Selling space

WASHINGTON, January 18: Iron, gold and platinum worth billions of dollars lie deep beneath the crusts of asteroids in space, in the bizarre ...

WASHINGTON, January 18: Iron, gold and platinum worth billions of dollars lie deep beneath the crusts of asteroids in space, in the bizarre mini-planets resembling potatoes, tomatoes and sponges.

Space technology and hard business sense could soon ring in a gold rush in space, in which futuristic spacecraft swarm out to the 400 asteroids that are to be found in the vicinity of the earth8217;s orbit of the sun. The possibility of finding valuable mineral deposits is not the only factor seeming to promise a fortune to adventurous businessmen willing to brave unknown risks as they look to outer space in the next millennium.

Thus, engineers who come up with a design for a privately financed spacecraft capable of carrying passengers at least 100 km above the earth8217;s surface and returning them safely stand to win 10 million dollars.

Space tourism will start in about 10 years time, when people have stopped laughing about the idea, says British businessman David Ashford.

Ashford8217;s company, Bristol Spaceplanes, istrying to win the 10-million-dollar prize. He believes holidays in space hotels together with return tickets costing 10,000 to 20,000 dollars could be profitable in about 15 years time.

Financial incentives of the kind that encouraged aviator Charles Lindbergh to make the first solo flight across the Atlantic are not necessary to motivate James Benson of Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Benson8217;s company, Spacedev, plans to send an unmanned craft to an asteroid for less than 50 million dollars by the end of 1999.

By landing on one of the mini-planets the spaceship will stake a claim on it, holding high the company flag far from home, and allowing the conquest of space to begin. If it succeeds, Benson8217;s project NEAP Near Earth Asteroid Prospector could result in the first privately financed, unmanned spacecraft leaving the orbit of earth to land elsewhere.