The International Space Station (ISS) is an engineering marvel and a true example of what countries of the world can accomplish when working together. The International Space Station is a joint project among the countries of the USA, Russia, Japan, Canada, and several European countries.

The research facility is a satellite, being assembled in stages about 219 miles above the earth’s surface. It is traveling at the speed of 17,240 miles per hour and makes nearly sixteen orbits around the Earth each day. The ISS was launched on November 20, 1998. The first permanent crew of astronauts arrived on the International Space Station on November 2, 2000. Since then, there have always been at least two people on board, giving humans a permanent presence in space. Shuttles to resupply the Space Station and rotate astronauts have occurred about every six months since the year 2000. To date, the astronauts that have manned the station have been either Russian or American. However, the Space Station has been visited by astronauts from fourteen countries.

The next visit to the Space Station is scheduled for Thursday, October 25, 2007. The launch of a space shuttle named Discovery is a scheduled event in Florida for Tuesday, October 23, 2007. Discovery’s seven-astronaut crew will deliver a new connecting node to the ISS that will serve as the foundation for the future arrival of its international laboratories. The astronauts will also move an older solar array segment and test shuttle heat shield repair techniques during the five space walks planned during their 14-day mission.

The purpose of the International Space Station is to provide experimentation in space. The ISS has had minimal experimentation to date, but that is about to change with the addition of the Columbus module (with the STS-122 Shuttle launch) on December 6, 2007. This space laboratory is Europe’s single biggest contribution to the station. It is built to last ten years and will enable thousands of space experiments. It should provide a generic laboratory as well as facilities designed for specialized research in biology, biomedical research, fluid/quantum physics, and cosmology. A major goal of the research is to improve our understanding of the effect of long-term space exposure on the human body. Areas such as muscle atrophy, bone loss, and fluid shifts are scheduled to be studied with the intention to utilize this data so space colonization and lengthy space travel can become feasible.

Columbus will be followed by the Japanese Experiment Module also known as Kibō. It is scheduled to be in installed as part of the International Space Station (after the STS-127 launch) around January, 2009. This module is being developed to function as an observatory and to measure various astronomical data.

The ExPRESS Logistics Carrier, developed by NASA, is set to be launched for the ISS (with the STS-129 mission), in the fall of 2009. This module allows experiments to be deployed and conducted in the vacuum of space and will provide the necessary electricity and computing to locally process data from experiments.

The Multipurpose Laboratory Module is expected to launch for the ISS in late 2009. It will supply the proper resources for general micro gravity experiments and complete the facility. The International Space Station’s orbital platform is then scheduled to provide ongoing experimentation from these various laboratories until the year 2015.

What happens after 2015 has led to a disagreement among the project’s partners. The United States insists it will pull out of the station at the end of 2015. However, Russia and Europe want its life prolonged. NASA administrator Michael Griffin has told Space Station partners that the US agency has no plans for “utilization and exploitation” of the science research lab for more than five years after it is completed. NASA, which argues that the time has come to look beyond the station to other platforms including a base on the moon, contributes nearly seventy percent of the bill for the orbital platform. The U.S. space agency has projected its own annual bill for the project to reach 2.3 billion dollars by 2010. That may well limit the station’s life to the five years the partners agreed to keep it running after it is fully operational.

The development of the International Space Station is entering its final phase over the next two years. The Discovery mission in October 2007 will provide the final construction prior to the launch of the Columbus laboratory module on December 6, 2007. All future laboratory modules will be attached to the ISS by the end of 2009.

It will be interesting to track the progress of the International Space Station as each of the laboratory modules are launched and attached to the orbital platform. The attachment of these laboratories to the ISS will lead to various experiments that will provide a better understanding of the next frontier, outer space.

http://www.eworldvu.com

With space tourism now here, are you thinking about going on a space flight because you can….sooner or later? Are you adventurous, daring and do you have what it takes; the time, medically fit, the money, the spirit and inclination to be amongst the earliest pioneers and adventurers willing to make the choice to be a civilian space flight participant?

