A company in the Isle of Man is offering travellers a chance to go - into space.
The trips to the moon and beyond will take place using a Russian space ship - but for a very hefty price.
If you ever have £100 million to throw around, one British company is offering up the chance for you to throw it their way in return for a trip to the moon.
Excalibur Almaz is offering up a 500,000-mile round trip ticket to the moon on a converted Soviet-era space station.
Art Dula, founder and chief executive of the company, said in a space tourism meeting in London that they are ready to sell tickets, with flights taking place as early as 2015.
Although being rich is the most important qualification to dish out the £100 million, participants must also pass the necessary level of physical and mental fitness.
The Soviet “Almaz” space stations were designed for orbital spying operations, and are being converted by the company for the travel.
Excalibur Almaz is attaching thrusters to the station to convert them into long-distance spaceships. Four re-entry capsules will ferry three people at a time to the space station and return them to Earth.
All of the space vehicles are being housed in hangers on the Isle of Man, while one of the re-usable return vehicles (RRV) is being exhibited outside the Queen Elizabeth II conference center in London.
If everything goes according to plan, the British company will be the first to carry out a manned moon mission since Apollo 17 in 1972.
The goal is for three people to fly to the moon, orbit the surface, and then safely return back to Earth, parachuting to the ground in an RRV.
Most of the flying will be controlled by a computer, but a human pilot for the spacecraft will still be provided for the tourists.
Dula said that around 30 moon-mission seats could be taken up between 2015 and 2025, making enough trips for one mission a year.
“Excalibur Almaz is willing and able to send crewed missions deeper into space than would be possible aboard any other spacecraft in existence today,” said Mr Dula. “Our fleet of space stations and re-entry capsules enables us to safely fly members of the public to moon orbit as early as 2015.”
He said there is no single vessel, whether owned by a government or private sector, that is suitable for a manned flight to the Moon, utilizing proven technologies.
“The EA fleet has previously flown to space several times and will undertake many more missions,” he told the space tourism meeting attendees. “It contains vessels of a design that has spent thousands of hours in space successfully. This is scientific fact, not fiction.”
The company will be sending the Almaz space station up into orbit by using a giant Russian Proton rocket. The other space station will be kept in reserve on the ground.
The space station has about 3,200 cubic feet of living space, and also provides a “refuge” where crew members can take shelter in the event of a solar radiation storm.
Dula chose the Isle of Man to host its space vehicles to take advantage of tax benefits, and because it has become a hub of space industry. Of the 54 international space satellites companies, 30 are located on the island.
He said that he doesn’t just envision trips being taken to the moon, but unmanned research missions, transportation of people and cargo, and chartered space exploration flights to be future endeavors by the company.
“This is a paradigm shift,” Dula told the meeting. “Whether we do it or somebody else does it, it’s never going to go back to being national space programs.”
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Showing posts with label Bucket list Ideas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bucket list Ideas. Show all posts
Tuesday, 17 July 2012
Friday, 22 June 2012
Monastery makes pitch for the 'gap year' market
It might not quite offer the hedonism of Goa or Phuket but a traditional Roman Catholic monastery is making an unexpected move into the gap year market.
Quarr Abbey on the Isle of Wight is advertising its first “monastic internships”, offering young people a taste of life in a Benedictine community.
There will be no all-night beach parties or Himalayan treks to help them “find” themselves – just plenty of prayer and reflection.
The four successful candidates will receive board, lodgings and spiritual guidance in return for at least four hours work a day every day - except Sunday – cooking, growing food in the Abbey gardens, looking after cattle, pigs and bees or binding books.
They will live by the Benedictine traditions, rising before 5am each day to wash from a bowl in their cell before making their way for Vigils at 5.30am – the first of seven services throughout the day.
The Abbey has a long tradition of hospitality to visitors but the two month placement, which is open to young men aged 18 to 25, is the first extended stay of its kind.
“It’s like a gap year experience and laying a spiritual foundation,” Father Luke Bell, who is organising the scheme, told The Catholic Herald.
“It is very much a monastic tradition for guests to stay in a monastery but it’s normally a week or two in the spiritual programme.
“People are actually working in the rule of St Benedict.”
The Abbey traces its origins to the early 12th Century when the Cistercian house of Our Lady and St John was founded.
Left in ruins after Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries it was refounded at the turn of the 20th Century to house a French Benedictine community who were living in exile on the Isle of Wight.
