| | I watched the special they aired on Discovery about it last night and I was very impressed. While the government advances technology and mankind bit by bit, private enterprise can advance everything in leaps and bounds. I always thought to myself that NASA should develop a way to launch the shuttle the way that SpaceShipOne is launched: They fly a mother ship up to a very high altitude, then drop the spacecraft, which then ignites its rocket motor and blasts straight up out of the atmosphere, requiring much less fuel and much less danger as a result of a shorter burn compared to the Space Shuttle's vertical launch from sea level. The type of launch implemented in SpaceShipOne is much cheaper.
Cost has always been one of the reasons given for the "impossibility" of recreational civilian space flight, but the government lacks the simple understanding that the wealthy will pay whatever it costs to enjoy the luxuries that the not-so-wealthy can never afford. To outdo another millionaire, one might make a habit to become a "frequent flyer" to space, in order to elevate his status to out-of-this-world heights. Cost will never be an issue, because there will never be a flight into space for a loss. Either people pay the price the company asks, or the flights don't take place. In the former case, the company can meet its operating costs and turn a profit, and in the latter, there is no loss because there is no operating cost. It's a win-win situation for those offering space flight.
Everyone, as far as I know, has at some point imagined space travel, and people are willing to pay nearly any price to fulfill such a seemingly unattainable dream. Offering a product that every human being desires is the apex of entrepreneurship.
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