Space tourists are not rocket scientists and might be super sized
May 27, 2005 12: 07 EST
Earlier this month, Space.com had a chat with Jane Reifert, President of Incredible Adventures, Inc the Florida-based company that offers programs giving astronaut-wannabes a chance to get to space.
“For a long time, I resisted attending the space conferences and sharing my knowledge of adventure travelers,” Jane told the website. “But I now worry that if I don’t speak up, expensive mistakes will be made that will grind the space tourism industry to a halt before it gets off the ground.” The Great engineers out there working on the first generation of space tourism vehicles are not necessarily in tune with the passengers they are building for, she says.
So she wants to point out a few things about the future space clients, and the funny thing is, that this could well be a blue print of a commercial Everest expedition leader's advice on clients:
1) They aren’t rocket scientists.
2) They may be “super-sized”.
3) They won’t really care where you put your spaceport.
4) They shouldn’t be expected to meet stringent physical requirements.
5) They don’t like surprises and expect perfection.
6) They aren’t overly concerned with price or safety.
7) They’re short on time.
8) They’ll likely be men over 50.
9) They will come from around the globe.
10) They’re nothing like the tourists that show up at Disney parks.
Incredible Adventures was started by an American businessman who was in Moscow recruiting programmers for his software company. He was offered a ride in a MIG aircraft and was hooked. He returned to Florida and started “MIGS, etc” in 1993. “For the first time ever, you could pull out your credit card and buy a flight in a high-performance military jet,” the website says.
The company grew and was bought by a venture capitalist. It was then expanded into a full-fledged adventure travel company offering many unique programs. “Today, Incredible Adventures offers fighter jet flights in four countries, space adventures at Star City, three different great white shark dives, military adventures around the world, and more”.
|
|
Feature Stories |
|
Latest News |
more news |
 |
ExWeb updated expeditions list - Space!
Full Story
|
 |
Titan: Rain fall, methane rivers, volcanoes spewing ice
Full Story
|
 |
Life in Space - leaving Eden in search for Paradise
Full Story
|
 |
ET coming closer: Suns like ours spotted with planetary debris dis
Full Story
|
 |
The Wow signal - listen up!
Full Story
|
 |
Mars Society: Looking for a few good Martians - that's YOU buddy!
Full Story
|
 |
The Space Frontier Foundation
Full Story
|
|
|
| Discovery Returns to the Vehicle Assembly Building May 31, 2005 | | ExplorersWeb Week in Review May 30, 2005 | | Space tourists are not rocket scientists and might be super sized May 27, 2005 | | Olsen back to Space? May 26, 2005 | | "Robonauts" to help humans in space May 25, 2005 | | Interstellar exploration: Voyager enters the solar system's final frontier May 24, 2005 | | Russia plans manned mission to Mars, but money first May 23, 2005 | | ExplorersWeb Week in Review May 22, 2005 | | Rutan under-whelmed by NASA May 20, 2005 | | Space flight price wars May 19, 2005 |
| | NASA launches new explorer schools May 18, 2005 |
|
|
