Saturn
:: welcome to ...all these worlds... :: bloghome | contact ::
[::..about this blog..::]
"...all these worlds..." is a blog by David Hitt. It covers space exploration, decent science fiction, humor (by its very nature), and whatever else I happen to find cool. (Formerly "You Must Fight The Bear")

[::..poll..::]
From which upcoming space probe destination are you most interested in the results?

View the results
Hosted by WebEnalysis
[::..launch countdown..::]

[::..dave online..::]
:: hatbag.net [>]
:: hatbag.net store [>]
:: NASAexplores [>]

[::..me at a glance..::]
:: NASA [>]
:: Apple [>]
:: Ole Miss [>]
:: Southside Baptist [>]
:: Star Wars [>]
:: Libertarian Party [>]
:: X Prize [>]
:: National Space Society [>]

[::..space news..::]
:: NASA Watch [>]
:: Spaceflight Now [>]
:: Space.com [>]
:: Spaceref [>]
:: collectSPACE [>]
:: Space Politics [>]
:: Martian Soil [>]
:: Space Daily [>]
:: Cosmic Log [>]

[::..science@NASA..::]

[::..other blogs..::]
:: Nik's Blog [>]
:: Joe's Blog [>]
:: Joe's Music [>]
:: Jordan's Blog [>]
:: Rebecca's Blog [>]
:: DeeDee's Blog [>]
:: BeaucoupKevin [>]
:: Dave Barry's Blog [>]

[::..reading..::]

Reading

[::..watching..::]

Watching

[::..listening..::]

listening

[::..aerospace events..::]
::Aug.11::
:: Progress 15P launch
::Aug. 12::
:: Perseid meteor shower peak
::Sept. 8::
:: Genesis solar wind sample return
::Sept. 10::
:: Delta 4 Heavy test launch
::Sept. 29::
:: SS1 X Prize Attempt
::Oct. 2::
:: Wild Fire X Prize Attempt
::Oct. 4::
:: SS1 X Prize Attempt
::Oct. 9::
:: Expedition 10 launch
::Oct. 18::
:: DART orbiter launch
::Oct. 19::
:: Expedition 9 lands
::Dec. 25::
:: Huygens Probe Release
::Dec. 30::
:: Deep Impact launch
::Jan. 14 '05::
:: Huygens descent to Titan
::NET March 6 '05::
:: STS-114 launch
::April '05::
:: ISS Crew Exchange
::NET May '05::
:: STS-121 launch
::August 10 '05::
:: Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

[::..release dates..::]
::Aug. 13::
:: Alien Vs. Predator M
::Sept. 7::
:: ST: Generations CE DVD
:: Clerks 10th Anniv. DVD
:: Jersey Girl (1st) DVD
::Sept. 10::
:: Enterprise premiere TV
::Sept. 17::
:: Sky Captain... M
::Sept. 21::
:: Star Wars Trilogy DVD
::Sept. 22::
:: Smallville premiere TV
::Nov. 5::
:: The Incredibles M
::Nov. 9::
:: Gone With The Wind DVD
::Nov. 16::
:: Buck Rogers DVD
::Dec. 7::
:: Mary Poppins DVD
::May 19, 2005::
:: Star Wars: Episode III M

[::..space voyagers..::]
As of today, a total of 434 people have flown into space.
Latest: Mike Melvill

[::..entertainment..::]
:: Hitchhiker's Guide [>]
:: Ain't It Cool News [>]
:: DVDFile.com [>]
:: VideoETA [>]
:: DVDanswers [>]
[::..comic books..::]
:: comiccompany.com [>]
:: NEWSarama [>]
[::..comic strips..::]
:: Arlo & Janis [>]
:: More Arlo & Janis [>]
:: Mr. Lowe [>]
:: Marshall Ramsey [>]
:: Lucky Cow [>]
[::..Mac stuff..::]
:: Cult of Mac [>]
:: MacNN.com [>]
[::..other links..::]
:: Engrish.com [>]
:: carbwire [>]
:: The Onion [>]
:: Jabberwacky [>]
:: Strong Bad e-mail [>]
[::..tutor's kitty kam..::]
Kitty Kam

[::..my profile..::]

Name: David Hitt
About Me: Inspiring the next generation of explorers...
See my complete profile

[::..disclaimer..::]
The opinions expressed on this page are those of the author, and very likely no one else.

[::..archive..::]

:: Thursday, August 12, 2004 ::

True Private Spaceflight 

armadilloWhile this blog is getting carried away with X Prize fever, here's a little something else to dream about: the day when individuals could own their own personal spacecraft.
Alan Boyle interviewed Armadillo Aerospace and Doom mastermind John Carmack about the future of the Black Armadillo program after the weekend crash, and among the interesting things that Carmack had to say, this stood out:
"$35,000 is basically what the vehicle cost. The new one will probably be closer to $40,000, because we are doing more custom machining and using some more expensive materials. ... If we built two identical ones at the same time, cost would go down a little, probably 15 percent, and labor for the second one would probably be cut in half."
Now, granted, this is for an unmanned prototype, and, granted, this doesn't cover launch costs, but consider that there are people willing to pay $100,000 for a suborbital flight. Is it too hard to imagine that within a couple of decades the cost for an assembly-line personal spacecraft would fall low enough that there would be people willing to pay it?


:: back to blog front page ::

Feedback by backBlog This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours? Hitt count since 6 Aug. 03: