Suborbital tourism is stepping stone to two hour flights around the world

A DeltaGliderIV within Martin Schweiger's Orbiter Simulator can realistically simulate travel from the Atlantic coast of the United States to the skies over Al Anbar in only 45 minutes. But lining up for a comfortable low-G re-entry and landing requires at least a half orbit line-up. Minimal travel-time from North Carolina's Global Trans-Park to Iraq, for example, would require two hours of flight time; an initial pass over western Russia and India, a re-entry burn over the far South Pacific, encounter with the atmosphere over the Great Plains to eventually slow to Mach 3 west of Baghdad [Orbiter/LP].

FastForward
Hat Tip: Next Big Future

SpaceShipTwo was unveiled Monday and should soon result in thousands of trips from a spaceport to suborbital 60+ mile height and then return to the same launch point for $200,000 per trip.

This is laying the groundwork for global high-speed air and space travel with two hour flights anywhere in the world (where there is a suitable takeoff and landing site).

FastForward's 15 page presentation Getting Faster Point to Point travel is HERE.

China warns of space arms race; Russia threatens response to U.S. hypersonic advances

China warns of 'Arms Race in Outer Space'

AP - GENEVA — China's Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi called Wednesday for international diplomacy to avert an "arms race in outer space."

Space should be reserved for peaceful purposes, Yang told the 65-nation Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.

"Outer space is now facing the looming danger of weaponization," he said. "Credible and effective multilateral measures must be taken to forestall the weaponization and arms race in outer space."

China and Russia have been vocal advocates of a global treaty against space-based weapons and argue for this to be included in future Conference of Disarmament negotiations.

The United States has dismissed the criticism as designed to block its plans for a missile interceptor system — while leaving untouched Chinese and Russian ground-based missiles that can fire into space.

"Countries should neither develop missile defense systems that undermine global strategic stability nor deploy weapons in outer space," Yang said.

Read the full article HERE.

Russia to upgrade air-space defense:
air force commander
Zelin says response to U.S. hypersonic advances

Xinhua -Russia will improve its air and space defense systems to counter possible threats from other nations, the country's air force commander said Tuesday.

Other countries, particularly the United States, will acquire new weapons such as hypersonic vehicles by 2030, and therefore will be able to deliver coordinated high-precision strikes from air and space against any target on Russian territory, Col. Gen. Alexander Zelin told a news conference.

Russia needs to upgrade its weapons and systems in order to counter such a potential, Zelin said.

In line with the new concept, air-space defense brigades will be created within the Russian Air Force and will be equipped with advanced S-400 and S-500 air defense systems, he said.

"The S-500 system is being developed under an original design ... and will be capable of destroying hypersonic and ballistic targets," Zelin said.

Read the full article HERE.