Long time chief of the Space Tourism Society John Spencer is profiled in this article: John Spencer Discusses Mars On Earth, Yachts In Space And Space Tourism's Future - Neon Tommy - Sept.8.10 (via spacetoday.net).

BTW: The STS's website has a lot more substance to it than the last time I looked. See, e.g., the Web Links and Library sections.

Spencer also has a book on space tourism:

Richard Garriott writes about the potential of the ISS for research and exploration: The new space race? - Public Service (via spacetoday.net).
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A first-hand report on going weightless aboard a ZERO-G flight: Experiencing Zero-G - BostonHerald.com - Aug.1.10.

Richard Garriott, who reportedly spent about half his net worth on his ticket to the ISS, may get some extra cash for future space projects: Game maker Richard Garriott spent $30M going into space, wins $28M jury award after being fired - VentureBeat.
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The WhiteKnightTwo did not make an appearance this year at the Oshkosh Airshow but Burt was there as seen in this picture by Ian Kluft: Burt Rutan speaks on commercial space future & opportunities at Oshkosh - Twitpic.

I couldn't find any articles on what he said so I assume he did not reveal anything new about WK2/SS2 progress.

Update: A reader points me to this report on Burt's remarks: Rutan: Opportunities best for commercial space flight - AirVenture - July.29.10

Rutan said NASA should give 10 to 15 percent of its budget to new space companies like Elon Musk's SpaceX without regulating how to spend the money. "That would allow them to not (have to) beg for commercial investment, while still working in an entrepreneurial mode."

The space tourism firm Xtraordinary Adventures promotes rides on the XCOR Lynx suborbital vehicle: Xtraordinary Adventures Announces New Corporate Incentive...A Suborbital Space Thrill Ride on XCOR's LYNX - StreetInsider.com - July.29.10.

The company Xtraordinary Adventures announces that it will partner with Rocketship Tours to sell tickets for rides to space on the XCOR Lynx suborbital vehicle: Space Tourism's Best Value For Suborbital Space Flight - XCOR's Lynx - July.16.10.

The Americans in Orbit 50 Years (AIO-50) organization has released the following announcement:


Madison, Ala., July 13, 2010 –The dream of becoming an astronaut now seems out of reach to many young people, but Americans in Orbit–50 Years (AIO-50) plans to make sure students can, and will, become astronauts. Today, AIO-50 announced their Students in Space program, the newest initiative of their International Space Science Education Program (ISSEP). Qualified young Americans who will be between the ages of 18 and 25 in the year 2014 have the opportunity to compete for an orbital mission planned for 2014.

“Making space available to students lies at the heart of AIO-50’s overall mission to inspire and educate a new generation of space explorers,” says AIO-50 president, Craig Russell.

The second Russian Cosmonaut, Titov, was only 25 years old when he orbited the earth in August, 1961. Ever since then, people under 25 have been excluded from manned space missions. “We must get our youth involved sooner or later… I say sooner!” says Russell.

AIO-50 will announce more details of the Students in Space program later this year; participation will involve an application process. All applicants must meet FAA Class 2 medical standards; each applicant will be required to go through astronaut training at the official AIO-50 training facility at Aurora Aerospace in Clearwater, Fla., and they must be either a student or a graduate student, and between the ages of 18 and 25 in the year 2014. The students chosen for these missions will train with the Mission Commander and learn to initiate the re-entry procedure and all emergency procedures.

AIO-50 is moving forward with the first, dedicated education launch, AMERICA’S LAUNCH (target date February 20, 2012). UAHuntsville Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering (MAE) students are testing the landing and recovery systems on a Gemini test vehicle. AIO-50 will work this fall with Calhoun Community College students to build actual space flight hardware.

AIO-50 is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization focused on space education. Every $50 donation given in the form of Orbit Club Memberships provides financial support for one student in the ISSEP. Contact Bonnie Whiteaker at bwhiteaker [at] aio50.org for more information, or visit our website at www.aio50.org.

I check occasionally but no new updates to the WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo test logs. Perhaps the test flight and rocket motor testing rate will increase this summer.

I wonder if Scaled will fly the WK2/SS2 combo to the Oshkosh Air Show this summer? Nothing about WK2/SS2 in the attractions list but that could change. Burt clearly loves the event and often brings his latest creations there.

