Space Cynics

(Note: this is a guest post from a sometime cynic, sometimes tragic…)

Nosy Reporter encounters leading Space Cynic and other cautious Advocates of the spacefaring thing at Space Investment Summit 3:

Space entrepreneurs launch ideas at investors

Rocket racers and other concepts are received as mere flights of fancy.

By John Johnson Jr., Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
December 10, 2007

Such blue-sky imaginings drove investor Shubber Ali crazy.

“They’re smoking crack,” said Ali

I often have emails forwarded to me by friends who are members of discussion groups which I have not been invited to because I am, perhaps, a bit too pragmatic for the kool-aid being served… a recent email which found it’s way to my inbox had an interesting quote/forecast buried in it which I thought I would bring to light, for obvious reasons.

Apparently, in 2004, Burt Rutan made the following predictions:

1) Within 5 years 3,000 tourists will have been to space.
2) Within 15 years sub-orbital tourism will be affordable, and 50,000
people will have flown.
3) Within 15 years the first, expensive orbital tourist flights will
have happened.
4) Within 25 years orbital tourism will be affordable.

Regarding item #1 - with only 385 shopping days until Jan 1, 2009, that’s not looking so promising.

Or, to take a line from one of my favorite books, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe:

Max Quordlepleen: And lastly, a party of devout believers from the Church of the Second Coming of the Great Prophet Zarquon. Still waiting for the Second Coming? Well, fellows, let’s hope he hurries. He’s got eight minutes left. (Laughter) No, but seriously, no offense meant. I know one shouldn’t make fun of deeply-held beliefs. So, I think, a great big hand for the Great Prophet Zarquon (applause) - wherever he’s got to.

One of my fellow honorary Cynics pointed me to a blog which mentioned some pretty esoteric, but funny, morale patches that have surfaced in the US military from time to time. For example, the “Death Wears Bunny Slippers” patch for the Nuclear Missile Combat Crew.

Well, the patch above - for the Joint Space Operations Center - is OUTSTANDING. As such, the Cynic would LOVE to get one of these - so the call is being put out to all readers (friend and foe) to see if any of you, or someone you know, or someone they know, has or can get one of these for me. If so, you will be made an honorary Cynic and we might even be able to send you a special present dug from the archives of space things gone by…

Operators are standing by.