Amended bill said to carry ‘poison pill’ for spaceflight
Just days after SpaceShipOne's prize-winning flight opened the world's eyes to the prospect for private spaceflight, legislation that might have opened the way for paying passengers to get on board has sunk into a congressional black hole — at the urging of space entrepreneurs who were once its biggest supporters.
Those one-time boosters say the compromise version that emerged Thursday from a House-Senate "preconference" would actually kill off private spaceflight by holding the industry to an unmeetable safety standard for passengers and crew members.
+ Read Article (MSNBC)
Leave it to Congress to screw it up, right?
I think it's a simple thing. If you are a passenger, you are taking your life in your own hands at a certain point. As long as measures are taken to protect lives on the ground (and they are) the government should be VERY conservative in their approach to space travel regulation.
Posted by: Rick Boyett at October 9, 2024 10:25 PMWhile the legislation has taken a small detour it still has not dampened the spirit of the xprize or of those would be investors or wanta be astronauts.
Unexpected results from SpaceShipOne, One of the elements that a prize does is that it gives people permission to take risks is that the sky is the limit.
Quote
The X Prize Foundation and the World Technology Network announced today the formation of a joint venture to launch a series of technology incentive prizes to help spur innovation and breakthroughs in a range of scientific arenas.
Sort of like the centenial prizes of Nasa.
http://www.space.com/news/new_xprize_041007.html
Posted by: Harold LaValley at October 11, 2024 04:47 AM