Russian Firm Plans Commercial Space Station 133
astroengine writes "Buoyed by plans for commercial space taxis, a Russian company plans to build and launch a privately owned outpost in orbit for tourists, scientists and other paying visitors. RSC Energia, which designed and built the Russian modules of the International Space Station, is partnering with Russian commercial space startup Orbital Technologies to manufacture the new hub, currently known as Commercial Space Station."
Re:Catering? (Score:3, Informative)
Taco Bell, of course. :p
Re:Catering? (Score:3, Informative)
Why yes, yes it was.
Re:Wait! The commies....? (Score:5, Informative)
Only a former communist would think of selling spaceflight trips to a socialist American government because that government can't pull its head out of its own behind to be able to build a working vehicle that would get its own astronauts into space. As of June 2011, the USA will be without any sort of manned spaceflight capability..... all of it will be done by flying Soyuz spacecraft out of Kazakhstan.
Yeah, there might be some American companies who are suggesting they can fly a spacecraft of their own, but leave it to Congress to screw that up royally. A nice bi-partisan effort is making sure that only the best pork will flow to the proper congressional districts even if nothing ever actually gets built and the heck with anybody else trying.
Re:What I'd like to see (Score:3, Informative)
Space is big. Really really big. You ought to read Douglas Adams some time to see just how mind bogglingly huge space is and noting that there is a whole universe "out there" to explore that we have only just started looking at.
If you are worried about satellite debris, you ought to thank the U.S. federal government for much of that (along with the Russians and Chinese). Experiments that deliberately detonated nuclear bombs in space along with crazy schemes to spread flakes of metal in mid-Earth orbit to aid in telecommunications are still up there. Many of the problems in space are self-inflicted by the governments of this world.
Besides, LEO is the one place where orbital debris is really not a huge problem as well. The exosphere extends up to that altitude where enough air particles do eventually cause the debris to rain back down upon the Earth. It is the mid-level orbits that are the biggest problem as at those altitudes the debris doesn't come down.
As far as if "they screw it up".... I take it that you don't do much driving. You are by far and away in much more danger going down an interstate highway with 1 ton vehicles driven by teenagers lacking common sense than you are to ever be hit by debris falling from space or even being hit by a rocket made by a rank amateur. Life is dangerous, so live with it. And you want to use this as an excuse for why I can't go into space?