Broadcast 459 (Special Edition)

Randa and Roderick Milliron of Interorbital Systems were the special guests for this Space Show program. Interorbital Systems (www.interorbital.com) is planning orbital space tourism, eventual lunar visits and an even futuristic space tourism mission to Venus. During this interview, Randa and Rod explain their unique offshore ocean launching system, the selected launch sites, their progress with AST and other regulatory issues, their time line, and their plan to sell tickets for space tourism now at a discounted price. You can hear about their ticket sale plan during the interview and you can also read about it at http://www.interorbital.com/Orbital%20Vacations%20%20Page_1.htm. Not only do we discuss their space vehicle design, construction, and implementation plan, the mission architecture, training, services, and facilities are discussed for a seven day orbital tourist adventure. You will certainly want to hear about this program. As it is timed to be available around the time of suborbital space tourism flight, it may prove an alternative to suborbital space tourism. Many listener questions addressed technical aspects of their rocket engine design and vehicle operations. The Millirons go into dept explaining their floating ocean launch system, they provide updates on their plans to be able to launch from Tonga in the S. Pacific as well as other launch sites. ITAR and AST issues are discussed and we learn how Interorbital is doing addressing these important issues. Toward the end of the program, Randa and Rod stress their intent on doing interplanetary missions and this is where their plans for visiting Venus are mentioned. Assuming funding in place through their financing plan which you will hear about on the show, they suggest a Venus mission might be possible much sooner than one might think. I strongly recommend you listen to this program to learn about a different approach to getting into space, a different type of space tourism, and a different class of space tourism vehicles. You can email Randa and Rod through their website clicking on the Contact link or by using ios@interorbital.com. In addition, you can always send email to the guests through me at drspace@thespaceshow.com.