Setting up the blog - the humble beginnings....

It all started with the story that the company behind
energiya
would now offer a trip to the ISS (a week stay there) followed by
a round trip around the Moon for $100 million.

Thats not a lot of money :-)
With a little luck you should be able to collect this over the internet (or at least we could be internet based as a start).

The details leading up to setting up such a site will be developed through emails and on this site in the coming months.

For now the broad picture is as follows.

We want to help the space effort.
Spaceturism is great fun - but unaffordable for most people right now.
We want to set up a sight that will help promote it - and give the chance to
a number of people without the 10 year astronaut training, fantastic health or fabulous wealth.

The plan in very broad outline:

Set up a of website - lets call it flymetothemoon - where people
can donate money to this project.
Something along the line of the planetary society - but much more gung ho.

People should be able to donate say $20 dollar, for which
they will become members of the association, have their name on the site,
along with (possiblely) picture and a list on how their skills will
help the space effort.

A steering committee of 5 people (Jan and Simon + 3 other people,
lets say one from Tucho Brahe planetarium, one european and one american) -
will then decide which of the association members (those who have paid,
will go to space) - they cannot choose themselfes or friends or family.

In order to make a proof of concept - the steering committee will
as soon as the funds are available send one out to try out a
Russian Jet, followed by a ticket on Virgin Galatica - and
in the end a trip to the ISS.

In the final version with the trip to the ISS - National Geographic or
likewise will be contacted for a 1 hour documentary where the names
and some highlighted pictures of all the contributors will be shown
in the buttom of the screen - people should have a real sense of helping this
under way.

It is a non profit organization - but should it survive this far -
the steering commitee should have opportunity to ask all
members of the association - on completion of the ISS trip -
to buy stocks in a gung ho spacecompany for the same amount of
money as their entry fee to the association - before the
stock is introduced to the public.
The legal details of all of this is to be work out.
Such a company should also be non profit in the sense - that
it purpose would not be to make anyone rich but to promote
space adventures, but in an economically viable way (otherwise it wouldnt
be a company ...).

Hiring people for the various task as the money begins to flow will
be the job of the steering committee - so people of the committee
should obviously be interested in exploring space as their concern 1,2
and 117.

On danish Tv there was once a Tv program called "first danish astronaut" -
as this things gets going similar stunts along with the website might
be considered.

All the details of all of this is to be worked out in the coming months.

-Simon