Bernoulli's Blog

1) Historical background: When did the idea of "space tourism" begin? How has it developed? What have been the hurdles and accomplishments? Start in the 1960's - present day. -         On April 28 th in 2001, Dennis Tito was the first tourist in space. Paying a whopping 20 million dollars to the Russian government so they would take him to the international space station. That flight was 40 years after the first man entered space. With continuous developments in technology, air and space travel has become more and more safe; even though not 100% successful the odds are significantly better than they were. NASA tried to space this space tourism before Russia could launch a civilian into orbit. They said having an untrained person on board is a liability and could potentially lead to mission failure. 2) Give a brief summary of the rules and regulations that currently govern the commercial space industry. When and why were they developed? ...

(ONE) What civilian purpose, if any, are UAVs currently being used for in United States? How are these civilian UAVs currently regulated (if they are regulated)? What are some of the details of the regulations that apply to the commercial use of UAVs? -         Drones are being all across the civilian sector and bring an entirely different type of work to the companies that are utilizing them. Some of the simpler purposes of drones in a commercial capacity is inspecting hard to reach or dangerous structures. Not only can they ascend faster than a human but there is significantly less risk. Another way civilians are using drones is to track and monitor forest fires. This is more prevalent in the recent California forest fires. -         Yes, they are being regulated. If a drone is over .55lbs and under 55lbs than it must be registered with the FAA under part 107. If a drone is over 55lbs than it the pilot mu...