In the near future, a trip into space may be comparable in cost to a high-end hunting trip. Big-game hunters now spend up to $125,000 to bag a single male lion in Africa.

That compares to the $97,000-$200,000 which companies like XCOR and Virgin Galactic plan to charge for a suborbital flight.

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The Smithsonian Institution, the nation’s largest collection of museums, says Americans should stay home. They do not need to travel to Washington, DC and should not plan to visit any of the Smithsonian’s museums.

Okay, they didn’t really say that — but that’s what they would say if they were intellectually consistent.

A recent post on the Smithsonian’s blog makes a Politically Correct argument that Americans should not travel into space:

But why must our species continue to advance? Do we really want to keep growing? I believe that the physical limitations and boundaries of our planet, if not insurmountable by our technology, might be worth respecting. I also believe we should employ our brilliance as a species in figuring out how to live sustainably on this planet, and I would argue that it’s not our business to plunder the natural resources of any other worlds unless we can at least learn to manage and preserve our own—a challenge at which we are failing.

If the Smithsonian wants to stop our species from advancing, putting an end to space travel is a start, but the Smithsonian can do more than that. It should recommend that Americans avoid visiting educational institutions like the Smithsonian. The physical limitations and boundaries of their home states, if not insurmountable by technology, might be worth respecting. Instead of “plundering” the resources of any other states, shouldn’t Americans stay home and use their brilliance to live sustainably in their own towns and villages?

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In the next few years, citizen space explorers will start to fly in large numbers. When they do, many of them will want to take pictures during their flights. Those who do might want to heed this advice from photo buff and NASA astronaut Don Petit.
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Dr. Anna-Lisa Paul, Research Associate Professor in the University of Florida’s Genetics Institute, has joined the Suborbital Applications Researchers Group. She is replacing Dr. Erika Wagner. Dr. Paul has an extensive background in molecular genetics with a specific interest in space research to study adaptive responses in extraterrestrial environments.

Dr. Wagner recently left MIT, where she ran the X-Prize Lab, to become business development manager at Blue Origin. She will also be an affiliate instructor in the new X-Prize Lab at the University of Washington.

Dr. Alan Stern, chairman of the Suborbital Applications Researchers Group, said, “We thank Erika, who has contributed greatly to raising the awareness of how commercial suborbital platforms can be used for research and education, and has helped build this nascent community. We’ll miss Erika’s energy and expertise, but I can think of no better addition to fill her shoes than Dr. Anna-Lisa Paul. Ann-Lisa has broad experience in space-based research in the life sciences area, and her enthusiasm is evident.  I truly look forward to working with her in furthering the research and education potential of these important platforms for science.”

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Felix Baumgartner has raised some hackles with critical comments about NASA’s future aspirations for Mars and Sir Richard Branson’s suggestion that someone might try a higher skydive from SpaceShip Two.

It appears that Baumgartner is already anxious about protecting his legacy.

Baumgartner’s comments are reminiscent of complaints by Sir Edmund Hillary and other pioneering mountaineers about modern climbers paying their way to the summit of Mount Everest.

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During the 2008 Presidential campaign, an Obama education advisor named Steve Robinson got himself into hot water by suggesting that Americans, especially the younger generation, are no longer inspired by sending humans into space. According to Robinson, young people are more inspired by sending robots into space than sending humans. CNN journalist Miles O’Brien, who was moderating the debate where Robinson appeared, seemed to disagree with him.

The Obama campaign did not stand by those statements, which were later disavowed, but we’ve heard the same argument repeated many times, by various people. Recently, Professor Lawrence Krauss of Arizona State University (probably not a member of the “younger generation”) wrote that he found sending robots more exciting.

In our view, this debate is meaningless. Miles O’Brien asked the wrong question.

It doesn’t matter whether people are excited and inspired by sending humans into space. Very few people are excited and inspired by the idea of sending humans to Paris, Hawaii, or China – but lots of people are excited about going to Paris, Hawaii, or China.

People are not excited when a government employee, who they’ve never met, goes on a business trip to an exotic location. They are excited when they go on a trip to an exotic location.

For 50 years, government space programs have been telling the public that space exploration is important, without ever giving the public the chance to explore space. That is about to change. When it does, there will be no lack of excitement and inspiration.

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Congratulations go out to Felix Baumgartner (and the Red Bull Stratos team) for his record-setting high-altitude jump.

