A FLORIDA TODAY editorial
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the changes in attitude, changes in latitude department, consider this:
At the moment, a 28-year-old South African tycoon named Mark Shuttleworth is hanging out aboard NASA's International Space Station after spending $20 million for a ride there last week aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket.
That would have been a flight of fancy a few years ago, but now the super-rich are lining up for space tourist trips, a point that will not be lost this week when experts gather in Cape Canaveral for the 39th annual Space Congress.
The four-day session, which starts today, will look down the road to what might be, including how the nation and Florida can continue to benefit from Cape Canaveral's storied launch pads.
And there things gets interesting, if highly speculative.
One presentation certain to attract interest is a 50-year plan that has been written by the Florida Space Authority, which works to bring new aerospace business to the state.
Officials predict the space shuttle fleet will continue flying at least another 20 years -- no surprise there -- but also say land should be set aside to provide a landing strip for a next-generation shuttle that would take off and land like an airplane.
No such vehicle is on the drawing board, but not ruling it out is a prudent approach that can keep Florida poised to become its base if one is eventually built. Equally smart are continuing efforts to build the International Space Research Park at Kennedy Space Center to serve as a magnet for corporations and universities to study innovative technologies.
The 50-year plan also examines space tourism, and is optimistic about launching people into space from here and luring more everyday tourists to Brevard County to watch shuttles and unmanned rockets fly.
Right now, the problem with the former is cost.
Average folks don't have the deep pockets of Shuttleworth or Dennis Tito, the American investment guru who was the first space tourist last year, so they can't afford a ticket to ride. But that might not always be the case.
If future launch vehicles drastically reduce launch costs as some predict, officials estimate the round-trip price could drop to about $10,000 and attract as many as 500,000 people eager to blastoff.
That day is far away but, officials note, there is nothing to stop them from doing more now to market launch packages to tourists who are interesting in seeing a space shot from KSC or Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
Considering the uncertainties of space exploration, there is no way to know what things will be like in 2052. But in 1952, who would have bet the farm on moon landings, space shuttles and space stations?
It never hurts to have hopes and dreams for the future, and the Space Congress always has plenty of both.
Published under license from FLORIDA TODAY. Copyright © 2002 FLORIDA TODAY. No portion of this material may be reproduced in any way without the written consent of FLORIDA TODAY.
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