The Lippard Blog: The Impracticality of Space Travel

Thursday, October 20, 2005

We better hope that one day either carbon nanotubes or plutonium can be purchased in bulk at the corner market, because otherwise, sadly, it looks like we ain't gettin' into space until the day when we're all as rich as Bill Gates.

(ht: Chicago Boyz)

Einzige said...: I should point out that the figure that Russell Roberts uses, of "$2 million a year," is wrong. Bill Gates makes (or made at the time of the publishing of Fair Play) $2 million a day.; October 20, 2005 at 1:48 PM
Lippard said...: Depends on what you mean by space travel. Richard Branson is already building a fleet of five SpaceShipOne-type craft, for which tickets will start at $200,000. I predict that these will be used for very rapid travel and transport between points on the globe, and FedEx will get in on the action for packages that really need to move quickly.

http://www.scaled.com/news/2005-07-27_branson_rutan_spaceship_company.htm; October 20, 2005 at 3:40 PM
Einzige said...: True, but sub-orbital flight is far-and-away easier than orbital flights, and there's no guarantee that Virgin Intergalactic is going to turn a profit (though I certainly wish them well in that regard).

Aside from the viability of cryonic suspension as a means of longevity, there is nothing I'd rather be more wrong about.

Hmmm... scratch that.

I'd much rather be wrong about the non-existence of an omnibenevolent deity who will shower me with love and joy throughout all of eternity after I die.; October 20, 2005 at 4:05 PM