B.O.H.I.C.A.
Bohica - nice tropical Caribbean-sounding word. How's things man? Bohica! Cool.
It is unfortunately, an acronym standing for Bend Over, Here It Comes Again. In this case, this is applied to the private sector getting tired of NASA (National Arrows and Spears Administration) dropping the ball on cheap earth to space options and doing something on their own.
The ink was not dry on the X-Prize check when the government started maneuvering to regulate private space enterprise... From
CNN:
bq. Thrill seekers are plunking down six figures to ride rockets that haven't even been built yet, and a new airline called Virgin Galactic promises to be up and soaring in the next three years. Still, the budding space tourism industry faces a myriad of safety concerns -- in the sky and on the ground -- that must be resolved before any paying passenger takes off.
bq. The rules that will govern the industry in the United States remain under discussion between federal regulators and rocket developers, and legislation is still before Congress.
bq. The pace of negotiations and the ultimate shape of the regulations could determine whether the sky-high enthusiasm for space tourism -- fueled by the historic suborbital flights of SpaceShipOne -- grows or wanes, especially among investors.
bq. Federal Aviation Administration chief Marion C. Blakey this week visited Xcor Aerospace, a rocket developer just down the Mojave Airport flight line from SpaceShipOne's home. She talked of partnership with the new industry and said it was important for the United States to be the world leader.
bq. She made clear, however, that broad safety issues are the agency's topic No. 1.
bq. "Our first concern will be the safety of the uninvolved public, making sure that as this grows and develops that we're doing everything we can to protect the folks on the ground, to make sure that the people who go into space understand the risks," she said. "It will be a risky business for many years to come, no doubt."
bq. The FAA for several years has been studying what the average passenger will face from G-force and psychological factors, and what type of medical fitness he or she will require, Blakey said.
bq. There is also a question of what information a passenger should have, about safety records, for example, to assess risk and make a meaningful informed-consent statement.
She visited Xcor and not Scaled. Why?
Why should the feds require 'certification' when the pilot and the passenger are flying experimental aircraft, the passenger has signed a very well crafted legal document and is doing this on their own free will... Hey - if it cost $10K and there was a one in 10,000 chance of crashing and if I had the chance to spend a day or two in orbital space, I would be up there now. I SCUBA-dived a lot and that is as close to weightlessness as you can get on planet and it is wonderful.
Posted by DaveH at October 7, 2004 9:17 PM