Virgin Galactic first flight

An amazing image.  Space flight for sort-of-ordinary folks ($200,000!)  But remember that in the thirties, a 3 minute phone call from Australia to London cost a month's wages.  Now it costs an hour's wage.  Before WW1, a transatlantic ship passage cost more than a year's wages for a working class person.  Even in the early 60s, a plane ticket from Australia to London was several months' salary even for the middle class.  Now it costs less than one month's salary.  Costs will fall fast.  Space travel, at least orbiting the Earth, will become normal.

Here's a photo of its test flight.  Click on it to get a much bigger picture. There's a related post here.

Space shuttle

This pic of an imaginary space shuttle, with engines for the atmosphere and a rocket for low space entry.

Not so unlikely.  Virgin Galactic will shortly start flying wealthy torurists into space.  Admittedly not for more than a few minutes at a time.  But space.  Really and truly. And remember, before the first World War, a transatlantic ship passage cost more than the average annual income of people in the richest country in the world, Great Britain.  The $200,000 cost of a trip on the Virgin Atlantic One is a few times larger than average GDP of the rich countries.  But like chips and solar power, its cost will fall fast.  I won't travel in space (and from a boy I hoped I would) but my kids will.

I must get back to writing my SF novel, Gift of Dragons.

Sigh.