Blue Origin tests passenger accommodations on suborbital launch (Spaceflight Now)

 Blue Origin tests passenger accommodations on suborbital launch.

Branson hints at Virgin Galactic commercial flights by 2019 (KRQE News 13)

Branson hints at Virgin Galactic commercial flights by 2019.

Richard Branson: ‘Millions of people would love to become astronauts' (The Guardian)

Richard Branson: ‘Millions of people would love to become astronauts'.

Blue Origin aims to take passengers on suborbital space flights in 2018 (CBC)

Blue Origin aims to take passengers on suborbital space flights in 2018. 

2016 Could Be the Year Space Tourism Takes Off (Observer)

2016 could be the year space tourism takes off.

See the World from 100,000 Feet (Air & Space Smithsonian)

See the world from 100,000 feet.

Making good on the promise of suborbital spaceflight (The Space Review)

Making good on the promise of suborbital spaceflight.

Jeff Bezos' space tourism company completes test flight (USA Today)

Jeff Bezos' space tourism company completes test flight.

Private space taking shape

Private space taking shape.

Suborbital space flight for tourists - when will it happen?

Suborbital space flight for tourists - when will it happen?

Space Tourism: Space Flights to Sub-Orbital Levels (decoded Science)

An article, by Junaid Ali, in 'decoded Science' that answers some questions about sub-orbital flight.

"Thoughts about Transportation while over the Atlantic" by Amnon Govrin

Nice essay about the wonders of point-to-point suborbital transportation by fellow blogger Amnon Govrin of "Spacepirations."

Up: the story behind Richard Branson's goal to make Virgin a galactic success (Wired Magazine Article)

Article about Virgin Galactic in Wired Magazine. Well worth reading!

"Spaceport Associates" Site - All about Commercial Space Transportation!

Kudos to Derek Webber for maintaining an excellent site ("Spaceport Associates"), which is loaded with lots of useful resources about commercial space transportation. 

"Fast Forward Project" - Excellent Resource about Point-to-Point Suborbital Transportation

From the Fast Forward Project website:

"The FastForward Project is a diverse, ad-hoc industry study group focused on common issues related to future global, high-speed point-to-point transportation (including passenger travel and fast package delivery). The all-volunteer group is broadly supported across the aerospace industry, with key members from flight system providers (both entrepreneurial and traditional aerospace hardware companies), future operators, government agencies, commercial aerospaceports, academic organizations, and specialist consultants. Members have backgrounds ranging from traditional aviation to space applications.

The FastForward Study Project is focused on examining pre-competitive issues and questions key to understanding the technical and economic viability of future high-speed global transportation services based on either atmospheric or exo-atmospheric flight. These two emerging markets are related, and both share the goal of drastically reducing point-to-point travel times between distance points on the globe to a matter of hours."

Sir Richard Branson Discusses Privatization of Space

Part 1 Interview with Sir Richard Branson, on Fox News, where he discusses commercial spaceflights.

Here's part 2.

International Space University Study

Interesting 2008 study from the International Space University in Strasbourg, France. Well worth reading for some background.

Here's the abstract:

"There has recently been a tremendous growth in the private funding of satellite and launch 
vehicle technology as well as various technical aspects of astronautics and space exploration. In the past this has largely been due to government support, via supporting international legal 
regimes and awarding contracts to private companies. Private initiatives in commercial launch 
vehicle development aimed at exploiting the potentials of a global space tourism market have 
also served to further strengthen the role that the private industries are taking in the space 
sector. With this growth in launch vehicle development, comes a revived focus on space 
technologies as means of transportation, with point to point suborbital flights being looked at as the next step. As key technologies mature, there is a possibility for suborbital space flight to 
become a viable method of transporting passengers and cargo around the world; however, there are many questions raised by this and the need therefore exists to lay a foundation for the successful realization of any such initiative. This report seeks to outline the conditions that 
would be required for this growth. 

This report is a thorough appraisal of the technological, financial, marketing, safety, 
infrastructural, and legal requirements for the point to point suborbital transportation industry. 
Focused on the transport of passengers and cargo, the report analyzes in detail the conditions 
that should be put in place to foster and sustain this industry. It describes the existing challenges and discusses possible options for overcoming these while drawing from the experience of previous programs. The report includes an in-depth look at the feasibility of point to point suborbital transportation from the perspective of cost, funding, technology development, and the possibility of growth from a fledgling suborbital tourism industry. The conclusions are synthesized into a series of recommendations for the next generation of suborbital travel to go forth and prosper."

U.S. Commercial Suborbital Industry (FAA Report)

A report published by the FAA that presents an overview of the emerging U.S. commercial suborbital spaceflight industry. Includes descriptions of the different types of reusable spacecraft under development.