Virgin Galactic and NASA launch a new program to train private astronauts:
Virgin Galactic announced it has signed a deal with NASA to develop a "private orbital astronaut readiness program" that trains and supports private astronauts for missions to the International Space Station.
The background: Last year NASA announced it was accepting bids from private companies for missions to the space station, both as a tourist destination and to use its resources and the microgravity environment to run different kinds of science and tech experiments. However, it's never been quite clear exactly how these companies are supposed to train their own astronauts and provide the sort of logistical support and resources necessary to pull off a crewed mission in orbit.
The new deal: Under the new agreement, Virgin Galactic will act like something of a middleman that helps interested parties (private companies, tourists, research institutions) go to the ISS for short-duration missions. Its services will include identifying potential customers, arranging private astronaut training, procuring the launch vehicles needed to launch these customers into space, and providing on-the-ground and in-orbit support for these missions.
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(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 25 2020, @11:33AM (1 child)
Is this where you sign up to be a Space cowboy?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 25 2020, @02:55PM
This is the new douchebag badge for bored movie stars who have ticked the flyby-of-a-humanitarian-disaster-zone-in-my-private-jumbo-jet box.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 25 2020, @11:59AM (1 child)
As a self-identified Black businesswoman, I'm surprised that NASA gave a contract to a company run by a white male without exploring whether it would be possible to obtain government grants to subsidize Black-owned businesses to offer these services.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 25 2020, @01:03PM
But you can't have black people in space, they will be so hard to spot against the blackness of the galaxy. They could escape!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 25 2020, @04:32PM
To qualify for the "private orbital astronaut readiness program":
1) Must be black
2) Must have breasts
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 25 2020, @05:56PM
Virgin Astronauts?
The new Tom Cruise movie would like to order 17 please