Rocket plane reaches Earth's atmosphere in private space flight

Originally posted by jaguar
That's at best a tiny market though and as soon as a couple cark it it'll put a fair dent.

Not hardly. The baby boomers are a fairly large bunch, and most of us have no intention of carking for at least another 30 years. :p

[jaguar]

Even so, people near retirement age aren't the wisest choices for space travel, the risks are high and the pressures on the body huge, sooner or later someone will cark it, whether it be heart attack or rocket failure.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally posted by smoothmoniker
it'll be tourism money that drives the first wave, I'm thinking.

Think about it - the most active tourism class are those in their 50's and older. Most multi-millionaires are in their 50's and older. How old were they when the moon landing happened? 10, sitting cross-legged on the floor before the TV, dreaming that someday they'd be able to go into space.

-sm

What? I'd been married 5 years when they landed and I'm still in my 50's. Not a millionaire though.