Goldin: spaceflight is for “highly trained professionals”

An article in The Sunday Telegraph about Virgin Galactic and space tourism scores something of a coup: a quote from former NASA administrator Dan Goldin, who rarely talks to the press. Under Goldin’s leadership, as many readers may recall, NASA was staunchly opposed to the flight of Dennis Tito, the first space tourist to visit the ISS. It appears that Goldin’s opinion towards space tourism hasn’t softened in the intervening years:

“Space Shuttle crews work on the presumption that there is a 1-in-250 probability of them not making it back,” says Dan Goldin, a retired Nasa administrator. “That compares with 1-in-2,000,000 for commercial airline operations. This is serious stuff and should be reserved for highly trained professionals. It isn’t Disneyland.”

Goldin’s statement, though, is based on the assumption that suborbital space tourism vehicles will be no more reliable than the shuttle, something that vehicle developers, most notably Burt Rutan, would not agree with: Rutan has publicly stated that his vehicles will be far safer than existing spacecraft, and comparable early airliners from the late 1920s and 1930s.

A couple of people who signed up for Virgin Galactic flights, though, don’t seem deterred by the risks. “It’s an addiction, pal” said Bill Cullen. “I’ve got to go. My wife’s not happy. Partly because there’s no life insurance for this trip. Forget it. We’re on our own.” Richard Burr: “It’s a boy thing. When you’re a kid you want to be either a rock star or an astronaut. This is my big chance.” Presumably not to be a rock star.

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