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10A080
Watch This Space
by Jim Davies, 11/21/2010
A couple of extraterrestrial items hit the news last week; a previously un-noticed planet wandered into view, and Space Ship Two glided to a successful landing as part of its test program. Neither did so with aid from any government. The planet apparently got hijacked by the Milky Way six to nine billion years ago, and spins some 2,000 light years from us today. Its trip reminds us of the awesome universe that is ours to understand and explore, but it was the glide that most peeked my interest.
I love the sign that someone made after Space Ship One completed its first flight, and wish them very well. |
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Space Ship Two has a history. It predecessor made the
first-ever space flight funded by money provided without
extortion, in 2004 after development by Scaled
Composites, a company led by Burt Rutan and capitalized by a few
individuals like Sir 
The company is developing the exploration of space in gradual
stages, using capital provided voluntarily and with the objective
of turning a profit in due course. It's unusual in that the
payback cycle is very long and the capital requirement very
large, but this is exactly the way it ought to be done - yet it's
never been done before. All other space programs worldwide are
funded with stolen money and the purpose of boosting national
(ie, government) prestige and spinning off technology whose prime
purpose is to kill people. Scaled Composites plans to sell seats on
its flights, for fun - first, orbital flights and later, ones to the Moon
and beyond. Although surrounded by government restrictions, this
is a fine example of free capitalism and a foretaste of mankind's
exploration of the Universe after the age of government has
passed. 
