September 29th, 2006 by Atomictumor
Virgin Galactic seems to be serious about starting suborbital flights for the well-heeled, which is completely awesome, even if my heel is not quite as kept.
Wired’s NextFest had a display of the interior of Scaled Composite’s SpaceShipTwo, based
on the craft that famously won the Ansari X-Prize a year or two ago, and the ship commissioned by Virgin’s Richard Branson (who would most likely be a real life Batman, had he suffered an early parenting tragedy) to take folks for a few minutes of weightlessness. At a price of, oh, about $200,000.
Now I hear people in the back saying “Oh snap, AT, thats about $50,000 more than I intend to pay for suborbital travel,” but to you naysayers out there, I’d like to point out the fact that Virgin is going to spring for a week of flight training for that 4 minutes. Because weightlessness, undoubtedly, takes some conditioning.
I’m joking, but that hides the fact that I think this is the among the awesomest news we’ve gotten out of just about anything in the past 20 years. People don’t see the purpose in space travel, and hell, there may not be on other than expanding the human frontier (in that we’ve pretty much expanded about as much as Earth has) and because I think that the idea of casual spaceflight would do tremendous good for society. Sure, you’re not going to hitch a flight on one of these bad boys this year, but in 10 years you can bet the price will drop.
Just wait until they have overnight stays in space. I’d be interested in the practical applications of zero-g romance, myself, and that might just be worth the ticket price…
September 29th, 2006 at 2:22 pm
We can’t even afford to fly in a frakkin’ plane, much less in outer space…
September 29th, 2006 at 3:22 pm
Seems like there would be complications: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14002908/
However, off-Earth romantics will have to cope with some practical challenges:
* Sex in space would likely be “hotter and wetter” than on Earth, Bonta said, because in zero-G there is no natural convection to carry away body heat. Also, scientists have found that people tend to perspire more in microgravity. The moisture associated with sexual congress could pool as floating droplets.
* The physics of zero-G make the mechanics of sex more complicated. Bonta said it was challenging even to kiss her husband during a zero-G simulation flight they took recently. “You actually have to struggle to connect and stay connected,” she recalled. Partners would have to be anchored to the wall and/or to each other. To address that need, Bonta has come up with her own design for garments equipped with strategically placed Velcro strips and zippers.
* Although zero-G could be a boon for saggy body parts, Bonta said males might notice a “slight decrease” in penis size due to the lower blood pressure that humans experience in microgravity.
* Romantics will also need to guard against the type of motion sickness that space travelers often encounter, especially if they get too adventurous right off. “Save the acrobatics for post-play vs. foreplay,” Bonta advised.
For all these reasons, Logan said spontaneous sex in space could be “a little underwhelming.”
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I can hear the shuttle now. “Um Houston. A space bird seems to have pooped on the shuttle’s windshield. Request technical assistance finding the windshield wiper switch. Um. Hang on… Can’t this wait. I’m on with Houston. What do you mean semen in the waste discharge?”
September 29th, 2006 at 5:12 pm
“The moisture associated with sexual congress could pool as floating droplets.”
Um, ew? Possibly the grossest thing I’ve heard today… Until I got to “semen in the waste discharge”, that is.
“Slight decrease” and “a little underwhelming” was all you had to say. ;)
September 30th, 2006 at 11:55 am
I’d like to go into space one day but this is really just a novelty. It’s really doubtful there will be much of a price drop, ever. As far as I’ve read the system still uses fossil fuels. Unless someone hurries up and invents a Mr. Fusion to power the damned thing on banana peels and old beer, it’s a dead venture out of the start gates.
I wish I posted a comment yesterday… anything after dj’s seems lame. : )