Google's Brin Books a Space Flight

coondoggie writes "Google largely conquered the Earth — now it is taking aim at space. At least co-founder Sergei Brin is. Brin today said he put down $5 million toward a flight to the International Space Station in 2011. Brin's space travel will be brokered by Space Adventures, the space outfit that sent billionaire software developer Charles Simonyi to the station in 2007. Computer game developer (and son of a former NASA astronaut) Richard Garriott is currently planning a mission to the ISS in October 2008. Garriott is paying at least $30 million to launch toward the space station aboard a Russian Soyuz spaceship according to Space Adventures." Make sure to wave when you are over Michigan, man. I'll be the one on my lawn, green with envy.

Re:Green Space Adventures

[cashman73]

I never really understood the purpose of "buying carbon offsets". To me, it's just a total advertising gimmick. I mean, people aren't actually changing their behaviors and lifestyle choices to live a more environmentally-friendly life. It's basically just a way to say, "Fine! Go ahead and keep polluting the earth and destroying the ozone! But as long as you give lots of money to , it's all ok!"

Re:Rather too risky for me

[Nimey]

Good thing space exploration isn't in your hands, then.

Re:Rather too risky for me

[Anonymous Coward]

And that is one reason you do not have a billion.

A lot of energy and CO2 for one guy's amusement

[Subm]

It would be great if he would spend at least a comparable amount of money to plant trees or something else to help the environment for the amount of CO2 and other pollution he's going to cause to be put into the atmosphere.

I guess he has the right to pollute all he wants, but launching yourself into orbit dwarfs the effect on the environmental most people would ever cause. People get the value of protecting the Earth from viewing it from space. Usually that perspective ends up happening afterward. I hope Brin gets it beforehand.

"...From up there, it looks finite and it looks fragile and it really looks like just a tiny little place on which we live in a vast expanse of space. It gave me the feeling of really wanting us all to take care of the Earth. I got more of a sense of Earth as home, a place where we live. And of course you want to take care of your home. You want it clean. You want it safe."
-- Winston Scott, two-time shuttle astronaut

"You change because you see your life differently than when you live on the surface everyday. ... We are so involved in our own little lives and our own little concerns and problems. I don't think the average person realizes the global environment that we really live in. I certainly am more aware of how fragile our Earth is, and, frankly, I think that I care more about our Earth because of the experiences I've had traveling in space."
-- Eileen Collins, first female space shuttle commander.

I'm sure he has friends who read Slashdot. If you are one of them, could you ask him to think and do something about how his actions will affect the rest of us?

Re:What a waste.

[khallow]

I'm sure someone will reply with a "relative" comment regarding money I and others who are less fiscally successful spend on things like MMOG's and flat panels, but on a person-by-person basis that's a very small chunk compared to the giant barrel of money he's giving away here.

Yes, this usually is the nail in the coffin for this sort of argument. Why should you expect someone else to donate any extra cash they happen to have when you aren't willing to? It does strike me as odd that you go ahead with the argument even though you already know why it's flawed.

Re:What a waste.

[Nemilar]

You're acting like the Russians are just going to take his dollars and burn them in a furnace, or that somehow those dollars are going to be taken out of circulation, never to be used for anything ever again.

Realize that his $30 million is going to be spent by the Russians; on the development of new technology, on fuel (and hence, on employees of the energy companies), on paying engineers and scientists; on all the things required to maintain a space program.

If you want to support an industry - and most people on slashdot probably believe the space industry is one worth supporting - the best thing you can do is to buy their product. That's exactly what he's doing.

Re:What a waste.

[blahk_lyte]

Well, to be honest, it isn't your money to spend. The man busted his ass to give him self the life he wanted. If he wants to spend his money by taking a rediculously expensive vacation, then good for him. Richard Garriot has done a lot in revolutionizing one of the biggest markets on the gamefront with his ideas and I can guarantee you he deserves it. I have worked with him in Austin on the UO project and he deserves it. [/end opinionated rantflame]

Re:A lot of energy and CO2 for one guy's amusement

[Anonymous Coward]

I get your point, but I think people need to actually experience that 'aha moment'. It's not enough in my opinion to say someone should understand something before they've experienced it. Also, someone with his means and influence is just the type of person that should have this kind of experience because he has the ability to come back and do something big.

And so it comes to this..

[consonant]

• Mark Shuttleworth
• Charles Simonyi
• Richard Garriott
• Sergey Brin

Earth or not, the geek are sure inheriting space!

Re:A lot of energy and CO2 for one guy's amusement

[khallow]

Alternately, we could stop giving in to global warming hysteria and recognize that there are carbon producing activities more important than eliminating positive carbon emissions. Space tourism, for example, easily meets this weak threshhold. Yes, sending rich guys on joy rides in space is more important than token gestures of support for environmentalism.

Re:A lot of energy and CO2 for one guy's amusement

[Microlith]

I guess he has the right to pollute all he wants, but launching yourself into orbit dwarfs the effect on the environmental most people would ever cause.

So because he's going up it's bad, even if the rocket were headed up anyway? By that logic the space program should be ended entirely. Never mind that he'll probably do it once in his life whereas millions of cars keep dumping crap into the atmosphere every day at an order of magnitude more per day.

Usually that perspective ends up happening afterward. I hope Brin gets it beforehand.

And not go. Right. Fuck that. Given the chance I'd go in a heartbeat, as would most slashdot readers. But of course they should not go. Because rocket launches are such horrible, horrible sources of pollution.

Re:Rather too risky for me

[Lord_Frederick]

Living is about what you experience. Everyone's risk-to-experience tolerance is different. Some people only feel alive and free when they sky dive, while others think it's a silly risk. Some people have full and happy lives doing nothing more than playing scrabble. Space travel is a huge risk for an amazing experience that only a handful of humans have. You could die, but the dead don't feel regret for failing to take a chance on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Re:Now THAT is a vacation - I for one am jealous

[PCM2]

I could give a shit either way. Do you know how many people you could HELP with $5 million, like real bonified food on the table for dinner kind of help?

It's not like the money just vanishes into thin air, you know. Sergei gives it to someone else, who ends up giving it to someone else, who gives it to someone else, who gives it to someone else... and so the economy rolls on. You could argue that spending the money does a lot more good for society than just leaving it in the bank.

BTW, why are you sitting there reading Slashdot when you could be volunteering at your local homeless shelter?

Re:What a waste.

[MyNymWasTaken]

I'm sure someone will reply with a "relative" comment regarding money I and others who are less fiscally successful spend on things like MMOG's and flat panels, but on a person-by-person basis that's a very small chunk compared to the giant barrel of money he's giving away here.

Here's your "relative" comment.

Sergey Brin's net worth is reported at $18.7 billion dollars. That $30 million ticket is 0.16% of his net worth.

If you have a $200K net worth, e.g. investments, home equity, etc..., that space flight ticket is the equivalent of you buying a PS3.

Re:In a hearbeat.

[neumayr]

There's a 4.1% chance of dying (thanks to the editable Wikipedia).

Sorry, but editing Wikipedia doesn't edit reality.