Ok, you like to think about space, you love sci-fi flicks and part of your thoughts about possibly signing up are, should I wait so I can make sure its safe, make sure I get some feedback from some people who did it and perhaps the price will even come down? Or, do you want to be able to tell all your friends, your family, co-workers and peers that you are going on a rocketship into space? Yes, can you imagine your waiting for your chance to be one of the earliest space pioneers to do it, experience it, feel weightless and G-forces and want to become a real part of the history of civilian space flight?

If you have decided that at some future time you do want to venture into space, as soon as you see that others have gone successfully before you, register as when its ‘cool’ and that’s great.

However, the real chance is now, the opportunity for YOU to be be amongst the earliest space adventurers to take the initiative and get their seat number, so all your desires and thoughts each day about going can be expressed to everyone you meet.

It’s to YOU I am writing- the spirit of adventure to go where so few have gone before taking you to ‘the edge of space’ and to be a real part of space flight history.

What if you went and the vehicle exploded, crashed or got hit by space debris? We all know there’s a chance it can happen? Do you remember Christa McAuliffe? She was the first. Please, I am not suggesting that to be forever remembered you need to be in the next ill-fated catastrophic event, but almost everyone would certainly have that thought at some point, once they got serious about signing up. Actually it’s less than 2%, based on NASA’s history so your odds are way in your favor. Of course we all have some fears but that’s a part of what makes this experience so exciting and adventurous.

But to see the curve of the Earth, to experience a pinnacle life event and have feelings that only being there can describe, as the astronauts felt before us… that’s what creates within some of us all that’s needed to proceed forward, and go for it… to find YOUR name, like Per Wimmer, who will be first to fly on the XCOR Lynx and also amongst the earliest pioneers to fly on Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo.

CIVILIAN SPACE PIONEERS HALL OF FAME*

* It is NOTED here that the Civilian Space Pioneers Hall Of Fame list project is under consideration and possible development with The National Space Society. If you are an early registered participant make sure that you inform the proper Space Tourism Society soon after your flight experience so you will receive proper recognition. The above list may or may not actually take place, however it seems plausible it will. Just to be on one of those earliest space flights– that will soon be possible probably in early 2012. It will put you in a very special designation in the annals of civilian space pioneer history.

Now that you’re possibly very close in making that big decision to go for it….what next? Risk, money? Is it Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo or XCOR’s Lynx or maybe Space Adventures new vehicle from Armadillo Aerospace. Or is there any other possibility you want to consider traveling into space with? Who should you trust? Who will be first? Which experience do you want most? Whom do you believe? Why not try them all? Per Wimmer has registered both on SpaceShipTwo as well as on Lynx.

Only time can reveal the reality that will answer these questions. It’s now up to you to discover what you want, and with whom you are willing to make your selection. Whatever your choice, I hope to see your name on the list of the earliest space travelers who made their choice to experience the thrill of becoming a participant on one of the first civilian space flights in space history.

Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin (March 9, 1934 – March 27, 1968), was a Soviet cosmonaut who in 1961 became the first man to travel into space.

Gagarin was born near Gzhatsk, and his parents worked on a collective farm. The third of four children, his elder sister helped to raise him while his parents worked. Like millions of Russians, the Gagarin family suffered great hardship in World War II. His two elder siblings were taken away to Germany in 1943, and did not return until after the war. Gagarin himself was described as an intelligent, hard-working, if occasionally mischievous boy by his teachers. His mathematics teacher flew in the Red Army Air Force during the war, which presumably made some substantial impression on the young Gagarin.

