snidely wrote:

No, no, Scott -- this is the core of what you have wrong. The public
doesn't care a fig about HERO-ASTRONAUTS unless there is a hint of
blood and gore (a bit like NASCAR). What VG, XCOR, Bigelow are selling
is PERSONAL SPACE TRAVEL, and quite a few more people are interested in
that.


Here's your problem: the public tends to identify more with astronauts
than bajillionaires. 99.99999% of the public will not only never go to
space, they'll never have the *option* of going to space. So while Joe
Billionaire spends his five million for a week on the LEO Hilton, Joe
Hero goes to the moon and represents The Best Of America.

"Personal space travel" is decades away. "Rich guy space travel" is,
hopefully, just a few years away. It will capture the public for a
while, and then it will fade. Hopefully, the rich will keep flying and
paying so that it will actually become affordable for schmoes like the
most of us, but it'll be a while.