Here's an article about Virgin Galactic, Burt Rutan, WK2/SS2, etc: Your flight is now departing from space terminal 1: The amazing story behind Sir Richard Branson's new Virgin Galactic project - Mail Online - June.5.10 (via spacetoday.net).

The 62MileClub has posted in their YouTube gallery two videos of a talk by Anousheh Ansari at the X PRIZE Tweet up on April 30, 2010:



See Part 2 here.

Here is an article about Anousheh Ansari and her space interests: The final frontier - ArabianBusiness.com (via spacetoday.net)

She has a new book out:

More about the Space Adventures/Armadillo Aerospace partnership: Space Tourism Firm to Offer Suborbital Joy Rides at Lower Costs - SPACE.com - Apr.30.10.

So far the suborbital spaceflight vehicle builder and space tourism marketer pairings go as follows:
- Armadillo Aerospace / Space Adventures
- Scaled Composites / Virgin Galactic
- XCOR / Rocketship Tours

No word yet on who Blue Origin will team up with but a wild guess would be Amazon...

This message came in late last night from the Space Tourism Society:

April 28, 2010: Happy Space Tourism Day!

Nine years ago today Mr. Dennis Tito rocketed into Earth orbit as the first private space traveler, starting the space tourism industry. His famous remark upon entering the International Space Station (ISS) was “I Love Space.”

Today, six other pioneering private space travelers have voyaged off-world (and one flew twice). Eventually tens of thousands of space tourists will cruise in Earth orbit, and around the Moon, and holiday at Lunar resorts. The Space Tourism Society (STS) is dedicated to accelerating the day when you too can voyage off-world. You are welcome to join us in this exciting quest.

STS is proclaiming next April 2011 “Space Tourism Month.” We and other space groups will recognize and celebrate the 10th anniversary of Tito’s lift-off, the 15th anniversary of the founding of STS, the 30th anniversary of the first U.S. Space Shuttle flight, and on April 12th 2011, the 50th anniversary of the first human to orbit the Earth in 1961.

Space Tourism 2011 – Do You Want to Go?

STS will host a three day Space Tourism Symposium on April 28, 29 and 30, 2011 in Los Angeles. This international event will bring together leaders in many fields involved in building the space tourism industry and creating the orbital lifestyle as well as new participants seeking business opportunities and exciting space careers. The symposium will conclude on Saturday evening, April 30 with our third STS Orbit Awards dinner/show.

Please check our STS web site for event updates and opportunities to participate and sponsor this premiere space tourism event.
www.SpaceTourismSociety.org

Sincerely
John Spencer, M. Arch, Space Tourism 2011 Chairperson

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, as soon as you see a bunch of articles about the end of space tourism flights to the ISS on the Soyuz, you can start a countdown clock to another round of articles about such flights starting up again, and vice versa:
/-- Russia to resume space tourism in 2012 - RT Top Stories
/-- Russia could build extra Soyuz capsule for space tours - RIA Novosti
/-- Russian Space Expert Says Soyuz Will Resume With Private Space Explorer Flights in 2012 - Spaceports

Some personal spaceflight items:
/-- Roscosmos says no private Soyuz flight till 2014 - Flight Global
/-- Brief notes: Soyuz, Virgin, and ... iCarly? - NewSpace Journal
/-- Sarasota test pilot ready to ride into space - HeraldTribune.com
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4Frontiers Corp. is developing a "space-themed entertainment and research facility that would include the simulated Martian environment": Their Mars mission is set to blast off - St. Petersburg Times - Mar.4.10.

Anousheh Ansari's new memoir My Dream of Stars, co-written with Homer Hickam, is now available. She comments on her blog about the release of the book.

Will Whitehorn of Virgin Galactic talks at a conference in Dubai:
/-- Virgin to test rocket-powered spaceship next year - BusinessWeek
/-- Virgin Galactic lures more GCC space tourists - Maktoob Business
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Jeff Foust points to the following hour long video interview posted at Big Think:

A press release from Starfighters Aerospace:

Starfighters Completes First Commercial Space Flight Training at KSC
Space Florida Integral to Commercial Operations

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. (February 23, 2010) - Two Florida residents, have become the first to complete a new commercial space flight training program at NASA’s John F Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Terence Witt, founder of Witt Biomedical, and his wife Virginia trained for space in the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, the same supersonic plane used to prepare Mercury, Gemini and Apollo astronauts for space travel. Husband and wife team completed their training with Starfighters, Inc, a privately-owned company operating under a formal Space Act Agreement allowing them full utilization of KSC’s Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF).