After starting an apprenticeship in a metalworks, Gagarin was selected for further training at a technical school in Saratov. While there, he joined the “AeroClub”, and learned to fly a light aircraft, a hobby that began to take up an increasing proportion of his time. Through dint of effort, rather than brilliance, he reportedly mastered both, and after completing his technical schooling, in 1955 he entered military flight training at the Orenberg Pilot’s School, where he met Valentina Gorycheva, whom he married in 1957, after gaining his pilot’s wings in a MiG-15. After graduating, he was posted at an airbase near Murmansk, where the terrible weather made flying risky.In 1960, an extensive search and selection process saw Gagarin, amongst 20 other cosmonauts, selected for the Soviet space program. Along with the other prospective cosmonauts, he was subjected to a punishing series of experiments designed to test his physical and psychological endurance, as well as training relating to the upcoming flight. Out of the 20 selected, eventually the choice for the first to launch was between Gagarin and Gherman Titov, because of their excellent performance in training, as well as their physical characteristics – space was at a premium in the small Vostok cockpit. The choice of Gagarin, ultimately approved at the highest levels, was probably made due to Gagarin’s modest upbringing and personality, as distinct from the middle-class and somewhat aloof Titov.On April 12, 1961, Gagarin became the first human to travel into space (see Vostok 1). From orbit, Gagarin made the comment, “I don’t see any god up here.”After the flight, Gagarin became an instant, worldwide celebrity, touring widely to promote the Soviet achievement. He proved quite adept at handling the publicity. However, it appeared to gradually wear him down, and he began to drink heavily – not helped by difficulties in his marriage. October 1961 he severely injured himself in a drunken holiday escapade with a young nurse in the Crimea.From 1962 he served as a deputy to the Supreme Soviet, but later returned to “Star City”, the cosmonaut facility, where he worked on designs for a reusable spacecraft. In 1967, he was selected as backup for the first Soyuz launch. The Soyuz capsule’s parachute failed during reentry and the craft crashed, killing Vladimir Komarov.Gagarin then became deputy training director of the establishment. In the process of this, he began to requalify as a fighter pilot. He was killed in a crash of a MiG-15 on a routine training flight near Moscow together with his instructor. It is uncertain what caused the crash, but a 1986 inquest suggests that the turbulence from a Su-11 using afterburners may have caused the craft to go out of control. Weather conditions were also poor, which probably contributed to the inability of Gagarin and the instructor to correct before they crashed.Scattered resources consistently refer to a serious quarrel that took place between Gagarin and General Secretary Nikita Khrushchev at a banquet where both parties heavily insulted each other in public using very strong language. While this clash was believed by some to be linked with Gagarin’s sudden death, it contributed to enhancing Gagarin’s reputation as a people’s hero in Russia.Although Gagarin is indisputably the first man to survive space travel, there is a conspiracy theory that the Russians had previously launched two human beings into orbit prior to Gagarin, but both cosmonauts died enroute. The Soviet government then supposedly suppressed this information to prevent bad publicity for their space program. According to Gagarin’s biography, Starman, these rumours were likely started in a similar manner to the Roswell conspiracy theories; two Vostok missions, equipped with dummies and tape recordings of the human voice (to check the radio worked), were made in the period just before Gagarin’s flight.

Best answer:

Answer by Capercorn
The field that works on building spacecraft is the branch of Aerospace Engineering known as Astronautical Engineering.

Take lots of Physics in High School, and do good in Math and Science classes. You have to be very good at Calculus as well, once you get into College. If you really, really want to do it, you wont have any problems.

Give your answer to this question below!

Does anyone have any thoughts or more information about this?

Best answer:

Answer by Harley Drive
not really space travel and certainly not safe or commercially viable

Add your own answer in the comments!

Best answer:

Answer by gintable
You are completely correct.

Add your own answer in the comments!

Space studies conducted in 2002 by Futron and 2006 by Spaceport Associates indicate a definite interest in space tourism. Our focus is based on suborbital space flight as orbital space flight is currently only available on the Russian spaceship Soyev to the International Space Station and at a cost exceeding Million.

The space studies show worldwide interest mostly from males (78%) and also indicate a wide age separation, from 22 to 67. Since 2005, Virgin Galactic the world leader, has stated over 370 individuals have already registered and over l00,000 have requested further information. This clearly indicates a market exists for private space travel.

