When I was growing up in the 1950s, virtually every one of my elementary school classmates knew who Orville and Wilbur Wright were and what they accomplished. A decade later, after astronaut Neil Armstrong stepped foot on the Moon in 1969, I think it’s safe to say he became the most famous person on Earth.
Now that Sir Richard Branson and his team have become the first civilians to successfully fly into space, the world is on the cusp of another breakthrough for humankind. The plane that the Wright Brothers built in 1903 flew a mere 120 feet. Sixty-six years later, Apollo 11 flew 238,900 miles before it reached the Moon. Thanks to Branson’s historic 50-mile high flight on Sunday, I predict the trajectory of commercial space travel is going to prove limitless.
I wonder who will be the first private citizen here in Laguna to fly into space?
Denny Freidenrich, Laguna Beach
I can think of a LB private citizen but Bezos and Branson built Carnival rides, private citizen will need a much bigger rocket.
Space Carnivals for the ultra-rich is bad news for the climate:
“For one long-haul plane flight it’s one to three tons of carbon dioxide [per passenger],” says Marais. For one rocket launch 200-300 tonnes of carbon dioxide are split between 4 or so passengers, according to Marais.” -theGuardian
“https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/jul/19/billionaires-space-tourism-environment-emissions