|
December
30, 2004
11:35
pm: Learn how to build a SpaceShipOne ...
Here's a chance to participate in building a copy of the SS1: Incredible
Opportunity!! Students and Young Professionals Wanted for the Chance
of a Lifetime - Space Race News! - Dec.30.04
2:05
am: Being there...
I'll soon be making regular trips to the National
Air & Space Museum with our nieces and nephews (and later
their kids) so that I can point to a strange and beautiful little
spaceship hanging up there in the center
gallery and can tell them, "I was there when it flew to
space for the last time": SpaceShipOne's
final trip - MSNBC - Dec.28.04
December
28, 2004
3:50
pm: News briefs...
More about Branson and rockets: Rocket
Man: Richard Branson conquered the world. Now he wants to fly you
to space. - Wired - Jan.05 issue
2:15
am: SS2 news and some speculation... The
BBC reports on more details revealed about the SpaceShipTwo design:
Virgin
soars towards new frontier - BBC - Dec.27.04.
As mentioned
here recently,
the SS2 will carry up to 8 passengers plus a pilot. In addition:
- It will have
"the same diameter crew cabin as a Gulfstream V business
jet" (1.9m by 2.2m).
- They are
"aiming for a top altitude of between 84 and 87 miles (135-140
km)" to provide additional time to experience weightlessness
- "'Instead
of shoulder harnesses and tight seatbelts we want this roller
coaster-type bar that you fold out of the way and you can float
around,' Rutan said."
- There will
be the "option of landing in a different place from where
they took off." For example, they could "launch not
far from Las Vegas and land in Mojave"
December
24, 2004
8:05
pm: News briefs... More
about the space bill history from Alan Boyle: Private-spaceflight
bill signed into law: After long struggle, law opens way for tourism
- MSNBC - Dec.24.04. (Via Space
Politics.) ...
...
The EAA
recognizes Mike Melvill and the SS1 project: Audience
Journeys into Space with Mike Melvill at EAA Wright Dinner - EAA
News - Dec.18.04 * Mike
Melvill Tours EAA - EAA Headquarters - Dec.17.04 (links via
Aleta Jackson)
December
23, 2004
1:35
pm: News briefs ...
Maybe in a decade or so we will see a bump in the number of majors
in aerospace engineering as students inspired as kids by SpaceShipOne
reach college age: Rediscovering
the final frontier: A new exhibit at Tampa's Museum of Science and
Industry lets visitors explore space without leaving the ground.
- St. Petersburg Times - Dec.23.04
December
22, 2004
2:00
pm: News briefs ... Burt
Rutan is awarded Entrepreneur
of the Year - Inc.com - Jan.05. The article provides an extensive
profile of Burt.
December
21, 2004
11:35
am: SpaceShipOne and Two news...
In this interview - SpaceShipOne
designer talks about flight’s future - thedesertsun.com - Dec.20.04
(reprint at Space
Race News) - Burt Rutan says:
- SS1 will
not fly again. Paul Allen doesn't want to risk damaging it. Instead
it is headed for the main gallery area in the Air & Space
Museum in DC.
- SS2 will
carry 9 people. Previous statements had indicated 5.
- " It
would also fly higher, and further down range. So this is going
to be a craft that could do sustainable business for a long time,
flying thousands of people."
December
20, 2004
11:50
am: News briefs...
The SS1 continues to impress the press around the country: For
aviation pioneer, high risk is routine: Mike Melvill flew SpaceShipOne
into outer space - Post-Crescent (Wisconsin) - Dec.18.04 (via
spacetoday.net)
December
16, 2004
3:30
pm: Some space transport news
comes in this article from the Economist about space tourism: One
small step for space tourism... - Economist - Dec.16.04.
Highlights about
SpaceShipTwo include:
- As announced
before, Virgin
Galactic plans to spend up to $100m and so far has committed
$20M for licensing of the SS1 technology.
- A mock-up
of the interior is under construction.
- A construction
contract for the 5-passenger SS2 will be signed in early 2005
- Exterior
work will then begin
- Star Trek
names will be assigned to the vehicles - VSS Enterprise and VSS
Voyager for the first two.
- There will
be a new mother ship instead of the White Knight
- Testing of
the first vehicle will occur "some time during 2007"
- The $200K
for the ticket will buy a 3-day experience that includes "medical
checks" and a custom molded flat foam seat so that riders
"will barely notice a G-force that might cause them to pass
out if they were sitting upright".
- Passengers
will remain tethered to their seats by "rubber bungees that
allow them to float about a bit, but will reel them in for descent
after four or five minutes of weightlessness".
- About 13K
people have registered to pay a deposit. Virgin needs 5K customers
over 5 years to make a profit.
- "they
do not intend to fly unless they can make their spacecraft as
safe as a private jet."
There are also
some rumors about Blue
Origin:
- The Blue
Origin vehicle will fly 7 passengers
- It will be
a single-stage, liquid-fueled, Vertical-Takeoff-Vertical-Landing
vehicle.
