Posted on 02/10/2005 2:42:50 PM PST by the_roach
People who are looking to travel into space may be required to follow a set of guidelines proposed by the U.S. Transportation Department and the Federal Aviation Administration.
The draft, written by the FAA, may ask aspiring astronauts to get a physical and sign consent forms stating they understand the risks associated with launching into space.
The FAA also suggested that operators of reusable launch vehicles inform their passengers of the safety record of the vehicle they are using, and provide safety training before the launch.
"We're not going to lose sight of safety," Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta said on Thursday during a speech to an audience of aerospace supporters attending the FAA's Commercial Space Transportation Conference in Washington, D.C.
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
Yes. The government hates competition.
"...may be required ..."
The Private Sector better get crackin' on that "teletransporting thing" then; if they can't figure out how we simply "re-materialize" into the space ships, they can't regulate us!
Go, Private Sector, Go!
To my knowledge, no one has ever had to get a physical, explicitly sign a consent form, or get safety training before flying a commercial air transport. Nor have airline companies, had to publish the safety records of each and every aircraft in their inventory.
So what's the difference here?
Bloody nannies!
What's to understand?
f=ma
Will I have to take my shoes off for a search before entering the craft?
Aren't there more immediate concerns for these guys to work on?
I'll be interested in seeing the shipping regs, if and when.
I would tell the FAA that my *aircraft* conforms to existing FAR's concerning commercial operations, and that the moment I reach 50 miles altitude (or 60, or whatever has been internationally recognized as "space"), I leave their juristiction.
ummmmm, several hundred, if not thousands, of miles per hour and a margin of safety several orders of magnitiude lower?
I mean, they told us the Shuttle would be as safe as flying on an airliner. Didn't quite work out that way. Understand, I'm a big proponent of human space flight and would go in a heartbeat on SpaceShip One or the Shuttle.
This report is actually VERY GOOD NEWS, so far as it goes. If this is all that the bureaucrats are demanding then Virgin Galactic is a big go.
By the way, how many on this thread have signed up to win a trip on Virgin Galactic? It's at http://www.boldlygo.com. It already says you have to take a physical and sign a liability waiver. I've signed up but have no doubt that if I were, by some fluke, to win the contest I'd never pass their physical in a million years.
Never , EVER, taunt a government agency with limited juristiction, they'll turn around and expand it.
Think Federal Aeronautics Administration, they' woudn't really need to change their lettterhead.
"What's to understand?
f=ma"
Just be aware of the possible lack thereof?
Always cracks me up. Officials are investigating the cause of the airplane crash. ahhhhh Gravity?
Jimmy Carter brand, of course.
I reckon if we're going to start moving folks around out there, materials will soon follow.
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