AUSTRALIA appears to have been beaten to the punch as a potential base for a space tourism industry by wealthy interests in other countries ( Read more... )

To quote Wikipedia on the VSS Enterprise, the real life vessel Virgin has made to do flights out of and into the atmosphere:

Entrepreneur Richard Branson, head of the space tourism company Virgin Galactic, offered William Shatner, the actor who portrayed Captain Kirk in the original Star Trek series, a free ride into space on the inaugural space ( Read more... )

Say hello to the world's first literal Astronut.
(Or Psychonaut if you prefer. Or Crazynaut for the Russians.)

Man the US is slow and focused too much on war.

China's practically taking the moon to do what they like, while most of the US' N.A.S.A fleet is retired/destroyed with no future replacements, nor plans besides a FAR off Mars mission.

Don't believe me? Check this out.

Earthlike planets may be common: study

So much for us being the only possible lifeform in the galaxy. The odds get smaller every year.

I was emailed today by Virgin Galactic.

MISSION UPDATE ( Read more... )