BTW: I heard
that a couple of Blue Origin reps came to the recent COMSTAC
meeting held by the AST. However, they were apparently there just
to listen and did not give a presentation.
December
14, 2004
9:50
am: News briefs...
The idea of selling space memorabilia that has actually flown
in space gets a boost from this auction: "SpaceShip-flown
rocket to be auctioned" - collectSPACE - Dec.13.04. The
company TOSPACE,
for example, has been offering fledgling suborbital companies money
to fly collectibles to 100Km ...
...
More comments from Mike Melvill on his flights: Space
travel ideas soar with civilian astronaut - Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
- Dec.13.04 (via spacetoday.net.)
December
13, 2004
5:30
pm: Space bill briefs...
This week's Space Review includes an article by Sam Dinkin on the
space bill: Getting
into the act - The Space Review - Dec.13.04. (See also Nathan
Horsley's earlier analysis
of the bill.)...
...
Robert Zimmerman returns for a special program on the Space
Show this Thursday at 7:30PM - 8:30 pm (PST) to "examine
the pending Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act of 2004 legislation
waiting for the President's signature."
December
10, 2004
5:05
pm: No halting the SS1...
I've been informed that the official UPI version of Robert Zimmerman's
article on the space bill no longer includes the paragraph that
says if the bill had been in effect at the time, the spinning on
the first SS1 X PRIZE flight "would have forced AST to halt
the second flight".
The language
in that paragraph was due to the editor's "editing, not Bob's
reporting or analysis." [Dec.15: See update.]
December
9, 2004
1:10
pm: Space in your Christmas list...
During your holiday shopping this year be sure to drop in at the
gift shops sponsored by various companies and organizations involved
in commercial space transport development.
For example,
Rocket Boosters,
highlighted in this article - SpaceShipOne
souvenirs hot items for charities - Antelope Valley Press - Dec.8.0,
offers lots of SS1 memorabilia. Other shops include:
(Sorry if I
left your space transport company's shop off the list. Glad to add
it if you let me know.)
December
8, 2004
11:35
am: News briefs... An
essay in today's Wall Street Journal talks about the regulatory
hurdles faced by the nascent commercial space tourist business and
argues that Congress has not helped the situation by blocking the
commercial space bill: The
'Final Frontier' May Be a Senate Waste Basket By Holman W. Jenkins
- WSJ.com - Dec.8.04. (This is a subscription link. I'll check
later to see if they they move it to the free Opinion
Journal section.) Rand Simberg discusses
the piece...
...
The article - Last
rocketeers set sights on Mars - USATODAY.com - Dec.8.04 - reports
on the remaining members of von Braun's rocket team in Huntsville
and makes the point that today's rocket entrepreneurs are taking
over where they left off. ...
...
They may have to put in extra seats for the first commercial SS2
flight as demand continues to rise: Car
chief plans to be first Irishman in space - Belfast Telegraph -
Dec.6.04 (via spacetoday.net
2:30
am: News briefs...
Alan Boyle talks about the status of the suborbital space tourism
business: Selling
the Sky: Marketing efforts take aim at the suborbital frontier -
CosmicLog/MSNBC - Dec.7.04...
...
More Kudos for the SS1 team: Knight,
new craft receive awards: State authority honors late senator, SpaceShipOne
- L.A. Daily News - Dec.6.04...
...
Based on this song,
I doubt Vim
will be getting a NASA
arts grant anytime soon. (Via Space
Race News.)
December
4, 2004
11:00
am: Rocket auction... One
of the rocket sculptures that flew on the SS1 X PRIZE flight is
on sale at ebay: eBay
item 3945035703 (Ends Dec-13-04 05:00:00 PST) - RETRO BRONZE MINI
ROCKET by Erik Lindbergh.
The sculptures
were designed and created by Erik Lindbergh, who is the grandson
of Charles Lindberg and is a Vice President and Trustee of the X
Prize Foundation. The proceeds from the auction will "benefit
The Charles
A. and Anne Morrow Lindbergh Foundation, a public 501(c)(3)
non-profit organization dedicated to the mission of improving the
quality of life through balance between technology and the environment."
The current
bid is $13,600.00.
December
2, 2004
1:20
pm: News briefs... Scaled
has recently updated its galleries of photos for X
PRIZE Flight #1and X
PRIZE Flight #2
News
briefs... Burt's
tips for engineers: Space
pioneer Rutan offers down-to-earth engineering advice - EDN - Dec.1.04
December
1, 2004
2:15
am: News briefs...
Another innovative Scaled Composites vehicle will soon set off on
a record breaking flight: Around
the World, With 13 Fuel Tanks and a Single Seat - NY Times - Nov.30.04.
November
30, 2004
10:55
am: News briefs...
