Hi Fellow Space Colony Enthusiasts,
hope you are well.
Saw this in the Calgary Herald,Aug/6/05.
Rocket Maker Offers Rides Around The Moon
A Russian rocket manufacturer is proposing sending
tourists on a ride around the Moon for 100 million
dollars,and a top official of the nation's space
agency said the project could be viable.Nikolai
Moiseyev,deputy head of the Russian Federal Space
Agency,said the agency has just started considering
the proposal by the RKK Energia company.The trip
would include a weeklong stay aboard the International
Space Station,Energia chief Nikolai Sevastyanov said.
The project would involve reliable Soyuz booster
rockets."The project is absolutely realistic and we
have come close to implementing it",Sevastyanov said.
The cash strapped Russian Space program has sought to
supplement scarce government funding with revenues
from space tourism.US scientist Gregory Olsen has
signed a deal with the Russian agency to fly to the
orbiting station as early as October when the next
Soyuz mission is scheduled to bring supplies and a new
crew.Sevastyanov said sending space tourists to fly
around the Moon could help generate interest in Lunar
exploration.Vladimir Isachenkov-Associated Press
Maybe we get some of the Nautilus Modules from
Bigalow Industries and build a hotel on the Moon for
these rich tourists ?
Cordially,John Hadden
jfhadden@...
> Maybe we get some of the Nautilus Modules from
> Bigalow Industries and build a hotel on the Moon for
> these rich tourists ?
corporate interests becoming more and more powerful, I think it's
entirely viable, even LIKELY that the richest of the rich will be
taking pleasure trips to the moon. Starting with a half-orbit
flyaround is the logical place to start.
The whole idea of a hotel on the moon at this point seems a little
absurd to me. It's like having the first European colony in the new
world be a Ritz-Carlton. Of course, lots of absurd things happen
these days... I consider it absurd, not unrealistic.
Less absurd would be for a wealthy philanthropist throw a billion or
two in the direction of a scientific installation on Luna, rather than
a commercial one. Less absurd, but also less likely.