Space Tourism Claims Its First Lives

May they Rest in Peace. Three brave and daring souls, pushing the limits of human achievement.

It is sad but their work in not in vain and will yield untold benefits and advancement in space flight in the not too distant future.

Stay safe and keep up the great work Burt, Richard and Co.

What a sad day for Space pioneers.

I think it is worth mentioning that N2O hybrid systems aren't as safe as generally conceived, there has been a lot of cases of suck back when the tanks become low.

Though the more probable cause of the accident would have been due to a blockage in the combustion chamber, a piece of Hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene rubber (the fuel) may have broken off during the burn and sealed off the nozzle creating a CATO.

My condolences to the family's and friends of the deceased.

Humans seem to learn by trial and error. Injuries and deaths of pioneers leads to safety procedures and innovations that makes the lives of later practitioners more secure.

Make it as safe as we can, but keep pushing the envelope.

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"space pioneers" or "space hobbyists"?

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I would hope you wouldn't denegrate the hard and complicated work that these space engineers are doing with the term hobbyist. These people are truly pioneers pushing the envelope in order to facilitate the ability to populate space and other worlds. Yes they are doing it for a profit to a degree but most of them love the idea of space as do a great many of the worlds population.

the perils of spaceflight are already common knowledge. this tragic event would help make future flights more safe rather than expose what was already a fact! Engineering is about making the intangible tangible rather than restricting our options to our fears

Space is a terrifying and wonderful thing. Apollo and Mercury proved just how hazardous the affair can be. But to continue the work in light of tragedies is what human evolution is all about. These brave people should be remembered and honoured for their work and dreams of the future.

Our condolences to the family and friends of those killed and injured. The personal spaceflight community is a small and closely knit family. The work will continue. Those souls will be remembered at the 2007 International Symposium for Personal Spaceflight.

My most sincere condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of the deceased. I hope for quick and complete recovery for the injured.

For most advances, people must die.
These are the lucky few to die, in order to save many others.

GOD SPEED !!!
We truly appreciate the sacrifice. Our future beacons us.

I feel for their families and I don't know (or rather doubt)if this would help but they were doing something they believed in and most likely enjoyed and somewhere in their mind they knew it had its dangers. But if the company stops now, I don't believe they would have wanted that. Let their memories live on in the success of what they helped start.

There must be failure before sucess. Let this be the only failure

Life is risk
we would not be here if someone wasn't striving.
From goo we came to what? quit?
nah if i was smart enough
I wouldnt give up the chance
to push the advancement
even knowing i could die
Hats off to the brave souls
in any profession who die knowing
its the right thing to do

Press on
nothing can take the place of perseverance
Talent will not
nothing is more commen than unsuccessful men with talent
Genuis will not
unrewarded genuis is almost a proverb
Education will not.
the world is full of educated derelicts.
persistance and determination alone are omnipotent
press on
-- Calvin Coolidge

my thoughts go out to you

Don't give guys. IT CAN BE DONE against all odds. I feel for the families of the ones who perish, their families should know that THEY ARE HEROES that Represent the American Spirit.

These men are the definition of heroes. They gave their lives advancing the human race. Their work will NOT go unnoticed and unappreciated. I'm sure they knew the inherent dangers in their job and they went ahead anyways. You don't have to slay dragons to be a hero in my mind. It's the simple daily act that allows one to achieve that denomination to me. I hope the families of the men feel a sense of pride amid the emotions with which they must already be filled.

That aside, I hope this doesn't slow the work as many people have suggested. I would like to think that if I died the way they did, the industry would not stop or slow, but learn from the incident and continue with new knowledge. I hope they are commemorated properly when we do achieve this amazing feat.