Came
across another SS1 photo album: Pictures
of SpaceShipOne's space flights - June/September/October 2004 -
Stratofox
November
29, 2004
12:05
am: News briefs... I've been in Knoxville and saw this
article Sunday about a local company that built the audio system
for the SS1: Sound
Venture - Knoxville New Sentinel - Nov.28.04
November
23, 2004
2:00
am: News briefs... Alan Boyle notes a transition to a
new phase in commercial spaceflight development: Second
stage for the space race - Cosmic Log/MSNBC - Nov.22.40
November
22, 2004
2:15
am: News briefs... The SS1 gets some well deserved recognition:
SpaceShipOne
named Time's 'Invention of the Year' - AP/Monterey Herald - Nov.21.04
...
...
The B-52 that carried the X-15 and the X-43A and a lot of other
experimental aircraft in between is finally heading off for retirement:
B-52B
test plane flies final mission - The Washington Times - Nov.21.04
...
...
More about prize motivation: Grand
Prizes: Substantial cash awards have inspired inventors and advanced
technology throughout history - SanDiego Union-Tribune - Nov.21.04.
(These links
via spacetoday.net)
November
20, 2004
News
briefs...
Burt Rutan communicates his vision of the future of spaceflight
to UCLA students: Space
cowboy envisions new frontier: Maverick aviator seeks to launch
travel, tourism into Earth orbit - Chicago Tribune - Nov.20.04...
...
Sigourney Weaver thinks a suborbital spaceflight ticket is worth
the price: Is
she pining for Alien? - The Sun Newspaper Online - Nov.19.04.
November
19. 2004
Suborbital
spaceflight safety... Rand Simberg responds to the Tabarrok
article: Not
Unsafe At Any Speed - TCS: Tech Central Station - Nov.19.04.
Here also are
two discussions on Rand's blog: Not
Unsafe At Any Speed - Transterrestrial Musings - Nov. 18.04
+ Unsafe
At Any Speed? - Transterrestrial Musings - Nov.18.04
News
briefs... More on Mike Melvill's visit to Florida: Famed
pilot still looking up: America's first commercial astronaut visits
Brevard - Florida Today - Nov.17.0
November
18. 2004
Probably
wrong... If statistics were a child, Alexander Tabarrok
would be arrested for abuse: Is
Space Tourism Ready for Takeoff? Probably Not - TCS: Tech Central
Station - Nov.18.04.
Aerospace engineers
can comment more knowledgeably on his analysis than I can but here
are some points to consider:
- He relies
on a lump of technology fallacy in which rocket vehicles
of all manner of designs and configurations and that were developed
and launched over many decades are all lumped together. From this
lump he draws conclusions on a new suborbital vehicle that uses
a design and a propulsion system quite different from what those
vehicles used. (Not that I believe conventional liquid fueled
engines are incapable of achieving high safety levels.)
- How can expendable
orbital rockets be compared to a reusable suborbital vehicles?
- How can the
massive, hyper-complex, hyper-fragile, first-of-a-kind shuttle
be compared to a small, Mach 3 suborbital?
- He cites
problems that occurred during the initial test flights of the
SS1 and implies that these prove the SS1's unreliability. This
is misleading in two ways:
- Finding
problems is what a test phase is supposed to do. You gradually
push the envelope, find problems and fix them. That is HOW
you make a vehicle reliable. That is HOW you build in the
margins that lead to high reliability and safety.
- Despite
the problems like the spin on the first X PRIZE flight, the
SS1 survived without any damage to the vehicle or pilot. This
would indicate that even at this early stage, the vehicle
has substantial margins and is remarkably robust considering
that it is a whole new type of vehicle.
- Burt Rutan
believes the SS2 can achieve the safety levels of the first generation
of airliners. He wants to follow a certification process similar
to what airplanes must follow. This will certainly mean a significant
number of test flights before paying passengers start flying.
From a large sample of flights, one can then make a reasonable
estimate of reliability.
- Comparing
the first space tourism vehicles to current airliner safety is
silly. Achieving current safety levels took many decades and many
accidents to learn from.
- There's nothing
in his analysis that proves that there are fundamental reasons
the first generation of space tourism vehicles cannot provide
as good or better safety as that found with other common adventure
tourism activities such as parachuting, scuba diving, mountain
climbing, etc. These are carried out by many thousands of people
daily despite the occasional fatal accident.
[Update: Here
are some stats
on mountain climbing risks provided by David Nishimura. Link via
Instapundit.
News
briefs... Comments from Jeff Foust about the fate of
the commercial spaceflight bill: RIP
HR 3752. Or not? - Space Politics - Nov.17.04...
...
Mike
Melvill flies the Proteus
in Florda: Pioneer
commercial astronaut makes stop in Melbourne - Florida Today - Nov.17.04.
November
17. 2004
Get
your 2005 SpaceShipOne calendar now available at Rocketboosters.org:
Officially
Licensed SpaceShipOne Mechandise - 2005 12 month Calendar.
November
11, 2004
News
briefs...
SS1 and tests of a new radar system: Space
Ship One may help flight test - Hilltop Times - Nov.11.04 ...
