Rocket Racing and Armadillo to create suborbital spaceflight business

In the meantime, here is an announcement from the Rocket Racing League and Armadillo. (I heard there would be something like this coming out this week.):

Rocket Racing Inc., Armadillo Aerospace and New Mexico Create Joint Venture to Launch Private Suborbital Space Transportation Business

Space took a giant leap closer to earth today, following the launch of a new joint venture between Rocket Racing, Inc. (RRI), Armadillo Aerospace and the government of New Mexico. With a goal of sending adventurers into suborbital space with a target price of $100,000 per ticket or less, the three companies unveiled plans to field a fleet of reusable Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) vehicles (RLV) that will take flight from Spaceport America near Las Cruces, New Mexico. Each ship is slated to provide a cabin where passengers can float weightless with a 360-degree view of space. To date, other companies in the commercial space industry have promised rides to similar altitudes featuring small porthole-sized views for more than $200,000.

"I am honored that Rocket Racing, Inc. and Armadillo Aerospace have chosen New Mexico to set up shop," said Governor Bill Richardson. "Spaceport America and the State of New Mexico are proud partners and together we are writing the next chapter of space transportation."

Under the terms of the partnership, Armadillo Aerospace will develop the reusable launch vehicles and provide ground support and equipment. The State of New Mexico will supply launch facility infrastructure and resources. Rocket Racing Technology Development, a wholly owned subsidiary of Rocket Racing Inc., will provide financing for, and business and operational management of, the partnership. Reservations, experience marketing, customer training and the coordination of the passengers' overall experience will be managed exclusively by a third partner company that will be announced when marketing efforts begin.

"The price of space is coming down to earth," said Granger Whitelaw, Chief Executive Officer of Rocket Racing, Inc. "And thanks to Armadillo's ships and New Mexico's spaceport, human beings will be treated to the most stellar views in the galaxy."

While the venture owes its wings to technologies that have spent decades in development, its launch is made possible only through their recent combination. Armadillo's eight years of research and development on a dozen different flying vehicles is contributing engines, software, and operational capabilities. Meanwhile, the company's ground and flight test programs for the Rocket Racing League over the past year has resulted in flight research data that will be applied to allow for superior vehicle tracking and passenger safety.

Beyond suborbital space tourism, Rocket Racing Inc. also plans to deploy its vehicles to serve in a variety of payload transport initiatives. Target missions include micro-gravity experiments, astrophysics observations, reconnaissance and high-altitude scientific and meteorological measurements.

The companies plan to fly evolutions of existing vehicles to space and fabricate an initial manned vehicle prototype in 2009 and perform initial manned flights to space in 2010.

An illustration of one of the suborbital vehicle concepts is available for download and viewing at the following FTP site:

Domain: rocketracingleague.ipower.com
Username: press_ftp
Password: pressmaterials

NOTE: You will need an FTP Client Program to access site

For more information or to find a schedule of future Rocket Racing League events, visit www.RocketRacingLeague.com.

About The Rocket Racing League
Founded in 2005 by two-time Indianapolis 500 winning team partner Granger Whitelaw and X PRIZE Chairman and CEO Peter H. Diamandis, MD, the Rocket Racing League (RRL) is a new entertainment sports league that combines the exhilaration of racing with the power of rocket engines. To be held at venues across the country, the Rocket Racing League will feature multiple races pitting up to 10 Rocket Racers going head to head in a 4-lap, multiple elimination heat format on a 5-mile "Formula One"-like closed circuit raceway in the sky. For more information on the Rocket Racing League, please visit www.rocketracingleague.com.

About Armadillo Aerospace
Founded in 2000 by video game pioneer John Carmack, Armadillo Aerospace has been working to bring the dynamism of software development to aerospace projects. With over a hundred VTVL flights across many different vehicle architectures, and more FAA licensed experimental permit flights than the rest of the industry combined, the Armadillo team has amassed a unique body of experience on their path towards manned spaceflight.

Posted 10/24/08 | 09:39:28 by TopSpacer | Filed under: NewSpace

Comments

should be interesting.

Posted by anonymous at 10/24/08 10:27:19

If you're interested in the images, and don't want to play with "FTP Client Programs" you can use a URL like this:

ftp://(user):(password)@(host)/

replacing the bits in parenthesis with the items from the press release (I'm not pasting the actual URL to keep webbots from spidering their FTP server...)

press_ftp:pressmaterials@rocketracingleague.ipower.com

Posted by Glenn at 10/24/08 11:04:08

They do have more FAA experimental flight permits than the industry combined, they also have had more vehicles destroyed from sudden stoppage and without ever leaving the ground than the industry combined. They have come along quite nicely and seem to be a great team with a lot of synergy.

In the days of Redstone when Gene Kranz was a young man, his organization went through trials of failure and then onto success very much like Armadillo. They became famous, sent humankind to the moon.

In time called them NASA.

You can't release a press piece and accompany it with a concept picture of your design that looks like a fishbowl held down with ratchet straps to a cluster of engines. Where's the seriousness in that.

Geez.

Posted by Charles Taylor at 10/24/08 16:12:40

Well, Vostok used straps to hold the spherical capsule to the final launch vehicle stage, so it has been done before.

Posted by Gary C Hudson at 10/24/08 16:44:13

"they also have had more vehicles destroyed from sudden stoppage and without ever leaving the ground than the industry combined."

Of course they did. That was the whole point of their development process. They deliberately push engines and vehicles until they either break or are cast aside for the next technical iteration. They did not build operational vehicles that suddenly stopped. When AA does produce an operational vehicle, it should be very robust because of their design process.

"...Where's the seriousness in that."

I can certainly imagine that John was told early on that he should focus on serious programming and not waste time on that silly game stuff. I'm glad he stuck with doing the fun stuff.

Designing products aimed at consumers is completely different than designing them for government and industrial users. That doesn't mean it is any less sophisticated. Consumer apps drive computer and electronic development far harder than govt/industrial apps. Shouldn't be a surprise if the same happens for space transport.

- Clark

Posted by TopSpacer at 10/24/08 17:06:13

I agree I think it is great that someone from a field outside, put his foot in the water and thought this is great I want to do this, I *can* do this.

Hmmm,the Vostok you say. Indeed it did have straps.

Transparent aluminum.....makes...rocket powered snow globe conceptually feasible.

Just maybe...Nope. I would hope that when AA builds an operational vehicle it is robust. I just don't think this design will stand up. Time will weed things out.

Posted by Charles Taylor at 10/24/08 20:19:28

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