14 DAY TRIAL // Though heavily subsidized by NASA, the private space industry is still in its earliest days, and could easily go under if it doesn't manage to garner more interest from the general public. To avoid this, an astronomer is proposing that pop icon Justin Bieber be launched in space.
The scientist says that such a launch would definitely attract all the attention the private space industry needs. The same effect could be achieved by asking other famous movie stars, singers and entertainers to travel to low-Earth orbit.
At this point, a number of companies are working towards developing methods of conducting constant flights to the edge of space. However, since the industry is still young, seats are expensive, and only a few people can afford such a treatment.
The idea to call on celebrities in order to help kick-start the interest of the American public in suborbital flight came to Seth Shostak, who holds an appointment as a senior astronomer at the Mountain View, California-based Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute.
He made the announcement during a presentation he held at the 2012 Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference, on February 28. The astronomer explained that any and all A-list celebrities would do, Space reports.
“My suggestion is, be sure to send Justin Bieber on one of these flights early on.If there's more interest, there are more customers. If there are more customers, there's more technical development. It's a positive feedback loop, and obviously that's good,” he told attendants.
Singers Beyonce and Jay-Z have already expressed their interest in filming a video in space, from aboard a suborbital spacecraft, so trying to get them onboard with this initiative could be worth it.
At this time, what is pompously called an industry mostly consists of companies including Virgin Galactic, XCOR Aerospace, Blue Origin and Armadillo Aerospace. The former is farthest down the line in terms of progress, but it too could fail in an unfavorable economic climate.
Virgin Galactic officials announced recently that they managed to collect about 500 pre-orders for flights aboard their SpaceShipTwo spacecraft. That is an excellent start, but provides no guarantees for continued success. A ticket on the Virgin vehicle costs about $200,000.
But Virgin Galactic and XCOR have also signed contracts with various organizations and research groups, for launching scientists and their experiments to the edge of space, so one could safely assume that a market for these rides exists.
Shostak believes that having A-listers promote this industry might provide the necessary nudge to make it a permanent endeavor.