November
9, 2004
November 6,
2004: Burt Rutan, American Mojave Aerospace Ventures Team Leader,
accepts $10 million ANSARI X PRIZE check. From left to right -
Burt Rutan, American Mojave Aerospace Ventures Team Leader; Gregg
Maryniak, Executive Director, X PRIZE Foundation; Paul G. Allen,
Founder & Chair, Vulcan Inc.; Robert K. Weiss, Vice Chairman,
X PRIZE Foundation; Peter H. Diamandis, Founder & Chair, X PRIZE
Foundation. (Photo - X
PRIZE)
November
8, 2004
News
briefs... This report - Winging
It: Black Sky - Astrobiology Magazine - Nov.8.04 - on comments
made by Burt Rutan while in Alabama includes this interesting factoid:
"I bought the engines for $65,000 each."
(Both links
via spacetoday.net)
Rutan
and the SS1 on 60 Minutes... The segment was really
terrific. They concentrated on Burt Rutan but with a strong emphasis
on the SS1 flights and the development of a private spaceflight
industry. See pictures and text at Next
Space Race Under Way - CBS News - Nov.7.04
60 Minutes is
one of the most watched programs on US TV. While many people saw
snippets of the flights on the daily news shows, this broadcast
will give a much bigger audience the story of what the flights were
really all about. Can't imagine the alt.space movement getting a
better publicity boost.
News
briefs... More on the X PRIZE awards ceremony: Winners
of X Prize get their reward - St. Louis Post Dispatch - Nov.7.04...
...
MOON
Bahamas is an elaborate resort and real estate development with
a space/scifi theme. It probably will never get off the ground but
such a resort would be a great place to base a ZERO
G type parabolic flight service and eventually a space tourism
company like Virgin
Galactic.
November
7, 2004
SS1
news... The SS1 team got their trophy and check yesterday:
Here is the
official press release:
X
PRIZE Foundation Awards $10 Million Check Today
to Historic Winners of the ANSARI X PRIZE
$10 million check given to American Mojave Aerospace Ventures
Team at the St. Louis Science Center for their successful suborbital
space flights Sept. 29 and Oct. 4
St. Louis,
MO. (November 6, 2004) - Ten million dollars was awarded at 10:30
a.m. (CT) today to the American Mojave Aerospace Team, led by
research aircraft developer Burt Rutan, and financier Paul Allen,
for its successful completion of the history making ANSARI X PRIZE.
The team prevailed over 25 additional teams from across the globe
in developing and flying a privately financed, manned spaceship
to an altitude above 100km. The criteria called for the spacecraft
to fly twice, within a two-week period, before the December 31
deadline, with a pilot and the weight equivalent of two additional
people. Ceremonies were held at the St. Louis Science Center,
a major supporter of the Foundation and St. Louis University High
School in St. Louis, Missouri.
“We are very excited to be able to celebrate this extraordinary
accomplishment here in St. Louis, the birth place of Charles Lindbergh's
flight and home of the X PRIZE Foundation,” said Gregg Maryniak,
Executive Director, X PRIZE Foundation. “The ANSARI X PRIZE was
the first step for people to realize their dream of space travel
and has since sparked a number of new creative endeavors including
the upcoming X PRIZE CUP in New Mexico.”
After the team's second successful sub orbital space flight October
4, Sir Richard Branson, Virgin Atlantic Airways Founder, announced
his plans to partner with the American Mojave Aerospace Ventures
Team to develop a fleet of five passenger space ships modeled
from Burt Rutan's White Knight & SpaceShipOne vehicles.
“There is no question that the ANSARI X PRIZE was instrumental
in helping to inspire a new space renaissance,” said Burt Rutan,
American Mojave Aerospace Ventures Team Leader. “The entire team
anticipates an exciting decade ahead, which will provide space
access for those for whom it was previously only a dream.”
In addition to receiving a $10 million check, the American Mojave
Aerospace Ventures Team also was awarded an impressive five-foot,
200 lb bronze trophy created by sculptor, James Todd of Troy,
Michigan. Francis G. Slay, Mayor, City of St. Louis, proclaimed
Nov. 6, 2004 “Space Flight Day” and designated the first week
in October as “Aviation History Week” to commemorate the second
flight of SpaceShipOne on October 4, 2004. With blue skies overhead,
the presentation ceremony was concluded as pilot and astronaut
Mike Melvill and pilot Robert Scherer flew overhead in the Beechcraft
Starship, one of the chase planes that accompanied SpaceShipOne
on its flights.
