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Stephen Hawking plans space flight in 2009
iTWire ^ | 01/08/2007 | Adam Turner

Posted on 04/26/2007 8:38:05 AM PDT by gallaxyglue

Stephen Hawking plans space flight in 2009 By Adam Turner Monday, 08 January 2007 Renowned physicist Stephen Hawking is planning a zero-gravity aircraft flight this year in preparation for a venture into space in 2009. Hawking hopes to be one of the first passengers aboard British businessman Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic service, reports London's Daily Telegraph in a interview to mark Hawking's 65th birthday. Virgin Galactic is set to offer two-hour sub-orbital flights as of 2009.

Struck down with motor neuron disease in his early twenties, Hawking is wheelchair-bound and speaks with the aid of a computer. He expressed interest in a space flight last December, remarking on BBC radio that "maybe Richard Branson will help me".

Perhaps the world's best known scientist, Hawking holds Isaac Newton's chair as the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University in England. He is known for his contributions to the fields of cosmology and quantum gravity, and is author of the best seller A Brief History of Time.


TOPICS: Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: humanfuture; whatadumbass
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I agree with Hawking that man's destiny is the stars. However, I'll start a bet that Hawking won't go up, and we will never reach the stars. We've lost our path and will. We are as physically (and emotionally and mentally) destroyed as he is.
1 posted on 04/26/2007 8:38:10 AM PDT by gallaxyglue
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To: gallaxyglue

I would think that the G Force of take off would kill him....


2 posted on 04/26/2007 8:39:15 AM PDT by pinz-n-needlez (Dogwood Blossoms trickle down like Snow, bringing hope of Renewal, Redemption and Resurrection)
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To: pinz-n-needlez

My thoughts exactly...It’ll probably kill him.


3 posted on 04/26/2007 8:41:24 AM PDT by AngelesCrestHighway
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To: gallaxyglue

4 posted on 04/26/2007 8:42:03 AM PDT by PBRSTREETGANG
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To: gallaxyglue

I’ll get farther into space than Hawking ever will - once
I have my resurrection body not confined in spacetime. Too
bad Hawking with all his brilliance cannot/will not acknowledge God the creator.


5 posted on 04/26/2007 8:43:20 AM PDT by beethovenfan (If Islam is the solution, the "problem" must be freedom.)
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To: AngelesCrestHighway

I was thinking the same thing.


6 posted on 04/26/2007 8:43:34 AM PDT by Silly (http://www.sarcasmoff.com)
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To: pinz-n-needlez

Probably, but he should go for it anyway. His condition has been deteriorating lately, and if he can die doing something he’s dreamed of instead of slowly wasting away, good for him.


7 posted on 04/26/2007 8:47:05 AM PDT by lesser_satan (FRED THOMPSON '08)
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To: gallaxyglue
...and we will never reach the stars...

Not in THIS body we won't..........After Jesus returns, most definitely.........

8 posted on 04/26/2007 8:47:45 AM PDT by Red Badger (If it's consensus, it's not science. If it's science, there's no need for consensus......)
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To: beethovenfan

Actually, he HAS acknowledge God in his writings. You should read some of them before you make a statement like that!


9 posted on 04/26/2007 8:50:19 AM PDT by mother
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To: beethovenfan
Too bad Hawking with all his brilliance cannot/will not acknowledge God the creator.

I've never understood that myself.One would think that physicians,biologists,astronomers,etc would be the first ones to acknowledge the existence of God.

10 posted on 04/26/2007 8:55:21 AM PDT by Gay State Conservative ("The meaning of peace is the absence of opposition to socialism."-Karl Marx)
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To: gallaxyglue

Send him up free if he agrees to stay there.

LLS


11 posted on 04/26/2007 8:55:40 AM PDT by LibLieSlayer (Preserve America... kill terrorists... destroy dims!)
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To: LibLieSlayer
Any news on his ultra-hot nurse?

She was a sight to behold.

12 posted on 04/26/2007 8:59:06 AM PDT by -=SoylentSquirrel=-
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To: lesser_satan
"...he should go for it anyway. His condition has been deteriorating lately, and if he can die doing something he’s dreamed of instead of slowly wasting away, good for him"

I agree completely.

A few years ago, I was on a 'look up your old friends' kick and stumbled across the street address for the doctor that delivered me MANY moons ago, still listed in his name.

I called the number, his wife answered, I told her why I was calling, and she thanked me for thinking of them, said she was sorry to tell me that her husband had died in '98 while scuba diving off the coast of Mexico, suffered a heart attack and went very quickly.

He was 90.

I'm glad he went doing something he enjoyed.
13 posted on 04/26/2007 9:00:29 AM PDT by mkjessup (Jan 20, 2009 - "We Don't Know. Where Rudy Went. Just Glad He's Not. The President. Burma Shave.")
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To: beethovenfan

So, heaven is out there huh...beyond the stars. Brilliant! It looks like you are already way out there.


14 posted on 04/26/2007 9:03:05 AM PDT by USMMA_83 (Tantra is my fetish ;))
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To: Gay State Conservative
"One would think that physicians,biologists,astronomers,etc would be the first ones to acknowledge the existence of God."

There is an arrogance that runs through some veins of academia; particularly in some of the sciences. 600 years ago, many were certain that the earth was flat, the center of the universe, and an eclipse was the result of a dragon consuming the sun.

600 years from now, much of our conventional thinking and accepted "knowledge" will seem every bit as ridiculous, despite science's current convictions about the nature of things.

15 posted on 04/26/2007 9:04:14 AM PDT by Joe 6-pack
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To: LibLieSlayer

Why the venom in your heart for this man?


16 posted on 04/26/2007 9:06:17 AM PDT by USMMA_83 (Tantra is my fetish ;))
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To: pinz-n-needlez

In the U.S., these “commercial astronauts” are run through vigorous tests to certify they are medically able to fly, including being run in the human centrifuge. They are also fitted with Anti-G suits. However, as in the case of Charles Simonyi, if you fail the tests you can always go to the Russians, who will send you up anyway as long as you fork out the big bucks.


17 posted on 04/26/2007 9:08:19 AM PDT by ravingnutter
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To: PBRSTREETGANG

BOOM SHAKA-LAKA-LAKA BOOM SHAKA-LAKA-LAKA BOOM SHAKA-LAKA-LAKA BOOM


18 posted on 04/26/2007 9:09:40 AM PDT by B-Chan (Catholic. Monarchist. Texan. Any questions?)
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To: gallaxyglue
Struck down with motor neuron disease in his early twenties

In the US, this ailment is better known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or Charcot's disease. It is usually fatal about five years after its onset, but Hawkings has had it for about four decades.

19 posted on 04/26/2007 9:09:56 AM PDT by Fiji Hill
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To: ravingnutter

That’s what I was thinking.

Remember all the testing and training that they show in The Right Stuff (and Space Cowboys, lol)? How on earth could Hawkings’ body survive all of that?

I do recall that NASA accepted John Glenn for a second trip, but that was paid for by a different currency. What *is* the current exchange rate for souls? :-/


20 posted on 04/26/2007 9:13:24 AM PDT by pinz-n-needlez (Dogwood Blossoms trickle down like Snow, bringing hope of Renewal, Redemption and Resurrection)
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