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Tom Shelley, Space Adventures president, on what lies ahead in private space travel and the end of the U.S. Space Shuttle Program.
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Thank you.
Well do you see any images of the space shuttle atlantis'.
Final take off earlier on this morning and last adopt in Nat says a 135.
And final shuttle mission.
Lot of space shuttle air around media over the air out -- price -- space flight is just beginning joining us now is.
I'm -- he's the president has space adventures thanks for being here at Tom.
Good afternoon and thank you very much for having me on you know I was watching the images of that of that last hot today -- I have to -- -- felt a little sad I felt a little sad about the end of this chapter in US space shuttle history.
Is this a mistake for the United States and really just the advancement of sciences as a whole.
I it's certainly the end of an era but I wouldn't say it's a mistake I think the future full of space flight and the role that space has within all of our lives is just beginning.
The next few decades are going to be even more exciting -- the last three.
All right who's gonna -- written why should we get excited about this -- -- now that it's moving to the private sector.
What's gonna happen -- More people a bit going to be -- to get to god there's going to be more research that's done.
There's going to be more of people who get to -- and experience the thrill of being spacing come back and share that with us.
And you know it's gonna get to a point in a few years time where you're gonna be bumping into people everywhere we've taken one of these rides up into space and that's going to be predicts I think.
I feel like that's probably up far away is away considering that the price tag for going in space right now.
Is -- -- of 200000.
Dollars does that mean that at some point -- price is going to come down.
Yes I -- space adventures has been sending people to space for the last ten years on private missions that we've organized through the the Russians.
And that priced up in the tens of millions of dollars.
The tickets that are going to be around a 300000.
Dollars -- gonna stop in the next couple years.
We're gonna see thousands of people taking those flights and so -- You know that's gonna -- actually a very exciting time.
I mean -- -- because those are -- talked about this morning and I think damages.
We all felt ownership when we saw the Atlantis going up there we all felt like that was part of us as Americans.
That that what you're talking about now -- has that tens of elitism to it.
What are we have to do to get the average American really interest did enough and and and space that may be.
We Minnesota's democratic so that eventually we all can participated in a one way or another.
Well you know -- has done a great job of opening up space.
And allowing.
Access by the space shuttle but -- really is time to put it into private hands for private companies to got to stop flying on a regular basis.
They're gonna be had to bring the prices down make it more accessible for people and I think that's gonna bring back that level of excitement that that space that.
-- forty years ago it was a very much agreement people aspire to be astronauts.
Now it's just a small percentage of people who aspire to that I think.
By making it more accessible by giving them more options as to what can be done we're gonna reignite that passion.
And -- Do you think there's ever a point that we're gonna see congressional signing -- and and this space shuttle program -- emerge in the United States.
At some way in some way she perform in the future or is it all gonna be private going forward.
There's going to be a mixture what Nasr is contemplating of them on the -- Building a vehicle and it's very halfway bill that is gonna take care government astronauts to places like asteroids and eventually to -- I'm on what they're doing is they're opening up this space traveling to the International Space Station and -- bit.
For private companies that are getting involved -- -- is helping to fund that development programs.
I think the challenge and the battle that's going on -- the moment on the hill is just how much money is spent on one program over another.
-- as a taxpayer I know which one I'd like to see and that's the -- -- one that delivers the most efficient access to space and that is going to be through the private sector.
And as we see that example being played out and so many different industries across this economy.
And certainly not immune from this space as exploration businesses wealth comes -- things -- -- Thank you thanks -- --