Dignitaries attending the event included Paul G. Allen, Founder
and Chair, Vulcan Inc.; Congressman Richard Gephardt, (D) Missouri;
Congressman Todd Akin, (R) Missouri; Francis G. Slay, Mayor of
St. Louis; William Readdy, NASA Associate Administrator, Space
Operations Mission Directorate; Byron Lichtenberg, PhD, X PRIZE
Board of Trustees and astronaut; John-David Bartoe, astronaut;
Richard Fleming, President and CEO, St. Louis Regional Chamber
and Growth Association; Erik Lindbergh, Director, Lindbergh Foundation;
Amir Ansari, Technology Entrepreneur; Dr. Peter H. Diamandis,
Founder and Chair, X PRIZE Foundation; Robert K. Weiss, Vice Chairman,
X PRIZE Foundation and Hollywood Producer, and Douglas R. King,
President, St. Louis Science Center. Additional attendees of the
ceremonies included many of the 26 competitors including: ARCA,
Da Vinci/Golden Palace, Pablo de Leon & Associates, Pioneer Rocketplane,
TGV Rockets, Inc., Vanguard Spacecraft, High Altitude Research
Corporation (HARC), and Suborbital Corporation.
...
The two
DVDs with the Black Sky programs about the SpaceShipOne and
the X PRIZE, and shown recently on the Discovery Channel, are now
shipping from the Discovery Store. (Just got word that my set is
in the mail.) ...
...
Meanwhile, don't forget the 60 Minutes show tonight with a segment
about Burt Rutan.
November
5, 2004
60
Minutes profiles Burt Rutan on November 7th:
THE
NEXT SPACE RACE - The private sector's race to space is being
led by maverick aeronautical engineer Burt Rutan, who foresees
thousands of people enjoying the view from space in the very near
future. Ed Bradley reports.
(Via a HS
reader)
November
4, 2004
SS1
articles in the November
issue of Sports Aviation include this interesting behind the
scenes report by EAA President Tom Poberezny who visited Scaled
Composites the day before the Sept.29th launch: “SpaceShipOne
— Cleared to Land” by Tom Poberezny - EAA Sports Aviation - Nov.04
(pdf).
Though not available
online, the issue also includes the article: Inside SpaceShipOne:
Innovation-and a few dicey moments-highlight the first private space
program - Sport Aviation Magazine - Nov.04. (Item via HS
reader D. Hoerr.)
November
3, 2004
News
briefs ... The latest X PRIZE newsletter is now available:
X PRIZE
NEWSLETTER : November 2, 2004...
...
More space tourism press: The
future of space tourism is looking up - Chicago Tribune - Nov.1.04...
...
Eli Kintisch reports on the upcoming X PRIZE awards
event: .Ansari
X Prize will be awarded Saturday in ceremony - St. Louis Post Dispatch
- Nov.11.04
November
2, 2004
Suborbital
orbital spinoff... AvWeek reports that the SpaceShipOne
is having a positive impact on the RASCAL
program: SpaceShipOne
Lessons Feeding Into RASCAL Aircraft - Aviation Week - Nov.1.04
-
"Lessons
and technology from Scaled Composites' SpaceShipOne are being
applied to the supersonic manned aircraft the company is developing
for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) RASCAL
program, according to Jacob Lopata, chief executive officer for
RASCAL prime contractor Space Launch Corp."
How can this
be? Numerous talking aero-heads have made categorical claims that
nothing significant can be learned from X PRIZE class suborbital
vehicles that will apply to orbital systems. But as we see here
(and also mentioned in this report),
if nothing else, suborbital vehicle technology can be applied to
the development of a robust, reliable, low cost first stage of a
two or three stage orbital system.
November
1, 2004
News
briefs... Burt Rutan is helping to inspire a new generation
of students on the excitement of space: Spaceship
designer boosts innovation: Speaker hopes to spark kids' interest
in space exploration - The Daily Texan - Nov.1.04.
October
31, 2004
Space
adventure preparation ... In response to the progress
in the development of a space tourism industry, ETC
Space, a "world leader in aeromedical training for more
than 35 years", is starting a program that will offer similar
training to space adventurers: ETC's
EnTCo Announces Space Adventure Entertainment Product Line - ETC
Space - Oct.29.04.
Candidate astronauts
will be able to experience "re-entry G exposure, the effects
of reduced atmospheric pressure, escape from a malfunctioning space
vehicle, weightlessness, and reentry vehicle recovery." I imagine
the "Ejection Seat Simulator (ESS)" would be especially
educational. (Via Space
Race News.)
October
29, 2004
News
briefs...
Still difficult after the SS1 success for other companies to obtain
money for suborbital spaceflight projects: Space
Race Focuses on Money - Wired - Oct.29.04....
...
Regulatory problems also stand in the way: A
lot of ground to be covered before space tourism can fly - USATODAY.com
- Oct.28.04.
X
PRIZE award ceremony is open to the public:
ANSARI
X PRIZE to be awarded Nov. 6 to SpaceShipOne Team
St. Louis Science Center site for award ceremony and rally
(St. Louis,
MO. Oct. 29, 2004) The $10 million ANSARI X PRIZE will be awarded
to Scaled Composites, LLC, creators of SpaceShipOne, during a
special ceremony and public rally Sat., Nov. 6, 2004, 10-11:30
am, at St. Louis University High School's athletic field next
to the St. Louis Science Center, 5050 Oakland Ave., St. Louis,
MO. Burt Rutan, Scaled Composite's team leader, will accept the
check from Peter Diamandis, MD, chairman of the X PRIZE Foundation.