In the near future m,any groups will develope space vehicles to provide a variety of opportunities. Over the next few years it is probable that many of these flights will begin and more people will want to register and participate.

Different strokes for different folks. Some vehicles will be dropped from another carrier, some will take off horizontally and land horizontally, some will take off vertically and land vertically and some will even be launched from a balloon.

Studies indicate the most desirable is to be a horizontal take off and landing, however, the preference of each individual with their confidence in each vehicle and company will be the initial determining factor of choice.

No matter which vehicle carrier you travel within, all participants will experience, some weightlessness, feel the G-forces and the thrust of rockets, view the Earth and see its curvature and go through some pre-flight space training. Some vehicles will take you solo while with others up to six or maybe more can travel together.

Why are many interested persons waiting to sign up? Because some expect costs will come down. Many want to know things are completely safe and will wait to see how others that fly react before they sign up. Still others want to choose from amongst the carriers that have shown themselves safe and reliable.

Currently, costs range from under $ l00,000 to about a quarter of a million dollars for a suborbital high adventure space flight experience. For comparison, a list of all space companies, their progress and developments, vehicles, projects and costs, can be found on Wikipedia under ‘SPACE TOURISM’.

World-wide registrations probably exceed 500 with over .M in deposits already paid. This without any doubt, indicates a strong interest in suborbital space flight.

It is still too early in the industry to be sure who will get there first, become most popular, offer the most discriminating experience, etc, etc, etc. It is for you to explore options and opportunities. Safety always comes first. April 12. 2011, the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s famous suborbital space flight. He was the first man in space. This time of global celebration brings man into the next 50 years of space and allowing the private sector to dominate space exploration, recreation and monetization. Space hotels will open within a few years and those interested in the further development of space and the excitement of what is offered will attract many more to become a part of what the future of space travel will be.

The next few years will pave the way for dare devil adventurers, space enthusiasts and thrill seekers to satisfy their quest and go where so few have gone before, to the edge of space. If YOU want to become a part of the early pioneers of space flight history, now is clearly the time to act.

Best answer:

Answer by Marcus Stevens
Yes. Why would we need antimatter? It has nothing to do with making it, we already can and we wouldn’t need much (like none). The issue is containing that amount of energy. However assuming that we figured out nuclear fusion we’d be set. Or if someone just threw a shitload of solar panels onto something they might be able to fly at the sun.

I mean once you get into space you don’t really need that much energy to move. Honestly I don’t think antimatter would be remotely safe. How would you move it? The second that it hits matter you’re fucked. It’s probably going to throw around gamma rays which is no good. It’s not stable. There are better ways that require more material (then again, not exactly easy to make antimatter) but would be safer and easier and likely cheaper.

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!

But when crunch comes crunch, sure space is really BIG, but it is also very old. There’s lots of time available to explore and colonize starting a few light years outward at a time. Consolidate, and then expand some more. Repeat as often as required. The time it would take to explore and colonize the Milky Way Galaxy (that is, via interstellar travel) is but a small fraction of the age of that galaxy even if a race of ET’s never travelled at more that say 1% to 10% the speed of light. Such velocities, while pretty fast by our current abilities, shouldn’t be beyond the means of a technologically advanced race. Consult any elementary astronomy text for the relevant distances and volumes and ages and do the calculations for yourself if you doubt this.

And once here (within easy reach of, or in our solar system), having a nearby base of operations as it were, one can easily have a whole plethora of UFOs visiting Earth on a regular or routine basis.  It’s not a case of one UFO taking ten thousand years to visit, then returning home taking another ten thousand years in the process, and having hundreds or thousands of such alien spacecraft doing the same. If you want to explore the South Pole over the long term, you don’t make a daily commute from Sydney or New York – you set up a long-term base camp near or at the South Pole! 