The Witts each passed a mandatory medical evaluation and completed two days of ground school covering the principles of atmospheric pressure and high-altitude flight before completing training in a hypobaric pressure chamber. Then, they received an extensive flight safety briefing, complete with ejection seat and parachute training, and strapped into the cockpit of an F-104 Starfighter.

Each completed a flight profile carefully designed to prepare future space tourists for the physical challenges of a suborbital space flight. A high-speed vertical climb simulated the high sustained g-forces of a rocket launch and was followed by supersonic flight over the Atlantic Ocean. A parabolic maneuver exposed the couple to the sensation of weightlessness.

“My life can now be separated into two distinct parts, the part before I flew an F-104 and the part after. I can’t thank the Starfighters team enough for making this possible,” said Witt, a licensed commercial pilot. “To say that it was merely ‘incredible’ does it a great disservice.”

Mrs. Witt was equally enthusiastic after her Starfighter flight. “Wow. There are no words to describe this ride.”

Starfighters is the only company authorized by both the FAA and NASA to offer commercial suborbital space flight training from KSC’s Shuttle Landing Facility. The company’s commercial operations at Kennedy are a result of a partnership between NASA and Space Florida aimed at developing and supporting the commercial space industry.

“Space Florida has been essential to the success of our mission,” said Rick Svetkoff, Starfighters President and Chief Pilot. “We both want to see the commercial space industry grow in Florida. With Space Florida’s continued unwavering support we are making real strides toward that vision.”

“Starfighters, in partnership with NASA-KSC and Space Florida, has achieved an incredibly important milestone with this announcement,” noted Space Florida President Frank DiBello. “The Commercial Sub-Orbital Training Program provides a great example of the types of innovative programs that will form the foundation of Florida’s growing commercial space sector. We are pleased to be a part of this groundbreaking program here in Florida.”

The Witt’s training flights were facilitated by KSC Chief of Flight Operations, Tom Friers and SLF Chief Air Traffic Controller, Ron Feile. “The SLF and its staff are instrumental in helping us achieve and sustain our commercial mission at KSC,” noted Svetkoff, “We couldn’t have asked for a more professional and dedicated team to work alongside.”

The couple purchased their Starfighters Aerospace training package from Incredible Adventures, an international adventure company based in Sarasota, Florida. The company has an exclusive contract to market the Starfighters Aerospace F-104 program for Starfighters, Inc. Future space tourists can choose from two training programs and can reserve space by calling Incredible Adventures at 800-644-7382.

Esther Dyson describes her training in Russia to become the backup private space traveler to Charles Simonyi, who flew to the ISS last spring: My life as a cosmonaut - Fortune Magazine.

People ask me all the time about space travel: "Aren't you scared?" I am 58 years old now. I don't particularly want to die in space, but I'm not afraid of it. It's not that I'd think my life was complete, but rather that I had not wasted what I had of my life...and that the flight was worth risking the rest of it.

The film Space Tourists by Christian Frei made its debut at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah this month. Here is a generally positive review: Space Tourists -- Film Review - The Hollywood Reporter - Jan.26.10 (via spacetoday.net).
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Meanwhile, New Mexico hopes for a generally positive return on its spaceport investment: New Mexico's Big Investment (Spaceport America) Should Pay Out -KFOX El Paso - Jan.26.10 (via spacetoday.net).

Andy Janes informs me that Will Whitehorn, president of Virgin Galactic, will give a Royal Aeronautical Society sponsored lecture at MoD Boscombe Down on 9th February 2010 17:15. "Mon-branch members wishing to attend will need to register their interest through Bryan Somerset – preferably via e-mail BCSOMERSET [at] qinetiq.com."

A discussion about the "astronaut" label and to whom it should and should not apply: When space is commonplace, what defines an astronaut? - Spacevidcast.