When not at prayer its current inhabitants are known for their range of crafts including one monk who devotes his time to painting treescapes and another who writes devotional books.
The monks also run a tea shop and open their gardens to visitors – of the human variety as well as red squirrels and buzzards.
Find your next FABHoliday idea with FABTHINGS2do.
Quarr Abbey on the Isle of Wight is advertising its first “monastic internships”, offering young people a taste of life in a Benedictine community.
There will be no all-night beach parties or Himalayan treks to help them “find” themselves – just plenty of prayer and reflection.
The four successful candidates will receive board, lodgings and spiritual guidance in return for at least four hours work a day every day - except Sunday – cooking, growing food in the Abbey gardens, looking after cattle, pigs and bees or binding books.
They will live by the Benedictine traditions, rising before 5am each day to wash from a bowl in their cell before making their way for Vigils at 5.30am – the first of seven services throughout the day.
The Abbey has a long tradition of hospitality to visitors but the two month placement, which is open to young men aged 18 to 25, is the first extended stay of its kind.
“It’s like a gap year experience and laying a spiritual foundation,” Father Luke Bell, who is organising the scheme, told The Catholic Herald.
“It is very much a monastic tradition for guests to stay in a monastery but it’s normally a week or two in the spiritual programme.
“People are actually working in the rule of St Benedict.”
The Abbey traces its origins to the early 12th Century when the Cistercian house of Our Lady and St John was founded.
Left in ruins after Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries it was refounded at the turn of the 20th Century to house a French Benedictine community who were living in exile on the Isle of Wight.
When not at prayer its current inhabitants are known for their range of crafts including one monk who devotes his time to painting treescapes and another who writes devotional books.
The monks also run a tea shop and open their gardens to visitors – of the human variety as well as red squirrels and buzzards.
Find your next FABHoliday idea with FABTHINGS2do.
Friday, 1 June 2012
Virgin Galactic takes another step closer to space tourism.
Virgin Galactic has revealed that it expects to make rocket-powered test flights of its passenger spaceship later this year, bringing space tourism one step closer.
The company - the brainchild of pioneering Sir Richard Branson - said its spaceship builder partner, Scaled Composites, has been granted an experimental permit from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
That means it will be allowed to proceed with rocket-powered test flights.
A post on the company's website said: 'Scaled expects to begin rocket-powered, supersonic flights under the just-issued experimental permit toward the end of the year.'
No timetable has been set for the first launches carrying paying customers, but that is expected to be confirmed after the test program is complete.
More than 500 people, including actor Ashton Kutcher, have signed up with Virgin Galactic for a chance to experience weightlessness during suborbital flights.
Sir Richard and his children Sam and Holly are also set to be among the first commercial passengers on SpaceShipTwo.
Virgin Galactic and the California-based Scaled Composites have been glide-testing their six-passenger vehicle SpaceShipTwo, which is air-launched from a twin-fuselage carrier airplane called WhiteKnightTwo.
Work is under way to integrate the rocket motor into SpaceShipTwo in preparation to test the 'aerodynamic performance of the spacecraft'.
Virgin Galactic said SpaceShipTwo and WhiteKnightTwo have made 'significant progress' in their flight test program, with a total of almost 100 completed.
'This important milestone enables our team to progress to the rocket-powered phase of test flight, bringing us a major step closer to bringing our customers to space,' said George Whitesides, president and CEO of Virgin Galactic.
Doug Shane, president of Scaled, added: 'The spaceship program is making steady progress, and we are all looking forward to lighting the vehicle’s rocket engine in flight for the first time.'
According to Virgin Galactic, the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation issues permits 'after it has determined that the vehicle operator has taken the appropriate steps to protect the public during testing.'
The starting price for space flights is £130,000 with refundable deposits starting from £13,000.
Virgin Galactic will be based at Spaceport America, a purpose-built spaceline terminal designed by architect Sir Norman Foster, based in New Mexico.
Find your next FABHoliday idea with FABTHINGS2do.
The company - the brainchild of pioneering Sir Richard Branson - said its spaceship builder partner, Scaled Composites, has been granted an experimental permit from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
That means it will be allowed to proceed with rocket-powered test flights.
A post on the company's website said: 'Scaled expects to begin rocket-powered, supersonic flights under the just-issued experimental permit toward the end of the year.'
No timetable has been set for the first launches carrying paying customers, but that is expected to be confirmed after the test program is complete.