If there are no advanced extraterrestrial races out there, and that’s a possibility that has to be considered, then eventually we’ll reach that hypothetical level of technology that we current assume aliens might have. Now while such significant, but still subluminal velocities are beyond the capacity of the human race today, eventually, perhaps 1000 years from now, maybe more, maybe less, we’ll advance towards and attain that level of technological sophistication. And 1000 years (give or take) is but a nanosecond in terms of cosmic and galactic time frames. Recall the level of technological sophistication humanity had 1000 years ago! Leaps and bounds have been made since then, and then some. What will another 1000 years bring?

[Note that intergalactic space travel (one galaxy to another galaxy) is quite another can of worms. The distance from one side of our galaxy to the other is tiny relative to the vast distances to our neighbouring galaxies. Even Star Trek stayed within our own galaxy, and they had warp drive!]

When viewing what exploration of space we’ve achieved to date, we note that the first pioneers weren’t the right stuff, flesh-and-blood human beings, but devices composed of hardier stuff, like metals and plastics. An orbiting metallic Sputnik preceded any journeys by Russian cosmonauts. The unmanned lunar surveyors preceded Project Apollo. Unmanned space probes have landed on Mars, Venus, Titan, boldly going where no human has yet even remotely ventured. And so that will probably be true as well as humanity extends its reach beyond our solar system.

Way back when, human society was mainly a rural one with manual back-breaking existences, not only for man, but animal as well. Then came the industrial revolution and labour got easier and machines took on more and more of the burden. Our mental burdens got easier too. We don’t have to read anymore as we have radio, TV, talking books and DVDs. We don’t have to add and subtract – calculators do it for us. We don’t need to spell as our PCs come equipped with spell checkers. Our technology isn’t just making our muscles less necessary, but our brains as well. And while human muscles and the human brain haven’t increased much in strength or potential intellectual capacity over the past multi-thousands of years, our technological muscles and brains have. It’s been pointed out that the average home PC today has vastly more ‘brain power’ than the computers used to guide Apollo to the Moon. And how many of us could beat a computer at chess, or checkers? Silicon chips are becoming ‘intelligent’ at a vastly faster rate than the brain stuff we are made out of – CHON (Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen & Nitrogen). Silicon’s ‘brain cells’ or computer chips, and the software to utilize them are becoming ever more sophisticated and at a rapid rate of knots. We’ve all seen a sci-fi robot, android, whatever. The phrase ‘artificial intelligence’ has entered into common usage.  How much longer before science fiction becomes science fact and silicon software replaces carbon wetware?  

The question has been posed whether or not artificial intelligence is the next logical evolutional step. And while humans may remain in control (or maybe not), they will be dependant on that technology, of that you can be assured. So, the question arises, why send CHON flesh-and-blood into space when silicon chips and software will do, and do better? It’s been argued that artificial intelligence can make the trip to the stars on our behalf. They don’t need life support – food, oxygen, a narrow range of temperatures, sleep, gravity, or as much protection from radiation, etc. They can exist on a minimal energy source, nuclear most likely.

It’s been postulated that artificial intelligent space probes could explore the cosmos, land on suitable abodes and using the local resources found there (minerals, metals, available energy supplies, etc.), ‘reproduce’ themselves from internal programming given before the fact, and thus spread throughout the galaxy. Such probes are called von Neumann probes, after the famous mathematician who advanced the idea.  Meantime, while they do all the dangerous dirty work, we humans just continue to inhabit Terra and live the good life.

Two objections can be raised to a galaxy filled with space travelling artificial intelligences. Firstly, it’s going to take a lot to extinguish the human spirit of exploration. We want to experience the cosmos, and exploring via a surrogate isn’t going to cut the mustard in the long term.

Secondly, I find it difficult to visualize a space probe, however artificially intelligent, that can somehow reproduce itself from scratch using the raw resources of another planet. I find that a pretty tall order.  Just visualize the various technological processes that would require. It would have to be able to mine, perform smelting operations, manufacturing, fine detailed precision work, all at various locations etc. I won’t say it can’t happen, but I somehow doubt it will happen.

