Katy Perry Sends Russel Brand Out of This World

You won't often find a story about Katy Perry and Russell Brand in a column about space exploration, but in this case, I'll make an exception. The reason is that Katy Perry has purchased a seat for comedian Russell Brand on Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic passenger spacecraft. According to E! Online, she paid the standard $200,000 fee for Russell, but decided against accompanying him herself. Which brings up the interesting possibility that now, instead of just wishing one could send their spouse on a trip into outer space, it can actually be done, although all such voyages are to be round-trip.

Virgin Galactic Flight Details

Branson's goal with Virgin Galactic is to provide a comparatively low cost means for people to experience the thrill of venturing into outer space, according to the Virgin Galactic website. Passengers will undergo several days of training and preparation before their flight, which will carry them approximately 365,000 feet above the surface of the Earth. They will experience about five minutes of weightlessness at the apex of the flight.

The Privatization of Space Travel

The preliminary success of Virgin Galactic bodes well for the future of privately funded and operated space travel. The next chapter in the ongoing story of mankind's exploration of space of space will feature private industry picking up the gauntlet. The technology has advanced to the point where it no longer requires resources that can only be marshaled by a large government to put a spacecraft into orbit. The expertise and materials are available and affordable for private industry. All that remains is for them to monetize space travel.

Making Space travel Accessible for the Masses

Virgin Galactic and a few others believe that the demand for space tourism will pay for the investment in developing commercial space vehicles. While $200,000 per ticket is beyond the reach of most private citizens, it is certainly much closer than the $35 million dollar price tag reported by Space.com that some space tourists have paid to ride along with Russian cosmonauts to the International Space Station. Over time, the price will continue to come down, making space more accessible for humanity.

Lunar Space Colonies

I expect that permanent colonies will be established on the moon in my lifetime, though they will certainly be dependent upon the Earth for resources for quite some time. Whether those colonies will be the private villas of celebrities like Katy Perry and Russell Brand or will serve more serious purposes remains to be seen.

Sources:
Moskowitz, Clara. Space Clown to Lighten Mood in Orbit. Space.com. Retrieved from www.space.com/missionlaunches/090928-laliberte-space-clown.html on July 31, 2010.

Gibson, Cristina and Rosenbaum, Claudia. Katy Perry Sending Russell Brand to Outer Space. E! Online. July 30, 2010. Retrieved from www.eonline.com/uberblog/hwood_party_girl/b193040_katy_perry_sending_russell_brand_outer.html on July 31, 2010.

Virgin Galactic. Retrieved from www.virginglactic.com on July 31, 2010.