November
11, 2003
Burt Rutan wins another award: Burt
Rutan Named "Business Leader in Aerospace" on the "Scientific
American 50" - Scaled Composites - Nov.10.03
November
9, 2003
The White
Knight/SpaceShipOne project wins the Grand
Award for Popular Science's 2003 Best of What's New.
November 6, 2003
A Mojave portal to space gets assessed environmentally.
I scanned through the 5MB draft study - Draft Environmental
Assessment / Initial Study for the East Kern Airport District Launch
Site Operator License for the Mojave Airport.- FAA / AST - Nov.5.03
- and found most of it a perfect antidote for insomnia. But there
are some interesting sections such as the one on estimates of the
number of suborbital space flights per year from the port.
November
3, 2003
SS1 test flight update ... Leonard
David provides more details about the recent drop
test of the SpaceShipOne
and the modifications and tests prior to the flight: Private
Spaceship Control Problems Prompt Fixes - Space.com - Nov.3.03
October
27, 2003
Latest SS1 test flight...
According to the Scaled Composites test
flights page, the SpaceShipOne
was dropped from the White Knight on Oct.17th at 46,200 feet. The
goal of the test was to check on "the effects of horizontal
tail modifications at both forward and mid-range CG locations (obtained
by dumping water from an aft ballast tank between test points)."
The previous flight
on September 23 saw "un-commanded nose rise" and the pilot
had difficulty in recovering control.
The new configuration seems to have fixed the problem:
"No vehicle pitch up tendency was noted as the main wing
now stalls first. Real time video of the tufted tails fed back
down to mission control helped considerably in assessing the performance
of these aerodynamic improvements. More aggressive maneuvering
in the feather made it evident that the pilot could readily point
the vehicle's nose where desired and all rocket motor functionality
tests were satisfactory."
The fixes were first tested with ground
tests that included "full-scale 'wind tunnel' tests of
the SS1 boom-tail using a modified Ford-250 pickup truck to provide
the necessary flow field." (Maybe this technique should be
called "testing with the Bubba tunnel.")
Sounds like the SS1 project is back on track (or the road).
October
7, 2003
SS1 updates... The latest issue
of Aviation Week contains an article about the recent drop test
"hiccups" of the SpaceShipOne.
Some of the items of note include:
- The pitchup problem occurred at 85kts, 15kts above the stall
speed in the previous test.
- The 20 degree pitchup could not be corrected "despite full
nose down elevator and nose down trim". Only by "rolling
to the left with the rudder", causing the "nose to slice
toward the ground", did the pilot Michael Melvill regain
control.
- Even with the ballast added during this flight, which moved
the center of gravity aft, the operational configuration with
fully loaded propellants would double the weight, making "pitchup
and recovery much more dangerous".
- Scaled doesn't yet know if the fix will be big or small.
- The landing also caused a surprise. Forward doors had been added
to the rear legs since the last flight and their drag turned out
to be about twice what was expected. So when he extended the gear
the SS1 "sank like a rock". He came in about a 1000ft
short of the original aim point.
- The goal of a 100km flight by the end of the year will be tough
to meet if the fix takes a while. They had planned "big jumps
in performance" from one test flight to the next. Now they
may have to move in smaller increments.
....The SpaceShipOne photos
page has some new entries.
September
30, 2003
SpaceShipTwo? Some intriguing artwork shown by Burt Rutan
at the recent SETP symposium. (Via the article
by Jeff Foust)
SS1 update... Jeff Foust reviews
the update on the SpaceShipOne
project given last week by Burt Rutan at the annual symposium of
the Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP: SpaceShipOne:
A progress report - The Space Review - Sept.29.03. Includes
more info about the problems on the Sept.22 test flight.
September
29, 2003
SS1 drop test difficulties... The
latest drop test of SpaceShipOne
had some severe problems before recovering according to this article:
Let’s
Go to Space! One hundred years after the Wright brothers’ famous
flight, a new breed of entrepreneur is pushing new technologies
to their limits, turning science fiction into reality - Newsweek/MSNBC
- Sept.28.03 (via reader Centurian509).
BTW: A XCOR friend
points out that the article doesn't mention the EZ-Rocket, which
has been flying for two years, and that in fact the company is not
"totally broke." For example, see the recent news about
their DARPA
contract.
