Singapore family books $1 million Virgin space flight!

[kei1309]

I am sure those could afford it, have do their part in supporting charity and helping charity.

There are a lot of things other then to boost ego with expensive splurges... In life, sometimes you need to do something insane to know that you are alive and sane. Human like to contradict their life....

Hart

but usually it's alone~

 

[Sion]

charity, giving back to the community. most of the time expensive splurges aren't necessary except to boost the ego.

Without wanting to cast doubt in your sincerity and the purity of your idealism, I believe in the goodness of every man's heart that you will donate generously big or small, now and in future.

 

[XsenseX]

Come on ... If you have excess of $150mil in cash and assets, don't tell me you won't do it if your only child begs you for it??

The thing is with this type of millionaire, you won't find many misers cause money is earned, not saved. Most of them are big risk takers.

 

[pasay]

it's a matter of proportions of finance. if you have $100 million, what's $1 million to travel in space when you have already given, say, $10 million to charity? assuming it's your hard-earned money (and not stolen money), you deserve your small moments of happiness too. it isn't much different from us (photographers) who spend on gear and travel to capture beautiful photos because it's our own little source of happiness when we click that shutter. does that mean we should all sell our gear instead for more charitable causes?

and to answer TS's question, IF i have the means and opportunity, i don't see why not.

 

[akerue]

or he could chop it off?

than he wouldnt be a he but an it....

 

[coolthought]

a family of four going for a chartered flight in a 6 seater spaceship.
Looks like he might be bringing a videographer and a photographer with them.
quick guys... prepare your space flight portfolio and show it to him...

 

[zane80]

Well done, i hope more Singaporeans can afford to do so soon, hopefully from this forum. Everyone should try to go to space at least once, that is living.

 

[Sion]

Well done, i hope more Singaporeans can afford to do so soon, hopefully from this forum. Everyone should try to go to space at least once, that is living.

I think all will eventually float to space anyway.

And it's a once-in-a-lifetime free flight to the other world. :bsmilie:

 

[ricohflex]

This commercial space flight is not up to NASA standards. It is just vapourware at this stage. They TALK about it.

Profit motive is priority here. How safe is it?

Even NASA space shuttle can explode. Another space shuttle burned on re-entry.
Apollo 1 burned.
Apollo 13 almost cannot come back.
French Ariane space rocket exploded.
Indian space rocket exploded.

Whole family flying on this?
Can wipe out the whole family.

It is not like they are orbiting the earth.
So what is the excitement?

 

[Sion]

This commercial space flight is not up to NASA standards. It is just vapourware at this stage. They TALK about it.

Profit motive is priority here. How safe is it?

Even NASA space shuttle can explode. Another space shuttle burned on re-entry.
Apollo 1 burned.
Apollo 13 almost cannot come back.
French Ariane space rocket exploded.
Indian space rocket exploded.

Whole family flying on this?
Can wipe out the whole family.

It is not like they are orbiting the earth.
So what is the excitement?

Then must find out who is the businessman and get him to put your name on the will too. :bsmilie:

 

[Sgdevilzz]

Wow 1 million.. If i have that money i would buy every single one of you a cleaning kit :bsmilie:

 

[9V-Orion Images]

That's actually US$1,000,000 to experience between three to five minutes of free fall.

Anyway an approximately 2 weeks stay aboard the ISS cost anywhere between US$20,000,000 to US$30,000,000 and so far seven people have paid for it.

 

[9V-Orion Images]

This commercial space flight is not up to NASA standards. It is just vapourware at this stage. They TALK about it.

Profit motive is priority here. How safe is it?

Even NASA space shuttle can explode. Another space shuttle burned on re-entry.
Apollo 1 burned.
Apollo 13 almost cannot come back.
French Ariane space rocket exploded.
Indian space rocket exploded.

Whole family flying on this?
Can wipe out the whole family.

It is not like they are orbiting the earth.
So what is the excitement?

The bus you take tomorrow might explode also, I suggest you walk to work.

Oh wait, you might get hit by an exploding bus while walking to work. Best to stay at home.

But then, an exploding spaceship might also crash into your house at 20,000 km/hr. Hmm...

 

[Turbonetics]

A Singaporean businessman, his wife and two children have paid $1 million to become the first Asian family to fly together on space-tourism airline Virgin Galactic, the company announced Monday.