More than 500 people, including actor Ashton Kutcher, have signed up with Virgin Galactic for a chance to experience weightlessness during suborbital flights.
Sir Richard and his children Sam and Holly are also set to be among the first commercial passengers on SpaceShipTwo.
Virgin Galactic and the California-based Scaled Composites have been glide-testing their six-passenger vehicle SpaceShipTwo, which is air-launched from a twin-fuselage carrier airplane called WhiteKnightTwo.
Work is under way to integrate the rocket motor into SpaceShipTwo in preparation to test the 'aerodynamic performance of the spacecraft'.
Virgin Galactic said SpaceShipTwo and WhiteKnightTwo have made 'significant progress' in their flight test program, with a total of almost 100 completed.
'This important milestone enables our team to progress to the rocket-powered phase of test flight, bringing us a major step closer to bringing our customers to space,' said George Whitesides, president and CEO of Virgin Galactic.
Doug Shane, president of Scaled, added: 'The spaceship program is making steady progress, and we are all looking forward to lighting the vehicle’s rocket engine in flight for the first time.'
According to Virgin Galactic, the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation issues permits 'after it has determined that the vehicle operator has taken the appropriate steps to protect the public during testing.'
The starting price for space flights is £130,000 with refundable deposits starting from £13,000.
Virgin Galactic will be based at Spaceport America, a purpose-built spaceline terminal designed by architect Sir Norman Foster, based in New Mexico.
Find your next FABHoliday idea with FABTHINGS2do.
Tuesday, 15 May 2012
Bucket List Surveys
The desire to get married is sliding down British women’s to-do list but having a family remains a high priority, according to a research.
The poll,by Bing, Microsoft’s search engine, examined what Brits really want to be doing in various areas of their lives, revealed the top ten most popular items on the UK’s bucket list. Starting a family ranked second on the list with getting married coming in at 4th, for women.
“Getting married would have been at the top of the list for women over a decade or two ago, but now with our hard-won independence and more equal footing in society women are just as ready to travel the world as men, according to sociologist Jenni Trent Hughes.
Men, on the other hand, are far more interested in driving an F1 car than settling down.
“However both sexes have put having a family high on the list, another sign of the times. And both are finally realising the importance of striking a good work-balance, which of course will be necessary in order to live a fulfilling life,” said Jenni.
The women’s UK top ten life to-do list
1. Travelling the world
2. Having a family
3. Living in another country
4. Getting married
5. Learning a new skill
6. Owning a shop
7. Striking the work life balance
8. Owning a bar or restaurant
9. Swimming with dolphins
10. Recording an album
The men's UK top ten life to-do list
1. Travelling the world
2. Living in another country
3. Having a family
4. Learning a new skill
5. Driving an F1 car
6. Recording an album
7. Striking the work life balance
8. Owning a bar or restaurant
9. Getting married
10. Acting in a film
The poll,by Bing, Microsoft’s search engine, examined what Brits really want to be doing in various areas of their lives, revealed the top ten most popular items on the UK’s bucket list. Starting a family ranked second on the list with getting married coming in at 4th, for women.
“Getting married would have been at the top of the list for women over a decade or two ago, but now with our hard-won independence and more equal footing in society women are just as ready to travel the world as men, according to sociologist Jenni Trent Hughes.
Men, on the other hand, are far more interested in driving an F1 car than settling down.
“However both sexes have put having a family high on the list, another sign of the times. And both are finally realising the importance of striking a good work-balance, which of course will be necessary in order to live a fulfilling life,” said Jenni.
The women’s UK top ten life to-do list
1. Travelling the world
2. Having a family
3. Living in another country
4. Getting married
5. Learning a new skill
6. Owning a shop
7. Striking the work life balance
8. Owning a bar or restaurant
9. Swimming with dolphins
10. Recording an album
The men's UK top ten life to-do list
1. Travelling the world
2. Living in another country
3. Having a family
4. Learning a new skill
5. Driving an F1 car
6. Recording an album
7. Striking the work life balance
8. Owning a bar or restaurant
9. Getting married
10. Acting in a film
Thursday, 10 May 2012
‘World’s oldest backpacker’ hits the road again
A man described as the “world’s oldest backpacker” is poised to embark on his latest globe-trotting trip – at the age of 95.
Keith Wright, a pensioner from Queensland in Australia, will fly out to Europe on May 28, his eighth backpacking trip since he started travelling solo at the age of 85.
