Private Space Flight To Dock With ISS

Since man has landed on the moon, other men have been jealous of that man.  Space is truly the final frontier, especially for us, in a country where even the deserts have been made into glitzy paradises.  Everyone wants to go to space at least once, just to experience it.  Well, we here at Chevrolet Cincinnati have some exciting news.  Commercial space travel for man just got one small step closer.

On May 7^th, SpaceX is planning to launch a rocket and capsule that will join up with the international space station.  What makes this such an important event is that SpaceX is privately owned and funded.  It was started by PayPal co-founder Elon Musk.  Back in December 2010, SpaceX was the first commercial group to send a shuttle into orbit and bring it back again.  Docking with the international space station is a far more ambitious goal.

For the average man, this is important because it is the beginnings of a true space tourism industry.  Once commercial shuttles are proven safe and reliable, there will be no reason not to sell seats.  The only real problem is that they won’t necessarily be affordable, especially not at first.

Richard Branson, member of the super-wealthy club and owner of Virgin Group, is already setting up his Virgin Galactic Company.  The company will offer commercial space flights for the somewhat brutal price of $200,000 a seat.   This is actually a significant discount compared to previous civilian paid space trips though.  Seats sold to individuals aboard Russian crafts have gone from $45 million to as high as $150 million.

Sometime in the next few decades these civilian flights will become realities.    The price will drop, slowly but surely, and the magic of being in space will be taken for granted…until decades from now our unappreciative grandkids will be coasting by Jupiter, complaining about the size of their packet of space-peanuts.