Space podule outfit inks Arizona launch deal

am I the only one who read the title as "space poodle"??

and by the way, shouldn't the quote read "For $75,000 a poop, customers will enjoy "Wi-Fi, a bar and a lavatory""

what a shameful waste of helium

Spaceports

spaceports everywhere... I launched some rockets on new year's eve - does that make my back yard a legit spaceport?

It's just another way of reducing

our ever diminishing supplies of helium.

What are the parents of tomorrow going to use at kids parties when it's all gone?

a few pumps and cylinders could be added

To bring the helium back again - but then you'd probably have to lose a passenger (or the pilot)

A bit worried about this

There are a couple of things that worry me about this project. When it first aired in El Reg I commented that if the headline photo (same one used in this article) is anything to go by then the occupants are likely to end up suffering from severe motion sickness; far from floating around serenely, it's clear from that headline photo that the 'podule' is swinging rather badly.

Now, just as worrying, there's an (artist's) image of the podule apparently ascending/cruising beneath a deployed and inflated parafoil... Um, well that's not going to work because deployed like that the parafoil canopy would simply collapse and, what with the inevitable twisting and spinning during ascent, would leave the tethers to the canopy badly twisted; there'd be little chance of the canopy successfully inflating during the descent. Moreover, with that configuration, there appears to be no scope for a backup canopy, let alone a smaller drogue chute to stabilise the podule before deploying the main chute.

But then, even assuming that they actually have a more practical deployment scheme, the use of a parafoil ensures a relatively high horizontal speed at touch-down; the landing is going to be more than a little bumpy so unless you're strapped in with a full five-point harness you're going to be injured as the podule tumbles across the ground. I wonder how much repair work to the podule is going to be needed after each landing.