Thaindian News

Washington, June 6 (ANI): For those who feel that the Earth is too small a place to live, a company has started building ’space-pads’ - not just that - it will arrange a taxi for you to get there too.

“We’re coming closer than ever before to having a space transportation system,” Discovery News quoted Mike Gold, chief counsel for Nevada-based Bigelow Aerospace, as saying.

The company launched its first prototype inflatable spacecraft into orbit in July 2006 and its second a year later. And the test launch of Space Exploration Technologies’ Falcon 9 rocket may arrange private space taxi service to such privately owned inflatable habitats.

Both ships, called Genesis 1 and Genesis 2, remain operational.

“If anything, the Genesis program was too successful. We thought it would take longer to demonstrate our technology,” Gold said.

Bigelow is now actively selling space aboard Sundancer, its first planned operational outpost, which is scheduled to be launched by SpaceX in 2014. By then, SpaceX and other firms, including Boeing, which is working with Bigelow, could be in the space taxi business.

“Commercial space is the only way forward. If we go with super-expensive government development, in the absence of some massive increase in the space budget, we will never do anything interesting in space. It’s not a path forward. It’s the only path forward.

“Access to microgravity can and will be the next step in humanity’s technological evolution,” added Gold.

“Microgravity, like the Internet, impacts every single endeavor.” (ANI)