First Manned Commercial Spacecraft Launched

[eddie]

From klastv news
Additional news and photos about this launch are also on the above link

(Jun. 21) -- Aerospace history was made today in the Mojave Desert with the launch of the first privately funded, manned mission to space.

Thousands of people, including hundreds of journalists were there to watch the launch of "SpaceShipOne" -- and perhaps the launch of a new space age itself and with it the commericalization of space.

Now the future of space exploration no longer belongs only to the military and governments. With the launch of SpaceShipOne, research companies and space tourism companies are in full-swing reserarch and development, including two southern nevada entities with very direct involvement .

The developers of the craft want to prove that space is fertile for private enterprise. Their hope was to get 62 miles into suborbital space, which proved to be successful.

Eyewitness News I-Team's very own George Knapp was there. In the video clip, SpaceShipOne: 'Beginning of Space Tourism Industry', h e talks about what this historical flight can mean to Nevada, more on the two southern Nevada entities involved in harvesting space travel for tourism, and awesome video of the Earth from SpaceShipOne on its way up to the edges of space.

With the launch of SpaceShipOne, there is much talk about space tourism and luxury hotels in space. With our collective knowledge of tourism, southern Nevada can take the world where no tourists have gone before.

The Nevada Test Site is a front runner as the primary port when and if such travel becomes a reality.

[JuliusSqueezer]

Aww bummer they beat me. I was building a space ship here in our carport out of shower surround. I was just waiting for info back from the Liquid Nails guys to make sure their glue would hold up on reentry.

I have a sick feeling that this little spaceship is going to be on the other end of the news from "happy" very soon.

[mark5019]

more guts than me would love to see outer space before my end

[eddie]

I have a sick feeling that this little spaceship is going to be on the other end of the news from "happy" very soon.

Maybe so.. but with it being a very successful flight on what I think is the first try.. that's better success than Nasa has had in many of their first tries.
Even then, with the losses of numerous test pilots, astronauts, experimental and fully functional crafts, this success by private industry may well lead to a lot more funding and more trips out and at a faster rate of progress than the government based space program has managed to do.

Even in the on earth marketing.. M&Ms should put a logo on their candies or do some promotions as being the first candy floated in space onboard a privately owned/funded manned craft
Heck, if I was in charge of M&Ms, I would even swing some fundings their way

[Majexto]

The guy built it for a 10 million dollar prize for the first person to put a privately owned craft in space with atleast two men on board, twice in two weeks. I read that he put around 20 million in it, which is barely anything when you consider hes worth 21 billion. So he would be getting 10 million back of it all. So he just got himself a 10 million dollar rocket ship, lol.

[toker]

Sign me up!!!!

There is no "Safe" way to space... ther eis only CRAZY and Wicked.. take yer pick and sit down and hold on!!

[Ravnos]

If NASA had done it, the bag of M&Ms alone would have cost $200,000.

Rav