Venture capital funders are looking to profit in space

At a conference held this week in Silicon Valley, space tourism entrepreneurs tried to convince capitalists to invest in these ventures

Avi Blizovsky

A prototype of a Russian spacecraft designed for space tourism

Scientists see space as the last frontier, but for business people, it represents the next industrial revolution. This is one of the dangers of a conference held this week in California by the Space Frontier Foundation.
According to participants in the conference, the big money is waiting for those who have vision and courage to invest.
At a conference in Silicon Valley, the fund reported on a series of opportunities that show that space may be a good place to make money. A report on the website SpaceBusiness.com predicts that this is an industry that will be worth 200-300 billion dollars in 2010.

In a lecture to a room full of people from venture capital funds and potential investors, it was stated that there are many applications that will be developed for space - such as communications, satellite navigation systems and broadband transmission. Other areas carry a higher risk - building missiles and remote sensing. However, the topic that was talked about the most was the future of space tourism.
The issue has been in the headlines since mid-2001, when American millionaire Dennis Tito paid the Russians to put him on the runway. Last month (May 2002) a South African billionaire returned to Earth after a trip to the International Space Station. These two private individuals ascended into space with the assistance of Space Adventures Ltd

At this point, the next man to go into space will probably be the 23-year-old pop idol Lance Bass of NSync, and he will do it with the help of the Space Frontier Foundation. The foundation's president, Rick Tomilson, says that these people have proven that the moon can one day compete with Hawaii as a dream tourist destination. . "Denis Tito is a great person, but he also admitted that he is not a candidate to be printed on a children's poster to promote space tourism."
"The best thing is that even NASA was excited about the idea of ​​Bass going to space because they realized there were millions of stupid ten-year-old girls all over the world who didn't know what space was that they would notice now."

A recent Zogby International study shows that seven percent of wealthy Americans would pay $20 million for a two-week trip into space, while 19 percent would be willing to pay $15 for a XNUMX-minute suborbital flight.

The important question is not about the details, but whether the people of the venture capital industry will be willing to pay to promote the issue. Ken Wins, the manager of a $113 million fund, claims yes. "If more and more people can fly cheaply, why won't we have civilian passengers in five years?" According to him, the technology exists. All it takes is a will.
Jack and Lee from Mythospace invests in start-up companies. He prefers the field of communications and satellites but he admits that he was fascinated by space tourism from a personal point of view. "If we talk about the next ten or 15 years, it is impossible to make money in the long term. Today there is both a financial risk and a risk to human life. Maybe in ten years this will change."
NASA says that the agency's goal is to "improve life here, take life into space and find life in space." In any case, it needs private partners for that.

Caroline Black, Director of the Office of Technology and Commercial Cooperation at NASA's Ames Center in California says: "Our part is not to do the commercial side but the scientific and technological research and development. We will always do the most serious research we can and the companies always do
will be able to examine them and find commercial uses for their results.

When South African millionaire Mark Athelworth was on the Russian spacecraft and became the second space tourist, the BBC's Space website conducted a poll asking whether the journey heralded a new era of paid space travel. And if so, how much is a ticket to space?
Athelworth paid $20 million for his trip to the International Space Station, and Dennis Tito, the first space tourist, paid a similar amount. NASA initially objected to Tito's flight saying that Hovav's presence aboard the space station could endanger the safety of the crew. NASA later withdrew its objection. Unlike Latito, Chuckleworth was allowed to roam freely on the space station.
Athelworth carried out an experiment in space growing crystals from a sample of the AIDS virus that he brought with him in a test tube. "The idea is to try how these proteins grow and help produce a drug for a disease that attacks the human immune system." saying. It should be noted that AIDS is a burning problem in his country. On the other hand, Denis Tito spent most of his time taking pictures and enjoying the view.

As mentioned, there are already some serious entrepreneurs seeking to make space tourism economically possible and widespread. One American company has announced that it is planning a space station in orbit for future tourists. Another company will offer suborbital flights until 2005, and over a thousand people have placed their names on the waiting list for a flight to the moon. However, some veteran Russian cosmonauts caution against over-enthusiasm.
"In my opinion, tourism projects are a little too early at this stage," says cosmonaut Sergey Adveev. "Tourism has its own rules. If you're not satisfied with the room, you can change it. If you don't have enough fruit at the hotel, you can go out and buy at the grocery store." All these things, which surround the field of tourism, are not available here."
Are there options for the common man to travel to space?
There have already been several competitions in which a trip to space was supposed to be the first prize for the participants. Mir-Corp and the NBC television network proposed in 2000, the Mir Destination TV show that would allow those who survive the grueling cosmonaut training to board the station themselves. Of course it is. A new competition, Space Commander, started in Germany by the Brain-Paul TV group. The company will send the winner of the competition to the International Space Station.
Another way to fly in space is at least in the wind. This is by sending segments of the DNA in a spacecraft. Finally, you can always join the elite group of astronauts and cosmonauts.

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