Spaceship one and it's affects
 

Was watching that Star Wars technology show on Discovery earlier tonight and they did a segment on Spaceship One, which got me thinking..

What do you think will be the effect of small independent funded programs like SP1 on the future of mankind's quest for space? We came a long way in 50 years, where will we be in the next 50 years?

Assuming we don't blow ourselves up and the planet doesn't eat us and so on..

we need a privately owned space station, and it needs to be populated.

interesting discussion, i think it holds true that any market left to a free market will expand & better itself automatically

i see no need for nasa in the future, it could all be worked on the "prize" scenario...save us all alot of $ as taxpayers, nasa had a good run...& i know we all appreciate having satellite t.v....but its time to really kick it into overdrive with funding from corporations

companies will start to lobby to become major property owners on mars, titan etc. (probably not the moon though, it effects our tides) & life in space will become like that game tradewars...where you had space junkers & collected rare metals from (x) planet

space the final fronteir....atleast until we find ways to enter parallel universes

Well on the same show they were talking about solar sails as a way to power space craft through out the solar system.. Which would cut down the time it takes to get to other planets down too weeks rather than years. So in theory it would be possible for manned space exploration throughout the solar system.

I just wonder if we are getting close to the verge of it with these new privately funded programs.

I hope I live long enough to see some of this.

yea me 2 I was hoping by the time I grew up I could fly a x-wing fighter or something like that.. :winkwink: