NBC to televise first Virgin Galactic commercial flight

NBCUniversal has signed an exclusive partnership with Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic to televise the space tourism company's first commercial passenger flight. Expected to take place next August, the flight will covered in a special three-hour edition of the US NBC network's Today program. Aboard the VSS Enterprise, will be Sir Richard, age 63, and his children, Holly, 31, and Sam, 28. The other passengers and crew have not yet been named.

NBC to televise first Virgin Galactic commercial flight



Don't have much respect for NBC myself but I will definitely be tuning in to watch this avent. Hopefully this will usher in a new commercial golden age pertaining to the colonization and exploration of space, something that should have transpired around the turn of the millennium IMHO!

reply to post by andy06shake


I am personally very excited to see how much impact the commercial space flight industry will have in the future, and this is a step in the right direction, although I would agree with you that it has come ten or more years late. To be honest, I think the human race is always going to be playing catch up with the expectations of visionaries like Arthur C. Clarke, but as I said, this is surely a step in the right direction.

My one concern with this however, is that no matter how much focus is applied to commercial human spaceflight, there must be a focus in research and development, on creating propulsion methods and spacecraft designed for faster than light travel, using some sort of space warping effect. Getting the hoi poloi into the upper atmosphere and beyond is a grand goal, and one I support, but it cannot be allowed to overshadow the importance of learning how to get out of this solar system and explore the deeper unknowns of the universe up close.

reply to post by TrueBrit


I'm with you there mate, no FTL propulsion system pretty much limits humanities colonization to only our local star system.

The Alcubierre drive concept seems to be our best bet at conquering faster than light travel, at least NASA seems to be making some headway regarding the concept. Still need some exotic matter through, and since we don't even know the properties of the stuff, never mind if it exists or can be manufactured/tooled it presents a significant dilemma.

Until then I imagine plasma jet engines will suffice for cursing in and around our own system.

This is very exciting! A stupendous achievement by Sir Richard and his company, it appears we may be taking another one of those "small steps", into the final frontier.

As well as being televised to boot, I never thought I'd see this in my lifetime.

Just a thought..

Think about this for a minute before coming to a answer.

Do we really want (rich) humans galavanting in space? Shouldn't someone more worthy of space travel be on this flight instead of a corporate shmuck? What are the motives of rich people going into space, to explore and better understand the universe for the betterment of all man kind? (Ya right) It is all about PROFIT!

Personally I hope this "Virgin" spacecraft loses it's anal virginity and the whole family gets taken aboard a alien spaceship who show them a thing or two about a thing or two....

Corporate crap is all this is. Remember that. It is not for the good of humans as a whole I promise you that. No good can come of this.

reply to post by andy06shake


Do you mean the Alcubierre Drive?

Yes, something very much of that nature. I have been very excited by the possibilities presented when one looks at this idea through the lens of the discovery of the Higgs Boson. If one were to study the Higgs boson enough that one understood how to control its mass dispensing properties, one could produce a device capable of using raw mass manipulation to create these waves in space time, along which a craft could be propelled. I think the building blocks for this are now awaiting nothing more than their assembly into a grand machine, capable of producing FTL speeds.

reply to post by Agent008


"Do we really want (rich) humans galavanting in space?"

I suppose not, ideally space travel should be for ever one, unfortunately this is never the case to begin with when a new technology becomes available to the masses. Just look at the inception of automobiles, only the very rich and privileged had those to begin with, now almost every one can afford to own one.

You have to also remember that the colonization of space is the first step toward the salvation of our species! Without it we will simply destroy ourselves or our planet. We need an Earth 2.0 so to speak and we wont find it or discover how to get there if we don't try. Its something that has to be done, or in my opinion we are doomed as a species.

reply to post by TrueBrit


Yes thanks, edited it so i dont look like too much of a plonker! That's auto correct responsible for that im afraid. LoL

I do indeed mean the Alcubierre Drive.

Agent008
Do we really want (rich) humans galavanting in space?

All modes of transport used to have those with the funds doing it first. Not everyone could afford a horse & wagon (or just the horse) Not everyone could afford a seat on the train, not everyone could afford the first cars, not everyone could afford the first plane tickets, not everyone could afford to book passage on an ocean vessel. Some of these do still apply today (I can't afford a personal vehicle, so there you go) But eventually, the modes of transport come down enough in price for the regular people to utilize it. Unless you don't think it should be available unless people like me can afford it with ease, without needing to budget & save for months on end?
I expect the same of orbital flights as I do with other modes of current transport. The price will fall to a doable range for most as it becomes commonplace.


And yeah, I'll be tuning in to this broadcast It's a historical jump in travel technology history

Agent008
Just a thought..

Think about this for a minute before coming to a answer.

Do we really want (rich) humans galavanting in space? Shouldn't someone more worthy of space travel be on this flight instead of a corporate shmuck?

For a start, Beardy Branson is paying for the whole thing. The craft, the launch, the crew, the fuel, and every other thing. It is a project that he owns. Without him, the damned thing would not be lifting off in the first place, so yes, he ought to get a seat if he damned well wants one.

What are the motives of rich people going into space, to explore and better understand the universe for the betterment of all man kind? (Ya right) It is all about PROFIT!

I find your generalisation appalling. Mr Branson has done a great many things in his life, purely because he retains a childlike fascination with the world and its place in the universe, not to mention a healthy appreciation of adventure, which is why he took repeated balloon journeys around the world, and is planning to have a submersible built which can withstand the lowest depth of the ocean, so that he can lead an exploration of the deepest and least explored region of the earths surface. He does a great many things simply because he enjoys doing them.

Personally I hope this "Virgin" spacecraft loses it's anal virginity and the whole family gets taken aboard a alien spaceship who show them a thing or two about a thing or two....

Corporate crap is all this is. Remember that. It is not for the good of humans as a whole I promise you that. No good can come of this.

Actually, it would be hard to see how you could be more mistaken. Think about this rationally for a second, rather than just mindlessly diving on the hate wagon. The people who have the resources to put civilian infrastructure in place, to build spaceports, to start commercial extra-atmospheric carrier companies, are the fantastically super rich. If they have the awe inspiring experience, of being aloft above our world and are struck with the possibilities which exploration presents to themselves, then even if they decide that they want to be out there, mining asteroids, comets, planetoids, moons, and anything they can probe with a diamond tipped drill, this will still further the aims of the explorer.

This is because as the reach of the prospectors increases, so will the chain which links them back to their origins. There will have to be space stations, a massive clean up effort to remove man made debris from around our planet, to make repeated commercial launches safe enough for paying passengers, as opposed to the heroic pioneers who volunteered to be sat atop a bomb, and thrown through a shooting gallery. There will have to be way stations, providing prospector craft with bases to work from, places to be re-supplied from when on extended stays, the reach of mankind will INCREASE!

For a start, the abundance of raw materials, like hydrocarbons and minerals that would become available would see a massive change in the way goods and services are provided here on planet Earth. Some operations, could be taken off planet entirely, and resources could be shipped down from orbit, rather than dug up from beneath the oceans ,which as we know has placed a great deal of sea life, and indeed the life of our species in danger before now, and will likely do so again.

The new abundance of raw material will see curiosity grow about what exactly is outside our solar system that might make a rich guy more fantastically rich, and it will spawn research and development anew, into futuristic concepts like FTL, plasma sheilding, intertial dampening, and all the technologies required for prolonged exploration of deep space. There is NO reason that Mr Branson should not be allowed to go to space in his little rocket ship, because this is the first step of a proper, non government funded, civilian figure into space, and I for one am right behind this effort. Not because I think the super rich deserve it (although Mr Branson is an innovator, and personally I think hes a stand up guy), but because this will lead, by one road or another, to man colonising space, which is in my opinion, vital for the survival of our species beyond the life of our solar system, and indeed beyond the ability of the confines of our planet, to contain us.

This is the future in the making, and your nay saying is really quite a buzzkill.

reply to post by TurtleSmacker


Sure is an event of a lifetime! IMHO its up there with Sputnik or the Apollo space program. Even more so considering it opens the door to the private sectors exploration/colonisation of space! Which is how it should have logically evolved after our cold war debacle. About time!

Go for it Sir Richard!

Anyone want to speculate as to whether NBC will have a live feed or a time delay? I'm thinking time delay, just in case.

Agent008
Just a thought..

Think about this for a minute before coming to a answer.

Do we really want (rich) humans galavanting in space? Shouldn't someone more worthy of space travel be on this flight instead of a corporate shmuck? What are the motives of rich people going into space, to explore and better understand the universe for the betterment of all man kind? (Ya right) It is all about PROFIT!

Personally I hope this "Virgin" spacecraft loses it's anal virginity and the whole family gets taken aboard a alien spaceship who show them a thing or two about a thing or two....

Corporate crap is all this is. Remember that. It is not for the good of humans as a whole I promise you that. No good can come of this.

Oddly i had similar thoughts if a corporation were to say put there headquaters in space they no longer have any laws to govern them. Its the ultimate freedon to a corporation no taxes no laws to abide by.

reply to post by andy06shake


I think that this is exciting news! I just hope that all will be safe and sound. If I could afford a ticket; I know I would go on one of the flights offered.

Here is the (Virgin Galactic) website: www.virgingalactic.com... for those who are interested and want to know more about the company etc.

reply to post by andy06shake


I have heard Lady Gaga will be on board. I will not watch it just because of her. I look forward to the implications of its flight though!

I personally don't see anything wrong with celebrities and the wealthy paying for these flights, regardless of whether they are pop stars with music of dubious taste. As other posters mentioned, it may inspire further development of space projects from this and other companies.

Turning space tourism into a profitable venture is the first step, it gives the oh so unpopular corporations a reason to get the veritable human foot into the door of space exploration.

In my opinion NASA took the first step, the ISS was the second, and this is the third step, it's something every human should be proud of, regardless of who is taking it.

If I was a member of the hyper-wealthy, I would go, but I'm not jealous or spiteful of those with the means to do so, entering into the majesty of space is a victory for all humans.

superman2012
reply to post by andy06shake

 

I have heard Lady Gaga will be on board. I will not watch it just because of her. I look forward to the implications of its flight though!

I have a suggestion...why not watch this first flight...until she shows up...then shut it off...until she is gone...then switch the show back on and watch the rest of it.

I am curious...why don't you like Lady Gaga? I personally think she has a good singing voice; but I am not a big fan and do not own any of her recordings.

reply to post by caladonea


I think she does have an amazing voice, but I like my singers to be more low key, which she definitely is not.

reply to post by superman2012


So if the VSS Enterprise fails that's at least one Illuminati member down. Im sure there will be rather a few on board. LoL

I actually don't mind Lady Gaga myself and can't afford a ticket, do you think she would let me sit on her lap?

TrueBrit


My one concern with this however, is that no matter how much focus is applied to commercial human spaceflight, there must be a focus in research and development, on creating propulsion methods and spacecraft designed for faster than light travel, using some sort of space warping effect. Getting the hoi poloi into the upper atmosphere and beyond is a grand goal, and one I support, but it cannot be allowed to overshadow the importance of learning how to get out of this solar system and explore the deeper unknowns of the universe up close.

a good dream, however flesh and blood life forms will not survive in warp drives and
doubtful if they will do that anytime soon, if at all.