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Baumgartner’s successful jump will help prepare the way for suborbital citizen space exploration. The Stratos team is not only testing out spacesuit technology, which will be extremely important for suborbital flights; it is also helping to set public expectations regarding risk, safety, and regulation of citizen space exploration.

To quote the Federal Aviation Administration, “[FAA regulation of skydiving] is based on the assumption that any individual who chooses to skydive has assessed the dangers involved and assumes personal responsibility for his or her safety. The regulations… are intended to assure the safety of those not involved in the sport, including persons and property on the surface and other users of the airspace. The skydiving community is encouraged to adopt good operating practices and programs to avoid further regulation by the FAA.”

This regulatory model is very close to the “informed consent” model for spaceflight participants created by the FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation. Given the inherent risks and training requirements, spaceflight is more akin to skydiving than commercial airline travel. It will remain so for the foreseeable future. The informed consent model, therefore, is a good one. Unfortunately, it’s a model that many in the public and the space enthusiast community do not currently understand. Skydiving is an example we can point to in order to better inform the public.

The space community should also take note of the FAA’s admonition to the skydiving community. The freedom to fly does not come with out a price. We must self-regulate to ensure that best practices are followed for every aspect of operations, including equipment, maintenance, and training. If we fail to do so, we invite increased government regulation that may have negative consequences for the future of the industry.

NASA Watch editor Keith Cowing is upset because Sarah Brightman is spending her money the way she wants to, rather than the way Cowing wants her to.

In case you were wondering, for $51 million, according to a per-person cost of $2.58 from the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation, you could vaccinate 19,767,442 people (yea 19+ MILLION) in developing nations with “5-in-1 vaccine” or“pentavalent” vaccine which protects against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), and hepatitis B. You could also buy 275,675 OLPC XO-1.75 laptops for students in a developing country at $185 each.

All emphasis per the original.

While we have serious reservations about the cost-effectiveness of Soyuz flights, we also recognize that it is Sarah Brightman’s money, to do with as she sees fit.

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Author J. K. Rowling claims that she turned down a chance to go into space. An article in the Independent, an Irish newspaper, quotes Rowling as saying, “I was offered a seat. For a mere £2 million I could have been on the shuttle, but I turned it down.”

This story belongs in the fiction section with Harry Potter.

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NBC News analyst James Oberg reports that Russian cosmonauts are unhappy with accommodations aboard the International Space Station. The complaints surfaced during a post-flight press conference by cosmonaut Gennady Padalka on September 21.

The Russian segment of ISS provides each cosmonaut with about 1/7 as much living space as the American segment, according to the report. Padalka also stated that the Russian segment is cold and noisy, according to Oberg, and compared it to a tiny Krushchev-era apartment or khrushchevka.

Padalka also complained about aging equipment, which hasn’t been updated “in the 20 years since the foundation of the new Russia.”

The housing accommodations are of concern to citizen space explorers visiting ISS. Citizen explorers who travel to the station via Soyuz stay in the Russian segment. Living conditions are undoubtedly acceptable to short-term visitors, who have not complained in the past, but there may be other effects.

Padalka stated that extended one-year stays aboard ISS are unacceptable without major improvements to the Russian accommodations. One-year stays have been proposed in order to free up seats in Soyuz capsules for citizen explorers such as Sarah Brightman. If the cosmonauts revolt, Roskosmos may need to change its plans. If that happens, there may be no more Soyuz flights for citizen explorers.

The situation will become more complicated in a few years when American companies such as SpaceX, Boeing, and Sierra Nevada begin carrying NASA crew and citizen explorers to the space station. Those explorers will presumably stay in the American segment, although details have not been worked out yet. (Or if they have, they have not been made public.)

This points to the need for new facilities in orbit, such as the private space stations Bigelow Aerospace is working on. If those facilities are slow to emerge, the development of citizen space exploration in low Earth orbit may be hindered. Fortunately, a flourishing suborbital spaceflight industry will exist by that time and, unlike the orbital tourism industry, it will not be limited to multimillionaires.

Rick Tumlinson calls for A Unified Vision for Space.

Tumlinson says that the ultimate goal of US space policy must be human settlement, which is good in itself but not good enough. To quote a line from the TV series Babylon 5, “You must do the right thing for the right reason.” Settlement is the right reason, but we must go about it the right way.

Tumlinson says, “It is time to declare that the goal of the United States in space is the settlement of the solar system, from low Earth orbit to the Moon and Mars.”

That’s like Orville Wright declaring that the goal of the US should be the establishment of an air transportation system, starting with nonstop flights from New York to Paris, forgetting about local and transcontinental flights.

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