All up, while silicone and steel might be the pathfinders, CHON, even if it’s alien CHON, will ultimately explore, colonize and rule the galaxy. Again, for the purposes of explaining the Fermi Paradox, there exists no extraterrestrial CHON, only terrestrial CHON, so that explains the ‘where is everybody?’ question.

Artificial intelligence apart, human beings have taken control of their own evolution, it’s no longer just natural selection, but artificial enhancement. For quite some considerable time now, we’ve augmented our flesh-and-blood with artificial materials and devices, cosmetic and life enhancing – plastic heart valves, hearing aids, artificial joints, wigs, dentures, etc. And while not quite artificial in terms of non-organic materials and devices, we now have artificial selection in the sense of genetic engineering, the era of the designer baby.

So, sooner or later, humanity’s flesh-and-blood, assuming we’re still flesh-and-blood and not composed mainly of sturdier materials (CHON plus iron and silicon and plastics and ceramics, etc.), we will desire to get away from it all (Earth and our solar system). That’s true even if we have evolved into something more akin to a hybrid of the biological and the artificial, and/or evolved ourself into a race of quasi-supermen (and women). 

But desire is one thing. Might there be something even stronger forcing us to ‘boldly go’?

So what’s that other more seriously driving incentive to ‘boldly go…’? I mean scientific curiosity is all well and good, but it’s going to be expensive to satisfy that curiosity. Wanting to vacation on some idyllic planet around another star system is fine, but extra-solar tourism is a luxury, not a necessity. There is another incentive, a far more powerful one, and that is survival. No star lasts forever. Sooner or later, our star is going to make our existence a misery. In fact, sooner or later, our sun will be the death of us all. If humans are still around when that peril makes itself apparent, we’ll need to escape to another star system. Finding a suitable one is going to call for us to be ‘boldly going…’! Of course other earlier disaster scenarios could force us to flee sooner – the threat of a swarm of killer comets dislodged from either the Oort Cloud and/or the Kuiper Belt heading our way or the likelihood of a nearby star going supernova would give us incentive to get the hell out of here!

Further readings:

Gilster, Paul; Centauri Dreams: Imagining and Planning Interstellar Exploration; Copernicus Books, New York; 2004:

Macvey, John W.; Interstellar Travel: Past, Present, and Future; Stein and Day, New York; 1977:

*Let’s assume that this is not only not impossible, but also safely attainable.

You have been selected as part of a government program dedicated to ‘deep space exploration.’  The way you were selected was as ironic as it was random.  For the purposes of constructing this wildly sci-fi hypothetical, let’s say that you actually volunteered to do this.  However, you weren’t 100 percent aware of the decision you made at the moment you made it.  And let’s also throw the subject of astrophysics off to the side completely. The last time you changed your address, you applied for a new driver’s license.  It was pretty simple, just filling out a few forms, proving your residency, nothing special.  Except when you attempted to fill out the section to elect whether or not you wished to donate your organs and tissues, there was another inquiry option available which was titled “participate in government exploration initiative.”  You read up on this in the brief summary that followed the inquiry box.  The summary basically said that if deep space travel were ever to be viable, and deemed safe by the appropriate agencies within the government of the United States, that you would be willing to donate your “time” to Science. Of course, you thought this was absurd, but you also thought it would be really funny to show your friends your new ID with a funny looking “Deep Space Donor” logo right beneath your picture. Well, what you did not know, is that rocket science had progressed faster than you ever thought it would, and it was also much more advanced than you thought it was to begin with. A couple years after you made this decision in jest, you are approached at your doorstep by federal agents.  Believe it or not, you’re going into space, buddy!*

