Richard Garriott Talks Space Tourism

Dave on Earth (12:04PM): Hello

RichardInSpace (12:05 PM): Test

Dave on Earth (12:06 PM): It worked :-)

RichardInSpace (12:08PM): I'm back!

Dave on Earth (12:08 PM): Ok, so: this is Dave Mosher from Discovery.com. Where are you chatting from Richard?

RichardInSpace (12:11 PM): Today I'm in Austin Texas, which is where I normally make my home
but this year, I spend more of my time in Star City Russia at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, as you might expect.

Dave on Earth (12:12 PM): What's a video game designer/programmer doing there? Sounds sort of odd...

RichardInSpace (12:12 PM): :-) Yes, it is not the usual "profession" for people training for space flight...
However, I am training for a space flight aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket to the International Space Station in October
October 12th to be specific, if the current launch schedule holds.

Dave on Earth (12:13 PM): You pumped?

RichardInSpace (12:14 PM): Very! As you would guess. Especially as the date is approaching quickly and the training is feeling more "real", the excitement builds.
I now feel like I have a lot to learn and little time left to master it, so the pressure is on as well.

Dave on Earth (12:15 PM): I imagine there's quite a learning curve, going from game designer to cosmonaut. What's been the hardest thing for you?

RichardInSpace (12:16 PM): Learning Russian is by far the hardest task...
All of the commands onboard the Soyuz and all the docs, and all the buttons and switches are labeled in Russian....
So, I need a working capability in Russian, and I have never before known a foreeign language

Dave on Earth (12:17 PM): Sounds like a nightmare I had the other night. I was on a ship to Mars, and I didn't know what any of the buttons did.

RichardInSpace (12:17 PM): :-)
Thankfully, most other aspects of training (while complex enough to be very interesting) are manageable.

Dave on Earth (12:18 PM): Speaking of the Soyuz - which is the spacecraft Russians use to get to and from the space station - there have been a few unexpectedly rough landings recently.
How are you digesting that fact?

RichardInSpace (12:19 PM): Yes, interesting situation. Of course I am very interested in learning the details of what went wrong and what is being done about it, so I have studied the subject well...
Both of the last two reentries have been "ballistic" which is "uncontrolled". However, until very recently in spaceflight history ALL reentries were ballistic. So, ballistic by itself is not a cause for alarm.

Dave on Earth (12:21 PM): So ballistic descents are sort of an "old school" reentry that we try and avoid nowadays?

RichardInSpace (12:21 PM): Exactly!
What caused the ballistic reentry is...
In this case, it appears there was a fault in the separation of the instrument compartment separation. But even without separation, it is designed to work. Still I hope mine works "as designed"
So, no real big fears yet... just wait to launch day though. :-)

Dave on Earth (12:22 PM): Your dad - Owen Garriott - was an astronaut for NASA. Why not space via NASA for you?

RichardInSpace (12:24 PM): When I was young, NASA was where we had our family medical exams done. When I was young, I was told I could NOT become an astronaut because of my poor vision.
Versus take NO for an answer, I devoted ALL of my personal investing since then, into the privatization of space, so I and others could go!
I helped start Space Adventures, The X-Prize, Zero-G Corp, and a few other space companies. A little known fact about the game designer Richard Garriott.

Dave on Earth (12:25 PM): So you're kind of the wizard behind the curtain, and dorothy is private spaceflight.
How much is your ticket, by the way? I've heard something like $30 million... *gulp*

RichardInSpace (12:26 PM): A bit, yes! And yes, it is NOT cheap, but hopefully, we will get that price down over the next few decades.

Dave on Earth (12:26 PM): When can I go? I know a few people who'd like to go, too.

RichardInSpace (12:26 PM): Well for $30M perhaps next April. For under $100k, a decade or two.
We (Space Adventures) believe there are many, many who want to go, when they can afford it, and we plan to make it so!

Dave on Earth (12:28 PM): Ever think there will be a time when people could go into space for what they might spend today on a beefy vacation?

RichardInSpace (12:29 PM): I think the lowest price I can imagine will be like a first class ticket to the farthest side of the earth, for a sub-orbital flight. Based on fuel costs.
Orbit will only get that cheap, when we make something like a space elevator, which is a while off still.

Dave on Earth (12:29 PM): Hmm.. I suppose we should start saving. Or designing incredibly successful video games.
Speaking of which, how important do you think it is to march to the beat of your own drummer?

RichardInSpace (12:31 PM): Very. Can't imagine it would work any other way. I really am a product of my parents though.
Science from my dad, art from my mom. If you think about Computer Games they are great High Tech Art, so I got both. Plus the never say never attitude.

Dave on Earth (12:32:02 PM): What's your favorite game, ever?