Visitors should begin arriving at 9:30 am for a rally to greet
the Scaled Composites' team. The entire team, from engineers and
builders to the pilots, will attend. Check presentation ceremony
is 10:30 am followed by a full day of activities at the Science
Center. From approximately 11 am-3:30 pm visitors can meet the
Scaled Composites team, including Burt Rutan and pilots Brian
Binnie and Mike Melvill, get their autographs, and take photos.
In addition to meeting the team members at the Science Center,
visitors can participate in numerous hands-on activities related
to space flight, sign a giant congratulations banner for the Scaled
Composites team, see demonstrations of rocket launches, and take
your photo alongside an image of SpaceShipOne.
Paul Allen, chairman of Charter Communications and co-founder
of Microsoft, will attend the ceremonies along with Sir Richard
Branson, founder of the Virgin Group. Allen partnered with Rutan
to form Mojave Aerospace Ventures to fund the Scaled Composites
team. Branson's Virgin Galactic will sell sub-orbital space rides
for about $200,000 per person utilizing SpaceShipOne's technology.
Branson has pledged to reinvest any profits from Virgin Galactic
into developing other space tourism business.
In order to win the $10 million ANSARI X PRIZE, SpaceShipOne successfully
completed two manned flights, to a minimum of 100km (62.5 miles),
into space within a 14 day time period. SpaceShipOne completed
the first flight Wed., Sept. 29, and the second flight Mon., Oct.
4 to capture the prize.
The ANSARI X PRIZE was founded by the New Spirit of St. Louis
members who created the prize to further commercial space endeavors.
The Ansari family is the title sponsor of the prize. Sponsors
of the weekend ceremonies include: St. Louis Science Center, X
PRIZE Foundation, Champ Car World Series, 7-Up, M&Ms Chocolate
Candies, Enterprise Financial Services Corporation, and Regional
Chamber and Growth Association (RCGA). Media partners are St.
Louis Post-Dispatch and St. Louis Commerce Magazine.
October
27, 2004
A man on a 5 year mission... Burt Rutan plans to stop
working on aircraft and concentrate on spaceships: Space
Race 2: Flying High Beyond The Sky - UPI/SpaceDaily - Oct.27.04.
He says the space tourism vehicle for Virgin Galactic will differ
considerably from the SS1:
The backbone
of the Branson venture, called Virgin Galactic, will be five ships,
each capable of flying at least five and more likely around eight
people at one time. SpaceShipTwo will not look anything like its
predecessor.
For one thing,
Rutan must fix a stability problem caused by SpaceShipOne's high
upswept wings. For another, Rutan and Branson plan a ship of luxury,
with service and amenities that at least match Virgin Atlantic's
upper-class travel service. And that, as any airline flier knows,
starts with leg room.
Rutan said
SpaceShipTwo will have about the same diameter crew cabin as a
Gulfstream V business jet, which measures slightly more than 6
feet in height and 7 feet in width (1.9 meters by 2.2 meters.)
Seats will fully recline so that even elderly passengers - Rutan
plans to fly his 88-year-old father - will be able to handle the
expected force of six times Earth's gravity upon descent.
The G-forces
are higher than what SpaceShipOne's pilot experienced, but that
is because Rutan is aiming for a top altitude of between 84 miles
and 87 miles (135 kilometers and 140 kilometers), rather than
the 62-mile, (100 kilometer) target required to win the Ansari
X Prize competition.
The extra
altitude will add about another 90 seconds of weightlessness for
passengers to enjoy. Travelers will be able to do more than watch
how candy flies around in space - they can fly themselves.
News
briefs ... Alan Boyle discusses the composition of the
exhaust of the SpaceShipOne hybrid engine and its possible environmental
effects: How
do private spaceflights affect environment?: The greening of rocketry
- MSNBC/Cosmic Log - Oct.26.04....
...
Wernher
von Braun's serious rocketry work actually began outside of
government and industry with his involvement in the amateur German
Verein fur Raumschifffahrt (Rocket Society). Though he came to symbolize
giant military and government rocket projects, I think he would
be extremely pleased to see the development of low budget, low cost
private spaceflight via the X PRIZE and the SS1: Burt
Rutan takes a V2-powered wander down memory lane - The Register
- Oct.26.04
October
26, 2004
News
briefs...
Virgin Galactic
and its long term goals: Branson
aiming to build hotel in space - Scotsman - Oct.26.04 ...
News
briefs ... Even if you can't afford the tickets to the
X
PRIZE Award Gala, you can still see the ceremony where they
will give the $10M check and the trophy to the SpaceShipOne team:
X
Prize party for the public - Alan Boyle/Cosmic Log - Oct.25.04
October
25, 2004
"Six
months ahead three months into the schedule"... Burt
Rutan gave a lengthy informal talk at the recent Space Frontier
Foundation conference in which he spoke extensively about the SpaceShipOne
project as well as other topics such as his plans for new vehicles.
