Larger Leaps for Mankind

Space. The Final Frontier. And we're about to cross it.

Most of us here on Earth look at Space as an unreachable thing. It is the sacred ground were only the bravest of men and the most advanced and expensive technologies in the world dare to tread. Space was first touched by Man's gloved hand only a generation ago, and as such it in over 50 years of exploration, only around 400 people have ventured there. We've all grown up with this image of space. And so we don't give much thought to the idea that... we could actually go. And this isn't some crazy pipe dream, this is reality. It's happening today - the next visitors to this vast Frontier will be you and I.

You may well have heard of Richard Branson and his "Virgin Galactic" business. Their prototype, SpaceShipOne, successfully completed it's sub-orbital tests and they have all but completed development on their first passenger model: SpaceShipTwo. Test flights of this model have already begun, and the first passengers are scheduled to fly as soon as late 2009. Ticket price? $200,000.

"But this isn't exactly within the reach of normal people," you may well say. And you would be right. But consider this - Space Tourists already exist. They apply to NASA or the ESA and pay millions of dollars for the privilege of tagging along on a mission. $200,000 for a flight is alot more within reach, if only for the still-extremely-rich types that light their cigars with $100 bills. Fortunately, this ultra-high price tag is soon being replaced by a half price version, once the second "SpaceShipTwo" craft comes into service a few months after the first. In fact, by the end of 2010 (that's just TWO YEARS people), a ticket is planned to cost only $20,000.

Still alot of money? Yeah. But do-able for your average Joe! What if, in 5 years time, you are about to buy a Ford Focus X12 (or whatever model it is then) for £12,000. What if instead of getting that, you buy a used car for £1,000? You can then afford a trip into space. And with competition coming in (one would assume, eventually) against Virgin Galactic, and with technological improvements, those prices are only going one way.

If you don't already have "Go into Space" on your list of things to do before you are thirty, now might be a good time to add it. Because it's a very real possibility that you can achieve it.

Keep the Fire Burning.

- Fox