Back in January 2012 , Newt Gingrich promise the American people that , if elected , we would have a permanent moon base “ by the closing of his second term . ”
Gingrich evidently was n’t elected , but he will not rest until all those who roast his lunar ambitions are eating crow . You see , the longtime space fancier is on the board of advisors for The Golden Spike Company , a private quad travel speculation that , to begin with today , announce its programme for commercial-grade lunar distance expeditions by 2020 .
Trips bulge out at around $ 1.5 billion — which sound extortionate until you learn that the fare covers two whole tickets . wholly low-cost ! melodic phrase for Moon trips forms on the left hand !
Seriously though , a price tag like that really only build good sense once you ’ve discover that GSC ’s objective clients are n’t individuals , but government . Governments , plural form . As in , not just the United States . As in , several countries “ both Orient and west of the U.S. , ” to cite Alan Stern , co - founder of Golden Spike and former head of NASA ’s science mission board of directors ( Golden Spike is no jest — the board includes several former NASA applied scientist and aerospace experts ) . As in , Newt may just have his moonbase , yet — and it might not even be American .
From a GSC press release , publish earlier today :
On the eve of the 40th anniversary of the launching of Apollo 17 , the last human exploration of the Moon , Former Apollo Flight Director and NASA Johnson Space Center Director , Gerry Griffin , and planetary scientist and former NASA skill chief , Dr. Alan Stern , today unveiled “ The Golden Spike Company ” – the first companionship planning to offer routine geographic expedition sashay to the surface of the Moon . At the National Press Club announcement this afternoon , Dr. Stern , Golden Spike ’s President and CEO , and Mr. Griffin , chair of Golden Spike ’s control board of directors , inaugurate other members of Golden Spike ’s leadership team and detailed the company ’s intentions to make complete lunar surface expedition uncommitted by the end of the decade .
According to the release , the GSC plans to limit expense by partnering with other individual infinite flight companies and established blank tech .
“ The legerdemain is 40 years old . We know how to do this,”Stern told the Washington Post . “ The difference is now we have rocket and place abridgement in the inventory . . . . They ’re already developed . . . . We do n’t have to formulate them from a clean tack of theme . We do n’t have to embark on over . ” Today ’s press release weighs the cost of the company ’s lunar tourism package against those of exist national space programs , and aims to legalise GSC ’s line model :
This approach , capitalizing on available rocket salad and emerging commercial-grade - crowd spacecraft , dramatically let down cost to make a market for human lunar exploration . Golden Spike estimates the cost for a two - person lunar Earth’s surface mission will start at $ 1.4 billion . This price full stop enables human lunar expeditions at similar cost as what some national quad programme are already drop on robotic skill at the Moon .
Dr. Stern and Mr. Griffin described Golden Spike ’s “ head outset ” architecture that has been two years in the making and vet by teams of experts , including former space birdie commander Jeffrey Ashby , former Space Shuttle Program Manager Wayne Hale , and Peter Banks , a member of the National Academy of Engineering . It has also been accepted for publication in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics ’ ( AIAA ) Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets , a leading aerospace technical journal .
As for NASA , it ’s already given GSC its blessing . They even wrapped it in a nice endorsement for Obama — perhaps not surprising , afford that the Agency is rumour to have cleared programme with the administration to establish a manned nucleotide on the far side of the Moon . From a pen instruction by NASA spokesman David Weaver :
This type of private sector effort is further grounds of the timeliness and wisdom of the Obama Administration ’s overall infinite policy - to create an environment where commercial space companies can build upon NASA ’s past success , allowing the agency to concentre on the new challenges of sending humans to an asteroid and eventually Mars .
As the private sector shape to prepare human missions to the International Space Station and eventually the synodic month , NASA will proceed to develop novel technologies and capabilities to advance the frontier ever further into blank .
More on all this as it grow , manifestly . You ’ll find more details onGSC ’s internet site , WiredandThe Washington Post .
NASASpace
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