"I had lunch yesterday with a guy who got in touch with us in Singapore, and over lunch he signed his contract for not just a seat, but for a whole flight," Virgin Galactic commercial director Stephen Attenborough said.

Speaking at an international media and marketing conference in Singapore, Attenborough said the customer handed over a cheque for $1 million and asked to remain anonymous because "apparently he hasn't told his wife yet."

"So he is going to become, or he and his family will become, the first family from Asia to become astronauts together," Attenborough said.

The US-based firm, part of British tycoon Richard Branson's Virgin conglomerate, has sold bookings since 2005 at $200,000 per seat even though it has not yet set a firm timetable for space flights to be launched from New Mexico.

Branson announced in late 2004 that the firm would launch the world's first space tourism flights in two to three years but after delays, the target has now been moved to 2013.

Attenborough told AFP in an interview that the Singaporean businessman chartered one exclusive flight for his family on the six-seat aircraft SpaceShipTwo.

The SpaceshipTwo, with two pilots, is designed to be launched by a transport plane called White KnightTwo and will be guided by a rocket motor before gliding back to Earth.

"They should be flying in the first year of commercial operations. They'll be within the first thousand human beings to have ever gone to space, or they should be," Attenborough said.

He said nine out of nearly 500 tickets sold worldwide had been bought by customers in Singapore, which has one of Asia's highest concentrations of millionaires.

Families from other countries such as Canada, the United States and Britain have also bought tickets, Attenborough said.

"About 35 to 40 percent are from the United States, 15 percent from the UK... I think there are 46 countries now represented in total and for many of those countries, the people will be the first astronaut for that country," he said.

Customers from the Asia-Pacific region now account for "approximately 15 percent" of ticket sales despite a ban on Virgin Galactic selling seats in China, the region's biggest economy.

"The space vehicle is US technology and they fall under a set of regulations in the United States which means that there are some countries where at the moment we're not permitted to sell tickets," he explained.

"I think Asia is a huge opportunity for us, absolutely. Just the interest we've had from Singapore, which is a fairly small part of Asia, I've been extremely impressed," he said.

"We have seen an increasing amount of interest from this part of the world and hopefully that will translate into lots of future astronauts."

In anticipation of burgeoning future demand for space tourism, Attenborough said Virgin Galactic had already ordered more spacecraft.

Attenborough said the company expected to take three years to recoup its investments, which he estimated at $300 million to $400 million, with one flight a week when commercial operations begin.

If everything goes smoothly, "we would hope to be flying people to space by 2013," he said.


Source


If you have all that money will you guys do it?

i wonder can DSLR be operated at such high pressure and non gravity

 

[Telsoon]

Whoaa.. it's a good experience to get to see the outer space. How i wish i am their children.... But i am afraid that the children cannot take the pressure when it depart from earth. (not sure got sure pressure a not).

 

[Fezqu]

i wonder can DSLR be operated at such high pressure and non gravity

Why not? The shutter, aperture, etc works mechanically.

hmm, i would spend the money to go to space if i have that much to spare with. Astronomy/space/Universe have always been my interest.
But this virgin flight is BS one. It don't really take you out to space, just sub-orbit. Re-entering into the atmosphere will be quite dangerous.
The weightlessness only last 6 mins. Also, even if you have the money, your health might not be able to stand the force of the flight xD

 

[David Kwok]

Why not? The shutter, aperture, etc works mechanically.

hmm, i would spend the money to go to space if i have that much to spare with. Astronomy/space/Universe have always been my interest.
But this virgin flight is BS one. It don't really take you out to space, just sub-orbit. Re-entering into the atmosphere will be quite dangerous.
The weightlessness only last 6 mins. Also, even if you have the money, your health might not be able to stand the force of the flight xD

I believe that is not a rocket, it should be a super high stratospheric flight path than render you so near to the space. If you are not going up vertically to escape gravity, your body don't need to take on that kind of extreme G force.

 

[kineticworks]

Haha.. Sion was just joking.

:nono: :nono: :nono:

[youtube]_26lMGL57rA[/youtube]

 

[kineticworks]

For those who have yet seen this clip. 4.8M page view already

Earth | Time Lapse View from Space, Fly Over | NASA, ISS
by Michael König

 

[ed9119]

i hope they bring more than a p&s or phone camera.....