A reader also notes that the article reports on interesting action
on the suborbital regulatory front: Dennis Tito has hired a lobbyist
to work full time on getting FAA-AST
rather than the aviation section put in charge of the flights. Also,
AST will try to get its definition of suborbital spaceflight put
explicitly into its reauthorization legislation. The definition
requires that the spacecraft have more thrust than lift for a majority
of the powered phase of the flight and that it follows a suborbital
trajectory, which is defined as one whose instantaneous impact
point (IIP) does not leave the surface of the earth.
September
27, 2003
The X PRIZE race... The reader
(Centurian509) who submitted this link - Private
space race nears its climax: Scaled Composites, Armadillo are favorites
to win $10 million prize in the next 9 to 12 months - AP/MSNBC -
Sept.26.03 - notes that it's nice to see more publicity for
the X PRIZE but the reporter leaps to some unexpected assertions:
"A MOJAVE DESERT airport in California has already been
approved for use as a launch pad for the suborbital missions."
and
"Federal officials said that the applications of the two
rocket teams [Scaled and Armadillo] have already been approved
by the FAA."
As far as I know, Mojave has only just
submitted its application to become a spaceport and only
for air-launched space vehicles. And I do believe that both teams
are still working and arguing with FAA-AST and/or FAA-AVR over the
regulation of their high-altitude flights. (If someone knows otherwise,
please let me know.) [See correction
Oct.1.03]
September
24, 2003
eAc press release... Korey
Kline of eAc comments on the competition to provide the propulsion
system for SpaceShipOne:
SpaceShipOne Propulsion
System Selection
Environmental Aeroscience
Corp. (eAc) would like to thank Burt Rutan and the “Angel
Investor” for the opportunity to participate in this historic
attempt at civilian space flight. While we regret not being able
to play a more significant roll in this project, we are pleased
with the ground testing that was conducted and the selection of
our forward bulkhead assembly for use on SpaceShipOne. We have
the highest confidence that the SpaceShipOne team will successfully
place a civilian into space and open this frontier for everyone.
While the press coverage of the program has been significant,
one thing missing is a listing of the people who are making this
all possible. There are always a handful of dedicated engineers
that are directly responsible for making someone’s dream come
true. These engineers make things happen and are key with any
project of this significance. eAc would like to specifically congratulate
the winning propulsion team lead by Frank Macklin with engineering
support from Chris Grainger, Mike Veno, Jeff Hickerson, Harvey
Jewett. Good job guys, it was a close competition; prove to the
world that Hybrids are the best choice for civilian space applications!
eAc is a very small innovative company and is proud to have its
roots in the amateur/experimental rocketry world. eAc pioneered
the use of Nitrous as an oxidizer for Hybrid propulsion in 1989
and flew the first Hybrid sounding rocket “Hyperion” to a record
setting altitude in 1996. For eAc as a team, having been selected
as one of the two vendors in this competition was quite an honor.
We were successful in all ground firings, and exceeded all performance
requirements. To have competed to a near tie with a California-based
publicly-traded satellite manufacturer with four times the employees
and significantly greater resources, gives me great confidence
that space is no longer only the realm of big business. We participated
in this program because of our love of rockets and space travel,
not for market share, stock value or notoriety. We believe that
other grass roots teams of dreamers and builders will also have
a significant affect in the future of space flight. “We are truly
in the Wright Brothers’ days of Civilian Space flight”
Early in the program Scaled selected the eAc developed forward
bulkhead assembly. eAc has successfully designed and operated
simple and innovative Nitrous Oxide systems since 1994. Our bulkhead
design was based on these many test firings and flight experiences.
Scaled Composites was confident of the design and therefore readily
selected a single vendor for this sub-system. This assembly allows
the oxidizer tank to be filled, vented, and dumped remotely with
N2O in a lightweight reliable package. Along with our hearts and
dreams, we at least know that we have some small part in the historic
X-Prize attempts by SpaceShipOne. eAc will continue to innovate
new propulsion systems for future manned space travel and other
orbital applications.
I would also like to thank the eAc team for giving a significant
part of their lives to this project for the past 24 months. Derek
Deville-Systems Integration and Ignition; Debbie Sifford- Project
Management; Alex Espinosa- Flight Motor Controller and Valve design;
Ed Ampuero-Bulkhead and Injector design. A special thanks to Kevin
Smith and Tom Bales for their futuristic vision and financial
backing to support eAc during this long program.
Korey R Kline
Propulsion Designer
Vice President of R&D
September
18, 2003
SpaceDev Wins SpaceShipOne
Propulsion Contract
Scaled Composites
press release:
Scaled Composites completes the development
phase for the SpaceShipOne rocket propulsion system and selects
a motor component vendor for the flight test phase.
