

Ask YC:  Do you plan on becoming a space tourist if you make it big? - amichail

To me, this would be the greatest reward of having lots of money.<p>http://youtube.com/watch?v=QPbdfUpGjyI<p>http://youtube.com/watch?v=WBo8t0B5NhM
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dkokelley
Absolutely I would. I would have my own station built that I could travel to
when I'm feeling like a vacation. It would have a rotating deck to simulate
gravity, and I could stay there in case of anything serious happening on
earth.

I would also like a ship that could take me to the moon and other places as
well. That way I could go on "road trips" when I'm on vacation in my orbiting
space hotel.

The criticism of space travel is that there are other things that you could
spend your money on, or other problems that need to be corrected here on
earth, before moving on. This classifies the act of space travel as
recreational, which I think is untrue. Think about the explorers thousands of
years ago. Sure, there were other things the government and other wealthy
people could have spent their money on - decent roads or aqueducts/sewage
systems are good examples. But so much came out of their exploration and
expansion, and I think that space exploration by our wealthy individuals will
produce solutions that can be applied on earth as well as in space. Wasn't
Velcro supposed to come out of the race to the moon?

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ardit33
you better make 10-15 billions, and fast, as the dollar is dropping. I suggest
you to scale your ambitions to more realistic goals.

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dkokelley
_I suggest you to scale your ambitions to more realistic goals._

Even if I don't get there, I'll be closer than if I set lower standards to
begin with.

Besides, the question was "...if you make it big." so I see no harm in letting
my brain run wild with what could be possible. It's actually a great motivator
for me.

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kyro
Your idea of the greatest reward is much different from mine.

I'd probably head a couple humanitarian aid projects and fund several medical
research projects, depending on how 'big' I made it.

Space would be awesome, but I think there are more rewarding things you can do
with that much money.

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donw
You know, I'd do the same thing. If I made it big, I'd support research into
improving crop production and providing medicine to those who need it[1]. I'd
also get certified as an RN or LNP, and then spend my time as a doctor
traveling in third-world countries. It would be a great adventure, and I'd get
to help other people out. Win-win.

That said, I'd save a couple of bucks and pay a visit to the Moon as well. :)

[1] The needy deserve humane treatment; our level of technology could easily
provide food, shelter, and medical care to every person on the globe. That
said, giving money to people who have demonstrated no ability to earn it on
their own is pure folly...

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Prrometheus
> I'd also get certified as an RN or LNP, and then spend my time as a doctor
> traveling in third-world countries. It would be a great adventure, and I'd
> get to help other people out. Win-win.

You would be helping them out one at a time, on a planet filled with 6 billion
people. One-at-a-time charity work is something I never had the stomach for.
I'm a smart guy, I ought to be able to do better.

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donw
Read the sentence before the one you quoted. :) I mean, if I've got to work,
what better way than to get my own hands dirty, so to speak?

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SwellJoe
Only when there is somewhere to actually go. I hate flying, and I can only
imagine that flying to space would be even less comfortable. Once I've done
what I want to do on earth, I'd love to head for the stars with no plans for
return...but just going into space and coming right back down sounds like a
horrible way to spend a weekend.

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cellis
Maybe, but only after I have traveled to every country on earth.

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JacobAldridge
When.

"When I make it big."

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jward
To be perfectly honest... this is one of the two selfish reasons I want money.
To touch the sky is even a goal that seems reasonable in this day and age and
I know that if I work hard I will see it happen.

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Raphael
Uh...the ship left last week. Where were you, man? We'll call you when we get
to Alpha Centauri in 2 million years.

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ichverstehe
Yep, but I'm going straight for the moon:

<http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/136063main_bm4_high.jpg>

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FleursDuMal
This has been my secret motivation for the last few years.

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rms
I'll wait for affordable orbital travel; I'd prefer not to settle for
Spaceship2.

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dkokelley
Really? Even if you had billions of dollars, you wouldn't spend a few hundred
thousand to take a trip on Spaceship2?

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rms
If I had billions of dollars, I'd rather pay millions for orbital travel.

But yeah, Spaceship2 would be cool. I guess I would also do that, no reason
not to start spending my theoretical billions now. ;)

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wanorris
Yes, if in the future it were possible to take your family with you. What
better way could there be to teach your kids to dream big than to show them
first hand what the Earth looks like from outer space?

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jdavid
Heck yeah. I want to be a space dweller. I would love to go on a mission to
mars. Especially if we can get some sort of real time communications thing
going on.

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rob
Once a million people go to and from space without disintegrating or blowing
up on takeoff or landing, I will most likely try it out.

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TrevorJ
I hold out the hope that someday, you wont have to make it big to get into
space.

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redline6561
No, I plan on becoming Dash Rendar. I'm not coming back.

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Readmore
Space Tourism would definitely be on my 'bucket list'.

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bgutierrez
Absolutely.

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daniel-cussen
No.