He has planned a two-month itinerary including Madrid, San Sebastian, Paris, Munich, Vienna and a trip to Britain to see the racing at Royal Ascot.
In the past decade, Mr Wright has visited many of the countries in Western and Eastern Europe, starting his backpacking a few years after his wife Barbara passed away.
His first trip was a bus journey through Turkey. Since then, he has travelled the world on a strict budget, saving up money throughout the year for flights and hostel accommodation.
“I have had itchy feet all my life and had always wanted to go to Gallipoli on Anzac Day, so I decided to sell our house and put the extra money towards a holiday,” said Mr Wright, who is a veteran of the Second World War.
“I have seen things that most tourists haven’t seen, because I walk the back streets and take trains or buses to nearby towns for the day.
“Most people I meet are surprised when I tell them my age and amazed that I have come all the way from Australia.”
Find your next FABHoliday idea with FABTHINGS2do.
Keith Wright, a pensioner from Queensland in Australia, will fly out to Europe on May 28, his eighth backpacking trip since he started travelling solo at the age of 85.
He has planned a two-month itinerary including Madrid, San Sebastian, Paris, Munich, Vienna and a trip to Britain to see the racing at Royal Ascot.
In the past decade, Mr Wright has visited many of the countries in Western and Eastern Europe, starting his backpacking a few years after his wife Barbara passed away.
His first trip was a bus journey through Turkey. Since then, he has travelled the world on a strict budget, saving up money throughout the year for flights and hostel accommodation.
“I have had itchy feet all my life and had always wanted to go to Gallipoli on Anzac Day, so I decided to sell our house and put the extra money towards a holiday,” said Mr Wright, who is a veteran of the Second World War.
“I have seen things that most tourists haven’t seen, because I walk the back streets and take trains or buses to nearby towns for the day.
“Most people I meet are surprised when I tell them my age and amazed that I have come all the way from Australia.”
Find your next FABHoliday idea with FABTHINGS2do.
Tuesday, 1 May 2012
Iceland offers world's first tour inside a volcano
Visitors to Iceland are being given the opportunity to be among the first tourists to enter the magma chamber of a volcano.
The interior of Thrihnukagigur, which has been dormant for around 4,000 years, will be opened to ordinary travellers for six weeks this summer, from June 15 to July 31.
The volcano is a 30-minute drive from Reykjavik, the Icelandic capital. Visitors must then embark on a short 40-minute hike across a lava field to reach the volcano, before descending 120 metres to the bottom of the crater in an open cable lift. They will be able to spend around an hour inside the volcano in the company of a team of expert guides.
The tour costs ISK 37,000 (£180) per person, a portion of which will go towards further research into the country’s volcanoes. Visitors must be aged 12 or over, and are advised to bring walking boots, water, sensible outdoor clothing and a camera.
The chamber was first accessed by scientists in 2011, in what was described at the time as an historic development.
Black Tomato, the luxury adventure travel specialist, has launched an “Ultimate Volcano Adventure” package that includes a private, evening trip inside the Thrihnukagigur volcano, a tour of the Thingvellir National Park, and a trip to the famous Blue Lagoon geothermal spa. www.blacktomato.com for more infomation.
For more information on the tour of Thrihnukagigur, see www.insidethevolcano.com.
Find your next FABHoliday idea with FABTHINGS2do.
The interior of Thrihnukagigur, which has been dormant for around 4,000 years, will be opened to ordinary travellers for six weeks this summer, from June 15 to July 31.
The volcano is a 30-minute drive from Reykjavik, the Icelandic capital. Visitors must then embark on a short 40-minute hike across a lava field to reach the volcano, before descending 120 metres to the bottom of the crater in an open cable lift. They will be able to spend around an hour inside the volcano in the company of a team of expert guides.
The tour costs ISK 37,000 (£180) per person, a portion of which will go towards further research into the country’s volcanoes. Visitors must be aged 12 or over, and are advised to bring walking boots, water, sensible outdoor clothing and a camera.
The chamber was first accessed by scientists in 2011, in what was described at the time as an historic development.
Black Tomato, the luxury adventure travel specialist, has launched an “Ultimate Volcano Adventure” package that includes a private, evening trip inside the Thrihnukagigur volcano, a tour of the Thingvellir National Park, and a trip to the famous Blue Lagoon geothermal spa. www.blacktomato.com for more infomation.
For more information on the tour of Thrihnukagigur, see www.insidethevolcano.com.
Find your next FABHoliday idea with FABTHINGS2do.
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