Google honcho Sergey Brin plans first-ever private trip to the ISS
By Joshua Topolsky 
posted June 11th 2008 12:45PM
posted June 11th 2008 12:45PM
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posted June 11th 2008 12:45PM
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I spy an old version of Google Earth.
Why not spend a lot less money, and just go on Virgin Galactic? I'd rather do that than be cramped up in that tin can they call a space station.
Because a few minutes of suborbital flight != a week in low earth orbit.
You have no idea what you're talking about.
Well it depends on what you're in it for. I'd be satisfied with the suborbital flight, and the amazing view. I really don't care for the ISS (if I'm going to be there for a week or more I'd rather be in different conditions than that), nor going up on a Soyuz. So for myself personally, Virgin Galactic would be my obvious choice.
Do you know what suborbital flight actually means? And, the little time you can be up there? About several minutes in Virgin Galactic's ship, costing about $200,000. In the ISS, that's a different story, you can do many things that Virgin Galactic can't do and even longer as well. Up to a week.
Or he can donate this money to Cancer/HIV/Alzheimer, etc....research
yes, if you give me 5 million dollars, i will cure cancer, and with 2 million more, i can cure aids
@peekinde
i think you mean trillion
@peekinde
i think you mean 5 & 2 trillion
I bet that with only 1month worth of taxes he pays, he has contributed more to those researches than you have done in your entire life.
@CosterMonger, I think you mean "Haha that was funny. I almost missed the sarcasm"
@Kris
The sarcasm I got :)
I offered some of my own :(
Why make trillions when we can make...BILLIONS? ~Dr. Evil
@hugolivia: I love your comment!
Good for him, the more private investment in space the sooner it will become possible for anyone to go.
Damn, I bet that spaceship has terrible Gas mileage.
Didn't you hear, this rocket is a hybrid. Propulsion is created by burning half rocket fuel, half money =-)
Also, I hope his hair doesn't get loose up there on the space station...
Don't worry, there will be a hybrid system by the year 2029... oh sorry wrong blog
Hey Ike thank's for punching all that good music out of tina.
I'd like to fly up into space too, but I'm only a 'thousandnaire'.
I suspect the wealthy will leave the rest of us behind on Earth while they populate other worlds. At that point in time, Earth will have become a "third-world-planet".
Become?! We are already there dude. We don't even have flying cars. Just Sayin...
3rd World Planet? How about the rich people all go to Mars, and I'll stay here and go to the beach, or hike in a forest, or swim in a lake.
And have some puny amoeba eat my brain out?
No thanks.
I do not agree with using the ISS like that at all. Space is dangerous, we don't need a tourist freaking out up there and risking the lives of the real scientists and pilots.
Need to use the ISS for SOMETHING, as it is seems like a waste of millions, even Hubble has a real mission and value the ISS is essentially up there doing a whole lot of not much
I'd worry mostly about the toilets
@z0phi3l, you don't know what you're talking about. Thanks to the ISS we've made some really great discoveries in space and expanded on knowledge.
@Kris
Thank you, finally someone understands science!
He could do with improving that Google Sky thing on Google earth while he's up there.
I hear he's taking his HTC Andriod w/ a 3mp camera & GPS- plans to geoblog the experience.
I didn't know that guy from Scrubs was also behind Google!
Dude, not Scrubs.
Bueller's Day Off.
Lmao, a 3rd world planet!
Lmao, a 3rd world planet!
Oh Noes
Virgle is real?
http://www.google.com/virgle/index.html
First-ever private flight to the station?
Mark Shuttleworth was there "paying approximately US$ 20 million. Two days later, the Soyuz spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station,where he spent eight days participating in experiments related to AIDS and genome research. "
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Shuttleworth
no one said that in nytimes, someone made it up ?
I got it now ~ is not a spare seat, he booked a seat ~
I got it now ~ is not a spare seat, he booked a seat ~
I would do this too but I refuse to pay an extra $16 for each piece of luggage.
Dennis Tito went up in Soyuz in 2001.....no mention there.. God us rich americans love paying the russians for a trip into orbit...
He is taking an IMAX camera with him.....coming next.... Google Universe !
already done:
http://www.shatters.net/celestia/download.html
now google just needs to buy it and incorporate it into google earth
the last episode of battlestar will take place in real time as the galactica comes crashing into earths atmosphere. can't wait to get me a six . . .
well thats one way to end your reign as a search engine giant, float out to space and never come back.
So is he actually going to be allowed on the ISS? For some reason I assumed it was a bit more "secure" than that... even though it's kinda isolated.
I guess having enough money means avoiding any minor details like a security clearance.
I don't really see the need for security on the ISS. I mean really, do you think someone is just going to randomly show up, park their spaceship, and go on in?
They have a problem with Wookies getting into their trashcans.
You repeated yourself: "$5 million dollar" - it should be either "5 million dollar" or "$5 million".