Space Future has been on something of a hiatus of late. With the concept of Space Tourism steadily increasing in acceptance, and the advances of commercial space, much of our purpose could be said to be achieved. But this industry is still nascent, and there's much to do. So...watch this space.
Space Future has expanded to a new website: Space Future Japan. On the Web at http://www.spacefuturejapan.com/ or http://www.uchumirai.com/, Space Future Japan will provide unique content in the Japanese language, aimed at the over 127 million people who live in Japan. (‘Uchumirai’ is ‘Space Future’ in Japanese).
Armadillo and Space Transport Corporation suffer setbacks
According to an Armadillo Aerospacepress release, their vehicle went higher than desired, then ran out of propellant. "$35,000 of rocket is now a whole lot of primo Armadillo Droppings," says the press release.
For the first time since the Paris conference in 1991, an international conference on space solar power is being held in Europe, sponsored primarily by the European Space Agency, ESA.
Space Adventures, Ltd., the world's leading space experiences company, announced today the results of an informal survey of the over 100 people who have paid deposits to fly on a suborbital vehicle.
The Civilian Space Exploration team, an amateur group of rocket enthusiasts, built a rocket that reached the edges of space on May 17, 2004. The GoFast did not carry passengers, yet this speaks well for space tourism: if a group of amateurs can send an unpiloted rocket into space, how hard can suborbital tourism be? Combined with the latest SS1 flight, how can anyone say space travel and tourism isn't possible?