The Space Review looks at space tourism, private-sector innovation, space-based solar power, and the direction for the U.S. civilian space program.

Well, with the economy crashing, the rich are escaping the carnage the only way they know how: by spending wildly on extravagant getaways. In this case, a 2-hour holiday to space.

That’s one conclusion that you can draw from the latest figures coming out of Virgin Galactic. Travel Weekly reports:

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A few aviation related Peeps from Artomatic, an art show that runs through July 5 in Washington, DC.

Mirapeep on the Hudson

Sully and his peeps await rescue during an emergency landing on the Hudson. Every peep was saved.

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Inflatable tower could climb to the edge of space
NewScientist

A giant inflatable tower could carry people to the edge of space without the need for a rocket, and could be completed much sooner than a cable-based space elevator, its proponents claim.

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Commercial astronaut reaches for the stars
Swissinfo.ch

Banker Peter von May is planning to become the first ever Swiss space tourist onboard Richard Branson’s pioneering Virgin Galactic space shuttle.

The flight, the first commercial venture of its kind, will climb up to a height of 110 kilometres above the globe, allowing the passengers to feel weightlessness and catch an exceptional view of the Earth.

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Clara Ma signs Curiosity in the JPL clean room. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA MISSION UPDATE

Twelve-year-old Clara Ma flew from Kansas to JPL to meet and sign the next rover that will zoom millions of miles to Mars. The trip is Clara’s prize for winning an essay contest in which she named the rover “Curiosity.”

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Artist's conception of WhiteKnight2/SpaceShipTwo in flight (credit: Virgin Galactic)

ITT: Virgin Galactic targets 50,000 flyers
TTGLive.com

Virgin Galactic hopes to carry 50,000 passengers in its first decade of operations.

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Washington, DC’s annual Artomatic show is underway. The free annual showcase of local art is being held on eight floors of an empty office building on Half Street Southeast from now through July 5.

“It’s got everything from soup to nuts, but there’s a lot more nuts than soup,” a friend warned me. Not to be dissauded, I checked it out on Thursday and was pleasantly surprised.

I found one exhibit that I thought was especially brilliant. The Peeps exhibit consists of a series of art pieces that use small marshmallow candies that are usually consumed during at Easter. A number of the pieces had space and aviation themes.

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ASTROTECH PRESS RELEASE

Astrotech Corporation (NASDAQ: ASTC – News) today announced that Brian K. Harrington has resigned as Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer and Secretary effective June 04, 2009.

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Veteran Japanese astronaut Takao Doi to take up UN job
The Mainichi Daily News

Veteran Japanese astronaut Takao Doi will serve as a section chief at the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs in Vienna from autumn, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has announced.

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Ares 1-X undergoing assembly

NASA PRESS RELEASE

NASA is inviting the public to make its voice heard as a panel of experts undertakes an independent review of planned U.S. human space flight activities.

NASA has created a Web site for the Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee to facilitate a two-way conversation with the public about the future direction of the agency’s space flight programs.

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