210 lines
6.3 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
210 lines
6.3 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
sponsored
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motoring
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ford-future-sessions
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future-of-science
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8206399
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-----
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# Virgin space tourism
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## What's in store for the rich and famous when Virgin Galactic's
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SpaceShipTwo undertakes its maiden voyage?
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![A computer-generated image of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo in flight. ][1]
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Image 1 of 3
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A computer-generated image of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo in flight.
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![A passenger enjoys the view of Earth from Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo.
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][2]
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Image 1 of 3
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A passenger enjoys the view of Earth from Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo.
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![Seats on Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo will be fully reclined.][3]
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Image 1 of 3
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Seats on Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo will be fully reclined.
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1:29PM GMT 16 Dec 2010
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A flight aboard Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo costs $200,000. And, while a
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few of its passengers may be young, fit billionaires, it's likely that many
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will be closer to the "fat cat" category. So how will those arteries, clogged
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by years of foie gras and champagne, cope with the rigours of space travel?
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When SpaceShipTwo is dropped from its White Knight launch vehicle at 50,000ft,
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there will be a moment of weightlessness before its hybrid rocket engine
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fires, propelling the craft to 2,500mph in just a few seconds, and letting
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passengers experience an acceleration of four times the force of gravity.
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During the suborbital section of the two-and-a-half-hour flight, there'll be
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next to no gravity at all, and these first space tourists will be able to
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leave their seats, float around the cabin and enjoy the view of the Earth
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below.
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But the biggest concern will be the descent. To ease the burden of re-entry
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passengers' seats will be fully reclined, and, rather than the "snap g"
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associated with rollercoasters, there will be a gradual build-up, so Virgin
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Galactic doesn't anticipate its customers blacking out and missing the last
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part of their pricey trip.
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As a precaution every passenger will spend three days at Space Camp,
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undergoing medical screening. So far 81 potential spacemen and women aged from
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22 to 88 have undergone these tests, and 93 per cent passed.
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That's good news for those whose rich tastes may have led to some physical
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expansion. More foie gras for the in-flight meal, perhaps?
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[X][4] Share & bookmark
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Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter
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Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz
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[What are these?][5]
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* Share: [Share][4] [ ][6] [ ][7]
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[Tweet][8]
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/motoring/ford-future-sessions/future-of-
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science/8206399/Virgin-space-tourism.html
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Telegraph
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## [Future of science][9]
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* ### [Sponsored »][10]
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* ### [Motoring »][11]
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* ### [Ford Future Sessions »][12]
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[X][4] Share & bookmark
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Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter
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Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz
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[What are these?][5]
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Share:
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* [ ][4]
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* [ ][6]
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* [ ][7]
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* [Tweet][8]
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* ![][13]
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[The Hubble Telescope »][14]
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### [WIN! a new book about the Hubble Space Telescope's amazing
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discoveries][15]
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[![Light echoes from a red supergiant star, as captured by the Hubble Space
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Telescope. ][16] ][15]
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The Telegraph has five copies of Hubble: Window on the Universe by Giles
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Sparrow, worth £40 each, to give away.
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### [The Hubble Space Telescope: the big picture][17]
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For 20 years the Hubble Space Telescope has shown us amazing images like
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these. Giles Sparrow, author of Hubble: Window on the Universe, explains why
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it's a modern marvel.
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### [Images from the Hubble Space Telescope][18]
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[![Images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope from Giles Sparrow's Hubble:
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Window on the Universe. ][19]][18]
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Images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope from the book Hubble: Window on the
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Universe.
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[The new silicon? »][20]
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### [Graphene: our miracle material][21]
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[![Graphene is a planar sheet of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal pattern.
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Stacked graphene sheets form graphite, used in pencils. ][22] ][21]
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Graphene is harder than diamond, just a single molecule thick and conducts
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electricity. Kat Hannaford talks to the two Nobel prize-winning scientists who
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discovered it about why it could revolutionise everything.
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[1]:
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http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01786/virginspace2_1786842b.jpg
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[2]:
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http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01786/virginspace3_1786838b.jpg
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[3]:
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http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01786/virginspace1_1786834b.jpg
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[4]: #
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[5]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/4590190/Share-this-article-
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What-are-these.html
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[6]: mailto:?subject=A Telegraph reader thought you would be interested in
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this article&body=Depending on your email program, you may be able to click on
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the link in the email. Alternatively, you may have to open a web browser, such
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as Firefox or Internet Explorer, and copy the link over into the address bar.
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%0A%0Ahttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/motoring/ford-future-sessions
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/future-of-science/8206399/Virgin-space-tourism.html %0A%0AFor the best
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content online, visit www.telegraph.co.uk
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[7]: javascript:print()
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[8]: http://twitter.com/share?via=Telegraph
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[9]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/motoring/ford-future-sessions
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/future-of-science/
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[10]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/
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[11]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/motoring/
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[12]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/motoring/ford-future-sessions/
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[13]:
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http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01766/Ford_in_asso_1766175a.jpg
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[14]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/motoring/ford-future-sessions
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/future-of-science/8206698/Celebrating-the-Hubble-Space-Telescope.html
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[15]: /sponsored/motoring/ford-future-sessions/future-of-
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science/8206679/Win-a-copy-of-Hubble-Window-on-the-Universe.html
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[16]:
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http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01786/hubble1_1786847e.jpg
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[17]: /sponsored/motoring/ford-future-sessions/future-of-science/8206698
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/The-Hubble-Space-Telescope-the-big-picture.html
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[18]: /sponsored/motoring/ford-future-sessions/future-of-science/8207252
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/Images-from-the-Hubble-Space-Telescope.html
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[19]:
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http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01787/hubble3_1787067e.jpg
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[20]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/motoring/ford-future-sessions
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/future-of-science/8207121/Graphene-our-miracle-material.html
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[21]: /sponsored/motoring/ford-future-sessions/future-of-science/8207121
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/Graphene-our-miracle-material.html
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[22]:
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http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01787/graphene_1787024e.jpg
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