Four years ago, Scaled conducted a study of rocket engine technologies
that were appropriate for its future manned sub-orbital spaceship
design. The results of this study were that a hybrid configuration
using nitrous oxide (liquid N2O) and HTPB (rubber) propellants
would likely provide the safest solution with operating characteristics
that would complement the intended mission.
In Jan 2000, Scaled defined a new integrated concept for the
hybrid motor that allowed the entire propulsion system to be mounted
to the spaceship by simple skirt flanges on the oxidizer tank.
This concept, which cantilevers the case and nozzle directly to
the tank, required an advanced all-composite design approach.
By early 2001, Scaled had committed to developing the two main
motor composite components in-house: The first is the nitrous
oxide tank, a composite liner laid up onto titanium flanges, with
a graphite over-wrap provided by Thiokol. The second is a unitized
fuel case/nozzle component fabricated using a high-temperature
composite insulator with a graphite/epoxy structure laid up onto
an ablative nozzle supplied by AAE Aerospace.
In mid 2001, Scaled awarded contracts to two competing small
businesses for the “rocket science”. Each company was independently
responsible for the development of the motor’s ignition system,
main control valve, injector, tank bulkheads, electronic controls,
fill/dump/vent systems and fuel casting. The vendors, Environmental
Aeroscience Corporation (eAc)
of Miami and SpaceDev
(SD) of San Diego, were also tasked with conducting the ground
firing tests of their motor systems in Scaled’s test facility
during the development phase.
In June 2002, Scaled selected eAc to supply the components at
the tanks’ front end: the nitrous fill, vent and dump system components
and associated plumbing. Both vendors continued the development
of all the other propulsion components.
The ground firing development program started in November 2002
with a 15 second run by the SpaceDev team and ended early this
month with a 90-second run by eAc. Both vendors demonstrated full
design-duration firings during the nine-month development phase.
All tests have exclusively used 100% flight hardware, with no
boilerplate components and both vendors’ motor systems met the
contracted performance. The tests validated the inherent safety
of hybrid type motors, with no instances of structural failure,
hot-gas breach, explosion or other anomaly that would have put
SpaceShipOne in jeopardy.
Because both teams were so closely matched, and since both have
developed satisfactory motors the process to select one of these
vendors to enter the motor qualification and flight test phase
was difficult. However, today, Scaled is pleased to announce that
it has awarded the contract for propulsion support for the SpaceShipOne
flight test phase to SpaceDev, of San Diego.
Scaled now looks forward to entering into the historic phase
of private manned space flight.
Scaled does not pre-announce the specific flight test plans for
the space program, however completed accomplishments are updated
as they happen at our website: www.scaled.com/projects/tierone/index.htm.
The website also provides downloadable photos and technical descriptions
of the rocket motor system and motor test hardware.
September
12, 2003
SS1 engine tests... Leonard
David reports on a full duration test on Sept.4th by eAc
of the company's rocket that is in competition with Spacedev
for the SS1 propulsion system: Hybrid
Rocket Motor for X Prize Entry SpaceShipOne Tested - Space.com -
Sept.12.03
September
11, 2003
Flight as a feather... Scaled
has posted a couple more images
from the recent SpaceShipOne
drop test, including this sequence
from a video showing the feather
in action
September
3, 2003
News briefs ... Leonard David
on the SS1 test : Testing
Continues for Scaled Composites' SpaceShipOne - Space.com - Sept.3.03
September
2, 2003
SS1 lands after its second drop test on Aug.27, 2003in which it
executed the feathering maneuver. (Photo courtesy Aleta Jackson)
Scaled tests SS1 feathering...
Scaled Composites
did another drop
test of the SpaceShipOne
last Wednesday (Aug.27th) that included "commanding the full
feathered mode (65 deg wing/tail jackknife)." Falling from
an altitude of 43k feet down to 30k feet, the "[o]bservers
in the chase Starship were treated to a closeup bizarre view of
the spaceship plunging downward in a rock-stable near vertical feathered
descent." Several other maneuvers were executed successfully
during the eventful flight.
WOW!!
Videos of the flight will be shown at the annual Society
of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP) symposium in Los Angeles
on Sept.26th.
August
20, 2003
SpaceShipOne
in its first flight. (Scaled Composites image)
More SS1 photos from
the drop
test on August 7th are now posted at the Scaled Composites photos
page.
August
15, 2003
Fly the White Knight
via the PRE-Flight
Simulator. Download
freeware PRE-Flight 2.00 from Simtel
and SS1
Model from PreflightSim.com.
