Virgin Galactic is arguably the leading private space tourism company, having actually built their suborbital craft and carrier and having flown them both. Their web site and publications all look taken from a sci-fi movie, with weightlessness touted as a wonder worth $200,000. One of the slogans Virgin Galactic uses (in the training page) is "Feel the Freedom of Zero G."
However, there's a dirty little secret that no one over at Virgin Galactic is talking about...
Read all about it on http://www.spacepirations.com/2010/05/virgin-galactic-dirty-little-secre...
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First, you are being VERY over-dramatic painting this as a "dirty little secret". There are many, MANY issues that must be dealt with in preparation for space flight--even short parabolic flights!--that are not spelled out on the VG site.
I have flown on over 140 parabolic flights (3200+ parabolas) and observed around 4,000 people experiencing microgravity--many for the first time. I am VERY familiar with motion sickness and understand the causes and frequency quite well.
Many people have a hard time dealing with the increased gravity (1.8-2 g's) more than the short microgravity portion. Many more are disoriented by the constant fluctuation between the reduced and increased gravity. A single 5-8 minute weightless stint will not be a problem for MOST people.
How many astronauts get sick in the first 5-10 minutes of their flight? Likely VERY few. That is the statistic you should look at as a comparison.
Motion sickness is one of the many issues that VG (or any suborbital carrier) will have to explain to customers before a flight. Saying it is some kind of "secret" is just bad journalism.
[Copied from Spacepirations.com]:
Tim,
Thanks for your comment, I appreciate any and every opinion.
As I wrote in the post, I based it on two testimonials, one from a personal experience of a fighter-jet pilot and another from The Space Show with Erik Seedhouse.
As you hopefully realize, I am fully engaged in getting into micro-gravity and suborbital flights, and the post title was my way to induce a little interest and controversy. I respect Virgin Galactic as an innovator and pioneer in suborbital flights, no offense intended.
Your sensationalist title does not "induce a little interest." You are capitalizing on existing interest to increase your exposure. The post insinuates that the company with the most advanced plans for commercial suborbital spaceflight is maliciously hiding vital information. It is extremely offensive and lacks any respect for the company to use them for your own gain like this.
Discussing space motion sickness is a great topic for a space blog. Your approach, and lack of quality sources, is what is disappointing. I suggest going to a conference where you can talk in person to several people that have actually experienced microgravity.
No one knows for sure how much this will be an issue until we start taking TONS of people up on a regular basis. Until then, motion sickness (even is space!) is a known condition with a rich history of research into mitigation techniques. Nothing "secret" or "dirty" about it.