Kosminen Woodstock 2

"SpaceShipOne, Government Zero"

Mitä teki Mike Melvill avaruudessa? Veti taskustaan kourallisen M&M-karkkeja ja katsoi kun ne leijuivat painottomuudessa.

Burt Rutan kommentoi: “We have redefined space travel as we know it -- It can be done by a small company operating with limited resources and a few dozen dedicated employees.”

SpaceShipOnen rahoittajana toimii miljardööri-scifinörtti Paul G. Allen – mies, joka oli perustamassa Microsoftia Bill Gatesin kanssa, ja jonka nykyinen Vulcan-yhtiö on mm. Science Fiction Museumin, Flipstart PC:n, BrainAtlaksen ja Project Halon takana. Lisäksi Allen rahoittaa SETI-projektia. Jos itse olisin miljardööri, niin sijoittaisin rahojani suunnilleen samansuuntaisiin kehitelmiin.

How SpaceShipOne Works


One of the interesting things to me about our spaceship is that it is a mechanical vehicle, just as is an automobile. If you own an automobile, you realize that you must put oil and gas into it, and you must put water in the radiator and take care of the car as a whole. You begin to develop quite a little thermodynamic sense. You know that you’re either going to have to keep the machine in good order or it’s going to be in trouble and fail to function. We have not been seeing our Spaceship Earth as an integrally-designed machine which to be persistently successful must be comprehended and serviced in total.
- R. Buckminster Fuller, Operating Manual For Spaceship Earth