Homebuilt $70,000 Single-Person Spacecraft Tested

The person standing in the Tycho Brache capsule would actually not be a pilot or an astronaut, as the machine is controlled remotely from the Earth. "He's not doing anything with the spacecraft; he's not flying it in any way. He's there as an observer," Madsen explained

Then why not just replace the person with a camera and have the person sit instead in a nice dark room surrounded by screens to simulate the experience?

A camera is far superior to a person in this application, especially as the persons field of view is quite small compared to a camera mounted on a remotely-controlled rotatable platform, or multiple cameras creating a near 360 degree field of view. An actual person is not going to be able to see much except, well stars.

Is really being 'there' worth all the effort and problems?

Because it's like the difference between actually scuba diving versus watching Jacques Cousteau on PBS.

However, you are right. For some people they would dread the thought of even sticking their toe in salt water for fear of stepping on a sea shell.

Some one famous once said, "The unexamined life is not worth living." So, they poisoned him.

Scuba diving is a good example where nothing beats the real thing, but when comparing it to a rocket experience like the one mentioned in the link it would be more like being encased in a packing crate with a small window in front of you and then pushed into the water to bob and float around uncontrollably, rather than actually swimming in a controlled and directed fashion.

Sure your in water (or space), but is the limited experience really worth it still? It may even ruin your experience if it doesn't meet a certain level of your expectation (ever lusted after a super car like the Lamborghini countach but then had your experience ruined by actually driving it).

At some point in time you have to say it just isn't the same or worth it, even ignoring the costs or risks (both of which are large). Sometimes a picture and your imagination is better than a bad experience with the real thing.

You wrote, "... but when comparing it to a rocket experience like the one mentioned in the link it would be more like being encased in a packing crate with a small window in front of you and then pushed into the water to bob and float around uncontrollably..."

Sell that to all the previous NASA astronauts. My money is that in spite of being strapped into a chair where they can't move and little or no control over the flight of the space craft they would do it again in a heartbeat. John Glenn begged for another ride for decades.

Richard Brandon has over 400 people lined up willing to spend $200K just for one sub-orbital flight.

I see little evidence to back your claim. People go through ridiculous efforts just to "be there". It doesn't matter if it is the Sarasota beaches or some crater on the Moon. The human race is genetically programmed to experience pushing the frontiers. It's wonderful.

Priceless. _{& I'm stealing it.}