*Let’s further assume that you of course go through the following emotional progression:  disbelief, shock, denial, stupor, skepticism, and then grief.  For sake of brevity, let’s cut to the part where you finally are being sent into space.
The agents tell you that you have 6 weeks until you are required to start your 8 week training course prior to your departure from Earth.  They also lay out rule number 1. Rule Number 1.  You may choose up to 6 people to accompany you for the rest of your/their lives. Who do you choose?  What is your ‘pitch’ going to be when you are trying to convince up to 6 people to spend the rest of their lives with you in a pod travelling at 650,000 MPH into the vastness of outer space?  Do you rely on a PowerPoint slide presentation?  What ratio of women to men do you choose?  How desperate will you get if nearly everyone says no? Knowing that you are not allowed to bring pets for some strange reason, does that exacerbate your anxiety?  Answering all of these questions in just six weeks time will be an extremely tough task.  How much of this time will you devote to pondering?  This will be the most important decision in your life.  It will also be one of the few decisions in which your decision is ultimately final.  After you make this decision there is NO going back.  In space and in time, you will only be able to go forward.

When pitching to your ‘select six,’ do you tell them about Rule #2?  OR… do you do all of this… alone? Rule Number 2.  During your 8 week training course, you are joined by a NASA design team.  Within safety constraints, you can make your space pod as big and as luxurious as you want it.  You are allowed as many design collaborators as you want, and as aforementioned, you have 8 weeks to come up with the design.  The only drawbacks are that your living quarters must be able to achieve the speeds needed to travel deep into space, and that it must be safe.  However, you are allowed as many iterations of your design as feasible in that 8 week period. A lot of hypothetical conclusions will need to be pole-vaulted to here.  Basically, you’re probably going to have a space pod similar in size to a nice upper-middle class family’s home.  Except you are also probably going to have beyond state-of-the-art technology available to you.  Keep in mind that you’ll probably want to make sure the amenities you choose are durable and useful.  Remember, you and your entourage will probably be living in space for about 65 years, and there is not really any repairs or upgrades that can be made to your equipment.  With that said, do you think you could design your space-travelling dream home in a matter of 8 weeks? Rule Number 3.  Streaming TV. You are allowed to watch streaming television from the comfort of your space pod.  But again, there is a catch.  Due to the high amount of bandwidth required to stream television into deep space, you will only be allowed to have access to three channels. Which three channels do you choose?  Do you consult your entourage?  Do you have enough of a movie library to last you for 65 years of 3 channel entertainment? Also keep in mind that the farther you are from Earth, the longer it will take to get the streaming media to you.  Say you launch in 2016, you pick CBS as one of your channels, and in 2035 you are watching the 2025 NCAA Mens Basketball Final Four (also take the leap of assuming that Court Tv has not somehow completely captured the rights to the Final Four). Let’s not get into food, fuel, or oxygen supply and just assume that NASA got all of that figured out for you.   Let’s take a look at the last rule.  Rule #4. Rule Number 4.  After 10 years, there is no law precluding you from exiling 1 of your 6 pod mates. As part of the contract that you really had no choice in signing, you are pointed to an “exile clause.”  The exile clause states that after 10 years, you may do away with one of your podmates and release them into deep space.  This obviously is incredibly morbid and absurd, but it is nonetheless in the contract. 

You begin to think to yourself, even if someone got so under your skin due to 10 years of living together in such close quarters, could you ever do this?  Would you ever think of doing this?  Would the situation you are in drive you so crazy that you would begin to think “well, it’s not against the law.”  Also, with nobody else (i.e. law enforcement) able to step in since you are so far far away, who is to say you wouldn’t think of this before the 10 year mark and maybe begin to plot who you would kick out into the vacuum of space?  Would it be plausible to think that everyone would be nice to you since they know you have this power?  Even though some clerk at NASA could be watching you through a camera feed, they would only be seeing what happened a long time before that by the time the video transmission had reached them.  And at best, they could only scold you. Just thinking about this may be enough to drive you crazy.  Knowing that you would even think these thoughts probably worries you.  Which leads to one last hypothetical inquiry:  does thinking about a situation that may drive you crazy… begin to drive you… crazy?