Virgin Galactic is proceeding with tests of its first SpaceShipTwo sub-orbital spacecraft, the VSS Enterprise, that will carry private, paying passengers on a short, 6 minutes flight to space. On October 10, 2010, it successfully completed its first glide flight dropped from the WhiteNightTwo mother ship, and company officials say that they are on schedule to start commercial operations in 2011.
Some people have expressed concerns about the safety of spacecraft being developed by private companies. In 2007, an explosion during a ground test of SpaceshipTwo's engine killed three people and injured three more. SpaceX, the makers of the Dragon capsule, have asked NASA to relax their safety requirements so that the company can achieve its goals on time and on budget.
I am a staunch supporter of commercial space development, but I also realize that the limited funding that these private ventures enjoy will inevitably lead to them cutting corners when it comes to safety, at least compared to the standards of NASA.
And I'm ok with that, and I think the public should be ok with that too. Space exploration is mankind's next frontier, and we should accept the risks involved in exploring it. Numerous ships were lost and countless explorers perished in the exploration of The New World in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. That didn't stop the European nations from pursuing the colonization of the Americas.
Sir Richard Branson, head of Virgin Galactic, offered William Shatner, the actor who portrayed Captain Kirk in the original Star Trek series, a free ride into space on the inaugural space launch of the VSS Enterprise, with a retail value of $200,000. However, Shatner turned it down, and said, "I do want to go up but I need guarantees I'll definitely come back."
That really dissapointed me. You would think that Captain Kirk, of all people, would have the courage to be a pioneer of The Final Frontier and to boldly go where no one has gone before...
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