Stephen Hawking plans space flight in 2009

iTWire ^ | 01/08/2007 | Adam Turner

[gallaxyglue]

Stephen Hawking plans space flight in 2009 By Adam Turner Monday, 08 January 2007 Renowned physicist Stephen Hawking is planning a zero-gravity aircraft flight this year in preparation for a venture into space in 2009. Hawking hopes to be one of the first passengers aboard British businessman Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic service, reports London's Daily Telegraph in a interview to mark Hawking's 65th birthday. Virgin Galactic is set to offer two-hour sub-orbital flights as of 2009.

Struck down with motor neuron disease in his early twenties, Hawking is wheelchair-bound and speaks with the aid of a computer. He expressed interest in a space flight last December, remarking on BBC radio that "maybe Richard Branson will help me".

Perhaps the world's best known scientist, Hawking holds Isaac Newton's chair as the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University in England. He is known for his contributions to the fields of cosmology and quantum gravity, and is author of the best seller A Brief History of Time.

[gallaxyglue]

I agree with Hawking that man's destiny is the stars. However, I'll start a bet that Hawking won't go up, and we will never reach the stars. We've lost our path and will. We are as physically (and emotionally and mentally) destroyed as he is.

[pinz-n-needlez]

I would think that the G Force of take off would kill him....

[AngelesCrestHighway]

My thoughts exactly...It’ll probably kill him.

[PBRSTREETGANG]

[beethovenfan]

I’ll get farther into space than Hawking ever will - once
I have my resurrection body not confined in spacetime. Too
bad Hawking with all his brilliance cannot/will not acknowledge God the creator.

[Silly]

I was thinking the same thing.

[lesser_satan]

Probably, but he should go for it anyway. His condition has been deteriorating lately, and if he can die doing something he’s dreamed of instead of slowly wasting away, good for him.

[Red Badger]

...and we will never reach the stars...

Not in THIS body we won't..........After Jesus returns, most definitely.........

[mother]

Actually, he HAS acknowledge God in his writings. You should read some of them before you make a statement like that!

[Gay State Conservative]

Too bad Hawking with all his brilliance cannot/will not acknowledge God the creator.

I've never understood that myself.One would think that physicians,biologists,astronomers,etc would be the first ones to acknowledge the existence of God.

[LibLieSlayer]

Send him up free if he agrees to stay there.

LLS

[-=SoylentSquirrel=-]

Any news on his ultra-hot nurse?

She was a sight to behold.

[mkjessup]

"...he should go for it anyway. His condition has been deteriorating lately, and if he can die doing something he’s dreamed of instead of slowly wasting away, good for him"

I agree completely.

A few years ago, I was on a 'look up your old friends' kick and stumbled across the street address for the doctor that delivered me MANY moons ago, still listed in his name.

I called the number, his wife answered, I told her why I was calling, and she thanked me for thinking of them, said she was sorry to tell me that her husband had died in '98 while scuba diving off the coast of Mexico, suffered a heart attack and went very quickly.

He was 90.

I'm glad he went doing something he enjoyed.

[USMMA_83]

So, heaven is out there huh...beyond the stars. Brilliant! It looks like you are already way out there.

[Joe 6-pack]

"One would think that physicians,biologists,astronomers,etc would be the first ones to acknowledge the existence of God."

There is an arrogance that runs through some veins of academia; particularly in some of the sciences. 600 years ago, many were certain that the earth was flat, the center of the universe, and an eclipse was the result of a dragon consuming the sun.

600 years from now, much of our conventional thinking and accepted "knowledge" will seem every bit as ridiculous, despite science's current convictions about the nature of things.

[USMMA_83]

Why the venom in your heart for this man?

[ravingnutter]

In the U.S., these “commercial astronauts” are run through vigorous tests to certify they are medically able to fly, including being run in the human centrifuge. They are also fitted with Anti-G suits. However, as in the case of Charles Simonyi, if you fail the tests you can always go to the Russians, who will send you up anyway as long as you fork out the big bucks.

[B-Chan]

BOOM SHAKA-LAKA-LAKA BOOM SHAKA-LAKA-LAKA BOOM SHAKA-LAKA-LAKA BOOM

[Fiji Hill]

Struck down with motor neuron disease in his early twenties

In the US, this ailment is better known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or Charcot's disease. It is usually fatal about five years after its onset, but Hawkings has had it for about four decades.

[pinz-n-needlez]

That’s what I was thinking.

Remember all the testing and training that they show in The Right Stuff (and Space Cowboys, lol)? How on earth could Hawkings’ body survive all of that?

I do recall that NASA accepted John Glenn for a second trip, but that was paid for by a different currency. What *is* the current exchange rate for souls? :-/

[PBRSTREETGANG]

In the US, this ailment is better known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or Charcot's disease.

In the U.S. ALS would be better known as "Lou Gherig's Disease" rather than "Charcot's", I would think.

[Raymann]

I've never understood that myself.One would think that physicians,biologists,astronomers,etc would be the first ones to acknowledge the existence of God.

It's called 'asking too many questions'. We atheists have a tendency to do that. :)

[beethovenfan]

I didn’t say anything about heaven.

