who pay tens of millions of dollars for a trip on a Russian spacecraft from Earth, said Sergei Krikalyov, the chief of the Cosmonaut Training Center.

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Space Hotel Reportedly On Track For 2012 Opening, Already Has Paying Guests

Space Hotel 2012 Will these space pods fly on time? Galactic Suite

From Popular Science:

A company aiming to open the first space hotel already has 43 paying customers at $4.4 million a pop.

Anyone with a cool $4 million and change might consider doing what 43 other people have done, and sign up for an orbital space vacation in 2012 with Galactic Suite Space Resort. The Barcelona-based company plans to open the first space hotel if all goes according to plan.

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Space Hotel 'On Schedule To Open In 2012'

An artist's impression of the flight, displayed on Galactic Suite's website. Galactic Suite

From The Independent:

A company behind plans to open the first hotel in space says it is on target to accept its first paying guests in 2012 despite critics questioning the investment and time frame for the multi-billion dollar project.

The Barcelona-based architects of The Galactic Suite Space Resort say it will cost 3 million euro (£2.6 million) for a three-night stay at the hotel, with this price including an eight-week training course on a tropical island.

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Clinical Immortality And Space Settlement

Galactic space lines may not be as far fetched as they sound. (credit: Virgin Galactic)

From The Space Review:

There was a recent article in the New York Times, “Three Score and Ten”, which was inspired by a Lancet paper that predicted the median life expectancy for babies born in America in 2007 is greater than or equal to 104. In 3000 BC, it was 24 and stayed there almost until the industrial revolution. In 1850, it was 38. In 1909, it was 50. In 1959, it was 67. Current demographics indicate it’s only 78. The extra 26 years that Lancet predicts comes from anticipated future improvements in reducing death rates (morbidity).

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Laliberte Still Has His Head In The Stars

Canadian billionaire Guy Laliberte smiles shortly after his landing with the members of the mission to the International space station, Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka and NASA astronaut Michael Barratt, not seen, near the town of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan. (THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/Yuri Kochetkov, Pool)

From CNews/Canadian Press:

MONTREAL - Back from his trip in space, Circus magnate Guy Laliberte said Sunday he'll soon be ready to follow up on the outcome of the two-hour extravaganza of poetry, science and dance that he orchestrated from orbit.

"As you know, I was on a personal mission which was to create an event to talk about the situation of water in the world," he said in an interview broadcast Sunday on NASA TV.

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'First Clown In Space' Promises To Bring Humour To Astronauts

Canadian billionaire Guy Laliberte, who owns Cirque du Soleil, is set to become the world's seventh and Canada's first space tourist Photo: REUTERS

From The Telegraph:

The man who plans to be "the first clown in space" has said he will liven up the atmosphere on the international space station by playing pranks on the astronauts.

Guy Laliberte, founder of Cirque du Soleil, told reporters he plans to tickle the professional astronauts while they're sleeping, and he's will also bring a consignment of red clown noses aboard.

"I'm a person with a pretty high spirit, who's there to crack jokes and make jokes to those guys, and while they're sleeping, you know, I'll be tickling them," Mr Laliberte said.

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Splashdown! Cirque du Soleil Founder Prepares For First 'Poetic' Space Mission

Mr Laliberte in a rare serious mood at the Star City training centre

From The Daily Mail:

Canadian billionaire Guy Laliberte made a splash at the space training centre in Star City outside Moscow. He was taking part in emergency landing practice for his trip to the International Space Station next month.

The owner of Cirque du Soleil, is spending £21million to become the world's seventh space tourist, after being slated to travel on a Russian Soyuz space craft at the end of September.

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Take An Orbital Vacation On A Surplus Soviet Military Spacecraft

Almaz Spacecraft: Turning guns into space tourism, courtesy of a retrofitted Soviet-era military spacecraft. Excalibur Almaz

From Popular Science:

Space tourists with deep pockets and dreams of recapturing Cold War nostalgia need look no further than Excalibur Almaz. The new company is asking $35 million for a weeklong stay aboard a Soviet-era military spacecraft.

Excalibur's purchase of the Russian military-surplus "Almaz" reentry capsules turned heads in August. But the latest announcement firmly sets Excalibur up as a competitor with Space Adventures, the only private outfit that currently offers rides into orbit aboard the three-man Russian Soyuz spacecraft.

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Big Artistic Performance To Be Set In Space

From Space.com:

The first ever widely acknowledged artistic performance from space will be broadcast from the International Space Station on Oct. 9.

Orchestrated by Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte, who is set to launch to the station as a space tourist Sept. 30, the event will feature artists performing from 14 cities around the world, as well as Laliberte broadcasting from space.

Laliberte described the event, called "Moving Stars and Earth for Water," as a "poetic social mission" to communicate the importance water has for the planet and its people.

Scientists have warned that water shortages rank with energy and food issues around the globe as top governmental issues now and in the future.

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The First "Clown" Going To Space

Guy Laliberte poses for a picture as he attends a training session in a space capsule at the Star City space centre outside Moscow July 9, 2009. The Canadian billionaire owner of Cirque du Soleil is on the countdown to become the world's seventh, and Canada's first, space tourist, slated to travel on a Russian Rocket

Laliberté Set To Be Inspired -- The Montreal Gazette

Space tourist launches to ISS on Sept. 30

Canada's first space tourist will blast off into space as part of a three-man supply crew on Sept. 30.

Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberté, NASA astronaut Jeff Williams and Russian cosmonaut Maxim Suraev are scheduled to launch on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

"I think this is a great, great opportunity of inspiration and I intend to inspire myself as much as possible," said Laliberté, speaking from the Johnson Space Centre in Houston.

Read more ....

Guy Laliberté, in a lighter moment, clowns around during training for launch to the International Space Station. (Credit: Space Adventures Ltd.)

More News On Canada's First Space Tourist

'First clown in space' has serious mission goals -- AP
The future first clown in space to advocate for water -- AFP
Circus billionaire plans show from space -- Reuters
Space clown plans global show -- MSNBC
Cirque boss's space trip to have serious message - aside from the clown nose -- Canadian Press
Cirque du Soleil show in space -- BBC
Cirque du Soleil chief outlines 'poetic' space mission -- CNET
Big Artistic Performance to Be Set in Space -- Space.com
Laliberté flying without a nyet -- Montreal Gazette
U2 to participate in “Moving Stars and Earth for Water” event -- U2Log