Rocketeers.co.uk - a British view of commercial spaceflight

Below is footage of a Google Tech Talk given on 21st May 2009 by Derek Webber on the current status of space tourism markets and the prospects for hypersonic point-to-point travel.

Link via Doug Messier of Parabolic Arc.

Bio from SpaceWorks Engineering: Mr. Webber's career began as a launch vehicle and satellite engineer in what is now EADS/Astrium Space Systems. He worked on thermal control system design for a number of satellites, including the Skynet satellite, and on kinetic heating analyses for launch vehicles, including post-flight analyses of telemetry from the Europa vehicle firings from the Woomera range. He became Head of Procurement at Inmarsat, (responsible for contracting over a billion dollars worth of communications satellites, their launch vehicles and ground segment), and Managing Director of Tachyon Europe (providing satellite broadband and Internet access across the continent). Mr. Webber operated a consulting and training company based in San Diego with clients including Comsat Corporation and the then Hughes Space and Satellite Systems. Consulting assignments included PDR, CDR Design Review Board membership, international negotiation skills training, and systems engineering tasks.

Mr. Webber holds a B.Sc. Honors Degree in Physics and Mathematics from Newcastle University (UK), and postgraduate qualifications in Space Science (from University College London, UK) and Management (from the University of Westminster, UK). He is a Senior Member of AIAA and a Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society. Mr. Webber has been a member of the Adjunct Faculty of the International Space University, and at the US International University in San Diego, where he provided courses on international management. Mr. Webber is an active member of the Reusable Launch Vehicles Working Group and the Launch Operations Support Working Group of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)-AST COMSTAC Committee.