[Raymann]

What *is* the current exchange rate for souls?

A rubber band, a paper clip, a straw, and a wad a chewing gum...Big League Chew.

[LibLieSlayer]

No venom... but he is a leftist and had bashed Bush... so I gave a little back. I read him and study his writings. He is brilliant... but a lefty.

LLS

[pinz-n-needlez]

Just about... :-(

[mikrofon]

Although I don’t necessarily agree with his politics or some of his scientific conclusions, it’s probably better to be a creative, engaged individual with motor neuron disease than a healthy slacker with neutered moron disease (a/k/a most Libs)...

[ravingnutter]

Yeah, I am not sure how Glenn got through the physical, but the doctors at the Baylor College of Medicine passed him. FAA regulations cover commercial space flight and passengers that will be exposed to a G-load exceeding +3Gz during any phase of the flight undergo a physical examination and lab tests administered by an aerospace physiologist to rule out any health conditions that may affect them during flight and that is before they are even allowed in the human centrifuge. Due to BRAC, our company has been pursuing training these astronauts as a business venture under a cooperative agreement with the Air Force, we have a world-renowned aerospace physiologist on staff.

[pinz-n-needlez]

Fascinating! Good luck on that venture. :-)

[Hegewisch Dupa]

best I could do, and I don't even know if it's her

[fortunecookie]

He seems so frail. I can't imagine how he would do on take off. I don't know to what extent he can prepare with cardio or other training, either.

We've lost our path and will. We are as physically (and emotionally and mentally) destroyed as he is.

It does seem so, at least for now.

[USMMA_83]

So what if he’s a Lefty? I don’t get the absolute disregard people have for another human being based on political leanings. We are talking politics here folks! He bashed Bush is a weak argument for the venom you spewed. Are we raising a generation of adults whose idea of discourse is calling people names? I've been around political big-wigs, let me tell you they absolutely enjoy the company of each other...for them this is all a game.

[LibLieSlayer]

“So what if he’s a Lefty?”

His political philosophy is an enemy of all that I hold dear. His politics want to destroy the very World our Founders and those that came before them have built. His politics are an insult to every American that has given his life, or risked his life in the fight for Freedom and Liberty!

“I don’t get the absolute disregard people have for another human being based on political leanings.”

They are worthless because they foment all that is destroying freedom and our Rights within our own Nation. They are risking the entire ME by threatening to cut and run, which will lead to genocide and religious warfare. Israel’s existence hangs in the balance. Worldwide Nuclear War is a real possibility, if we leave the region in defeat! Just because you do not see it that way, or think we are all wrong... makes no difference... it is STILL the truth!

“We are talking politics here folks!”

Politics shapes the very world that we live in. It’s not Nascar or the NFL... it is one of the most important tools that we have in our tool kit... tools that we use to create or destroy our Nation and the World in which we live.

“He bashed Bush is a weak argument for the venom you spewed.”

Venom? You are the one hissing and striking out here... not me. I simply made a joke which you did not get or did not like. Fine by me, but I was not spewing venom.

“Are we raising a generation of adults whose idea of discourse is calling people names?”

We raise children... and not very well... “it takes a village” and all of that tripe! I did not call anyone a name. You have, however... (big-wigs)!

“I’ve been around political big-wigs, let me tell you they absolutely enjoy the company of each other...for them this is all a game.”

I have been around Presidents, Governors and Congressmen. Statesmen do not take our government as a game. Political parasites and lightweight wananbees (peloser and reid) do!

LLS

[Rick.Donaldson]

I agree with Hawking that man's destiny is the stars. However, I'll start a bet that Hawking won't go up, and we will never reach the stars. We've lost our path and will. We are as physically (and emotionally and mentally) destroyed as he is.

Wow... aren't you being all positive and all..... No, we WILL reach the stars. Talking like a defeatist Democrat won't get you very far into space.

[Rick.Donaldson]

I would think that the G Force of take off would kill him....

Folks, I don't think anyone READS anything any more.

First off, he isn't GOING INTO SPACE.

he's going to be riding a NASA plane that flies through the AIR and SIMULATES zero gravity.

The plane flies a long curve which basically makes it fall out of the sky for about 30 seconds. You become weightless.

THEN it flies back UP and your weight increases to twice Earth Gravity.

Hawking WILL do it, and it WON'T kill him, because it isn't a shuttle flight or rocket into space.

[Rick.Donaldson]

I’ll get farther into space than Hawking ever will - once I have my resurrection body not confined in spacetime. Too bad Hawking with all his brilliance cannot/will not acknowledge God the creator.

Just... WOW.... Try reading some of his stuff. Try reading, "A Brief History of Time"..... Just TRY READING folks.

[toddlintown]

“Hey! What’s this button do?”

[pinz-n-needlez]

Silly me, he’ll only be pulling 2 G’s.

So I will amend...
I would think that the G Force of traveling the other side of the parabola would kill him.

Better?

[Mamzelle]

Isn’t Hawking a global-warming kook? He leaves a larger carbon footprint than Al Gore!