Re: starship-design: Tourism

[KellySt@aol.com]

In a message dated 1/28/02 9:33:06 PM, jakesmiley@netzero.net writes:

>Hello...
>
>
>
>    Unfortunately for space tourism, even a single scare will crush the
>
>industry.  For years the general populace has been subjected to numerous
>
>sci-fi flicks where large numbers of people die violently in a systems
>
>failure.  So, despite the safety of space-travel and redundancy there will
>
>always remain that terrible doubt.
>
>
>
>    Even if nothing ever happened, all it would take is a small drop in
>
>oxygen levels one day and pretty soon you'd have a hard time finding anyone
>
>willing to pay the fare.  They'd start thinking about the Challenger or
>the
>
>Apollo fire.  

I wouldn't worry about it.  Ever survey shows lots of folks want to go, and 
plan crash statistics doesn't put long distence tourism out of busness.

Tourisms about the only industry around with the big enough identified profit 
potential, to bankroll large scall space ops.



>    Think about what's happening to tourism all over the world recently.
> It doesn't take much to upset 'business as usual'.  

A war is much.





>    Also, what would happen when the glamour left space-travel?  People
>will eventually realize that it's all just a bunch of stinky space-suits and
>cramped cabins.  

It doesn't need to be.  By that measure Las Vegas must be a fad.  People will 
realize its just hot deasert and hotel rooms.

;)



>The QE2 is a lot more comfortable, and cheaper too.  

And how many other liners ply the seas?





>    Okay, on computers...  Sure, if you need really fast computing
>
>distributed is only a pain.  However, when was the last time you seriously
>
>needed a 2GHz chip?  Most people don't.  

True, but they all by them anyway, since the cost difference between a 2 GHz 
chip, and a 20MHz chip is miniman, and in general manufacturers don't bother 
to make the older slower chips, so they actually cost more.





>    Cables?  Isn't a space station wired anyway?  

Not for that much band width!



>Hey, you could always go wireless!  

Again, not enough bandwidth.