Jeff Foust recorded the talk and has now posted text excerpts of
the presentation: Burt
Rutan, in his own words - The Space Review - Oct.25.04.
On the importance
of starting with suborbital spaceflight:
"I recognized
that if there was going to be space tourism so that we can all
fly that we have to make these vehicles extremely robust and safe
compared to any other manned spacecraft. Now certainly that enormous
step towards making them safe is to not go to orbit first but
to fly the Alan Shepard and Joe Walker flights. With suborbital
you get about the same view and you get the experience of weightlessness.
I tried to convince myself that this was good enough as a first
effort."
Where he wants
to end up:
"I put
out there that before I die I want to see affordable travel to
the Moon, that’s essentially where I’m going. What I mean by affordable
is not what Houston talks about affordable; I’m talking about
where a third of the people in this room can afford to go to the
Moon when I finally kick off. That’s my vision."
He also explains
why he thinks a vehicle certification process is crucial for commercial
suborbital space tourism and says it won't be as expensive as many
fear it will be....
....
Vanna Bonta writes about the "most precious payload" carried
by SpaceShipOne: Space:
what love's got to do with it - The Space Review - Oct.25.04
...
...
More about Rutan's visit to Huntsville: Rutan
meets his rocket heroes - BBC - Oct.25.04.
News
briefs...
Scaled has posted some pictures
from the first X PRIZE flight.
October
24, 2004
News
briefs... More about the strong early signs that space
tourism is a real business: Branson's
space gamble pays off - The Guardian - Oct.22.04 ...
...
British reporter locates someone in Mojave who isn't impressed with
all this space stuff: Branson
plays space invaders in California desert - Independent - Oct.23.04...
...
Burt Rutan ventures into a NASA town to spread the word of a new
way to do space: X-Prize
winner says NASA needs another von Braun: Burt Rutan speaks at Space
Center, to talk at Moontown - Huntsville Times - Oct.23.04
(Links via spacetoday.net).
October
22, 2004
News
briefs... Have
you bought your X PRIZE dinner ticket yet? Invitation
to attend $10M Ansari X PRIZE Award GALA November 6th, 2004 - X
PRIZE Space Race News! - Oct.21.04
Good
Galactic omens... Encouraging
signs of strong enthusiasm for Virgin
Galactic 's suborbital space tourism flights:
"In all,
more than $1.45 billion (£800 million) has been pledged -- years
before the Virgin Galactic spaceship is even built, Branson said."
No telling
how many of these 7000 astronaut hopefuls will really put down their
cash when rides are avalable but if only a thousand do that would
still provide a healthy ~$100M profit on a ~$100M investment.
(Links via spacetoday.net).
October
21, 2004
News
briefs ... Lompoc,
California, home to Vandenberg Air Force Base, wants some of the
suborbital space tourism action: The
stuff of big dreams - The Lompoc Record - Oct.20.04.
October
19, 2004
News
briefs... More SS1 articles:
...
Plus another space tourism article: Final
frontier: Space tourism - Boston Globe - Oct.18.04. This author
definitely understands the plan:
"The
road from here to fully reusable orbital rockets, though, can
be accomplished entirely in the tried-and-true aviation tradition
of build a little, test a little, learning new lessons along the
way and applying them to the next test vehicle."
News
briefs... The
Space Show this evening will once again feature Jim Benson of
SpaceDev who
"will be discussing new projects and the SpaceDev participation
in the X-Prize flights with SpaceShipOne."
October
18, 2004
SS1
briefs ... Scaled
has updated the SpaceShipOne
/ White Knight flight log with entries for the September 29th
and October 4th X PRIZE flights. (Via a HS
reader)...
...
The
Rocket Boosters
have done quite well for local Mojave charities: Rocket
Boosters to share success - Antelope Valley Press/Space Race News
Oct.15.04...
...
The latest issue of Aviation
Week includes the interesting article: Pilots Reflect on
SpaceShipOne Development. Unfortunately it's only available
by paid subscription so far. Some of the highlights include:
- Neither SpaceDev
nor eAc produced
motors with the thrust profiles that Scaled wanted for the SS1.
Scaled wanted a
- "slow
ramp-up to give the pilot time to pull the nose to a vertical
ascent before full thrust started, so that impulse was not
wasted in the horizontal direction ...."
- "
[Then] maximum thrust to get acceleration done quickly while
still in the atmosphere so aerodynamic controls would be effective
to counter thrust asymmetries."
- "[And
finally] a tailoff of thrust that matched the craft slipping
out of the atmosphere, to get the last bit of impulse with
thrust low enough to be countered by declining aerodynamics.
With the ideal profile, this tailoff would start at 140,000
ft. at 80 kt. equivalent airspeed (KEAS)."
