

Ask HN: Space travel start-up ideas?  Crazy or obvious next step? - matthodan

With Virgin Galactic taking reservations and the New Mexico 'Spaceport America' nearing completion, it seems to me that we are nearing a new era of private space travel.<p>What impact will private space travel have on society and how can we, as entrepreneurs, be a part of that change?
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matthodan
Here are some of my thoughts (sorry, I wrote them word vomit form):

1) Concierge services -- Early space travelers will undoubtedly be wealthy and
have numerous needs, from planning how to get them from their home to the
nearest Spaceport, to scheduling training exercises to prepare for their trip.

2) Airport logistics -- Virgin Galactic is already planning 3 flights per day
at the Spaceport America in New Mexico. Spaceports will get busy and
technologies to manage busy spaceports will need to be developed.

3) Online booking -- As providers emerge and flights become more common,
people will want to look online to learn about the various space travel
offerings that are available to them (and price shop).

4) Freight/science travel -- While tourism is clearly the sexy side of space
travel, it stands to reason that there will likely be a significant industrial
need for this service.

5) Maintenance -- Space travel wears heavily on the equipment involved. As
more companies offer private space travel, new services and technologies will
be needed to maintain their fleets.

6) Post-flight -- Early civilian space travelers will belong to an exclusive
club of thrill seekers that have similar interests. There are countless
services that could be targeted at this group, from private club memberships,
follow-on adventures.

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rbanffy
I think that taking off on one side of the Pacific and landing three hours
later on the other, while spending some time in space, in zero g, would be an
amazing product that could, conceivably, scale a lot.

