You Ain't Seen Nuthin' Yet

As the world gears up to celebrate the first century of powered flight, you might be wondering what the second century will look like. In a word: Challenging.

"Aeronautics is not mature. We barely take advantage of it in our daily lives," says Mark Moore, one of NASA's top thinkers on future flight. "We haven't achieved the Wright brothers' dream."

Achieving that dream could mean air passengers will become space passengers, whether the outer realm becomes a destination or is simply part of the journey to another part of the world. X-Prize founder Peter Diamandis says space as a destination is certainly achievable in our lifetimes. "We're on the verge of what you might call the golden age of space flight, where it will be possible for the general public to fly into space on a routine basis," he said.

And he says it will be a most profitable industry. "There's a market for thousands of launches a year," said Diamandis, who foresees a private colony on the moon by 2025. "I believe the first trillionaires will be made in space."

While the commercial aviation industry studies bigger-is-better solutions like the Airbus A380, GA aircraft will become smaller, lighter and more computer-driven. NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton (VA) projects general aviation aircraft will become the cars of the future (where have we heard that before?). "The whole core of this is to make it so this is not just for the macho, elite rich," says Moore. "Normal people can use this for normal, on-demand travel."

FMI: www.larc.nasa.gov