- A chart shows
big discrepancies between the profiles of the two motors from
the companies and this ideal profile SpaceDev won the contract
mostly because the eAc motor required a longer burn time to reach
the desired altitude.
- Handling
in the in the first 10-15 sec after ignition is particularly difficult
and in general the Work
load on the pilots was very high. E.g. Mike Melvill said:
- "On my
first powered flight there wasn't enough mental bandwidth...I
didn't hear or feel anything, I just focused on the display.
By the third time I noticed a lot more. The rocket made a
weird howling noise at high altitude; I didn't notice that
on the first flight."
- The simulator
was less than perfect, e.g.
- "'hard
to remember that the sim doesn't fly exactly like the real
aircraft,' [Pete] Siebold says. 'It's harder when the sim
teaches you techniques that just don't work in the aircraft.'"
- During the
design phase
- "the
pilots wanted stability augmentation, but Rutan wanted simple,
reliable manual cable controls. SpaceShipOne has achieved
its goal of being the first private spaceship ... but only
through a high level of pilot skill, courage, and training."
- Virgin Galactic
wants the SS2 to be "very straightforward to handle"
and "the Scaled pilots are sure that means the next craft
will have stability augmentation."
October
15, 2004
A
real space business... This
article looks at the prospects for Richard Branson's space tourism
startup: Virgin
Galactic's Space Odyssey: Richard Branson's plans for suborbital
tourism may sound pie-in-the-sky, but he has details all worked
out - Business Week - OCt.15.04
I think it's
starting to sink in that suborbital space tourism is not like the
"factories in low earth orbit" type of hand-waving of
the 1980s.
- There is
now an actual working prototype vehicle that proves the concept.
- There are
high-quality market studies showing a sufficient number of customers
to support a business plan based on such a vehicle.
- One company
(Space Adventures)
has taken deposits for suborbtial space flights already from several
dozen people and another company (Virgin
Galactic) has had people trying to make reservations even
before the company is ready to take them.
There's certainly
no proof that it will be a multi-billion dollar business very soon.
However, suborbital space tourism looks like it can produce profits
in the multi-tens of millions and possibly multi-hundreds of millions
of dollars.
Of course, nothing
is guaranteed. Regulatory and liability roadblocks could delay flights
for many years. A serious recession could greatly diminish the market.
Nevertheless,
it sure seems to me that big progress is being made. Within just
a few years we have seen proposals of human spaceflight businesses
go from wild fantasies to a real market in which serious money is
being invested by hard-nosed business people who believe a decent
return can be made on that investment.
News
briefs...
Burt
Rutan and his SS1 team get to appreciate a fine automobile: From
Elsie to Elise: Spaceshipone designer Burt Rutan takes the latest
Lotus out for a spin - AutoWeek - Sept.27.04 (via Cosmic
Log) ...
... At
the Space
Frontier meeting last weekend, the SS1 project and the X PRIZE
received honarary awards: X-Prize,
SpaceShipOne Receive Awards – Pair "Blew the Hinges Off the Door
to the Frontier" - SFF - Oct. 14.04...
...
After accepting the award, Burt Rutan proceeded to give an informal
talk at the banquet that lasted for more than an hour and half.
He spoke about the SS1 project and also on other topics such as
how he got interested in spaceflight originally. (One attendee told
me that this talk alone was worth the cross-country trip to Long
Beach.) Jeff Foust will be reporting on it in one of his upcoming
Space Review issues.
October
14, 2004
News
briefs... Leonard David spoke with Burt Rutan the day
after the final SS1 X PRIZE flight: Burt
Rutan: Building 'Tomorrowland' One Launch at a Time - interview
with Leonard David - Space.com - Oct.14...
...
More about Burt Rutan here: Focus
on SpaceShipOne's creator - AFP/iafrica.com - Oct.14.04 (via
spacetoday.net)
HS visibility... It's always great to get a plug
in Alan Boyle's weblog and to see HS on
his link list. Another morale boost came with the latest issue of
Space News. Brian Berger has an article about Gary Hudson, whose
Air Launch and
t/Space
startups won $14M in government funding this year. He includes a
quote from the interview
I did with Gary last year in which Gary said "someone needs
to spank NASA..." Berger refers to HobbySpace.com as "an
online publication that caters to the entrepreneurial crowd".
Glad to
hear it has become a crowd.
October
13, 2004
Galactic
enthusiasm ... The Virgin
Galactic web site has gotten 7.5 million visitors since it opened
a couple of weeks ago. About 185 people came in person to the office
seeking more information and asking about making reservations: Space
adventurers race to get aboard Virgin ship - CNET News.com - Oct.12.04.
October
12, 2004
SS1
briefs...
The Scaled Composites web site had posted special pages dedicated
to the first
and second
X PRIZE flights...
...
This multimedia viewer - AOL
Research and Learn : Ansari X Prize - presents the X PRIZE flight
at different angles.
October
11, 2004
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