After installing the simulator, open the SS1 zip file into the Model
subdirectory. Run the simulator and click on the Model menu and
then choose Load and select the ss1.3dm file. The SS1 can be dropped
and its engine fired.
This simulator is apparently aimed towards RC hobbyists who can
configure their system to operate the simulator with RC transmitters
to test the flying of their models. However, it wll also work with
a joystick or keyboard.
August
11, 2003
Earlier SS1 flight...
Either I missed it or it's been added since the other day, the White
Knight/SS1 flight data page has an entry describing a captive
carry flight on July 29th. All the systems were tested in preparation
for the drop test on August 7th.
Also, the page indicates that eAc
did a test of its hybrid motor in July in addition to the SpaceDev
test, which they announced last week.
August
10, 2003
News briefs... Leonard David
on the SS1 test: XM
announces plans for new satellite, launch - spacetoday.net - Aug.9.03
August
8, 2003
Info & photos for the SS1 drop test
are now posted on the SpaceShipOne
web pages. The description
of the test tells of a very smooth separation and flight. Performance
matched well with the simulator for the subsonic range up to 150
knots. The photos
show the SS1 before the drop (with a Starship
chase plane!) and during flight and landing. In my highly technical
judgement, it's all so COOOOL!!
August
7, 2003
Successful SS1 drop test...
Messages flying around the net report that the SpaceShipOne,
piloted by Mike Melvill, was dropped today from the White Knight
at 45k feet (~15km) and landed safely at Mojave. Videos and pictures
should appear eventually on the Scaled site. Congratulations to
the SS1 team!
August
5, 2003
SpaceDev tests SS1 rocket...
SpaceDev announces
a successful full duration test of its hybrid rocket motor that
is a candidate to power the SpaceShipOne:
SpaceDev
Performs Successful Rocket Motor Test - SpaceDev PR/Yahoo - Aug.6.03
(via spacetoday.net).
August
4, 2003
News brief... Burt
talks about the reality of private suborbital flight: Eye
on the prize: Aviation pioneer angling to send civilians into space
tells EAA it's no pipe dream - Milwaukee Journal - Aug.3.03
(via spacetoday.net)
July
16, 2003
SpaceshipOne-24th scale...
Find tips on scratch modeling a SS1 at this Rocketry
Forum thread.
July
11, 2003
Second SS1 captive carry... The
"Test Updates" section at the SpaceShipOne
site reports that a second captive carry flight took place successfully
on July 3rd. It also reports that from June 24 to July 3rd they
completed tests of the landing gear, flight control system and structural
qualification. (Via a reader.)
[ July.14.03 - Correction -
the SS1 news page has changed to show that this flight actually
involved only the White Knight and the goal was to test glide flight
profiles. There were also some more WK flights recently. (Via a
reader)].
July
4, 2003
Licensing SpaceShipOne ...
Aviation Week reports that Burt Rutan has submitted an application
for a launch license for the SpaceShipOne
: Scaled
Composites Files Application For SpaceShipOne Launch License - Aviation
Week - July.3.03
Earlier
he indicated that he would go only for a standard FAA experimental
aircraft license. This would be the FAA-AST's
first RLV launch flight license. However, he will continue negotiations
with the FAA to see if there are alternatives to a launch license.
There are also worries about whether Mojave Airport will need to
carry out extensive environmental impact studies to qualify as a
spaceport.
So the SS1 looks to break new ground in a number of areas.
News item ... The SS1 is NASA's
Picture
of the Day for July 1st.
June
30, 2003
PBS reports on the rocketeers... The
PBS News Hour
had a nice segment tonight on private spaceflight projects with
a focus on Burt Rutan and the X PRIZE. The reporter interviewed
Burt and also Peter Diamandis. He generally gave an accurate description
of the competition and its feasibility and made the usual comparison
to the early aviation prizes. There was also an examination of Sea
Launch as the first totally privately financed launch system.
[July 1.03: The report is now available on line : Transcript,
Audio
.]
June
27, 2003
A big guy thinking small? ...
It was revealed during the recent Paris Airshow that Scaled
Composites is now nearly half owned by Northrop Grumman: Northrop
Acquires Share of Scaled Composites - Aviation Week/PARIS 2003 -
June.03. While Northorp's primary interest is probably in the
company's composite technology and UAV projects, the item suggests
that Northrop may also be interested in the company's "small
space vehicles, including Scaled's own Tier One suborbital vehicle
-- unveiled in April -- and the Defense Advanced Research Projects
Agency RASCAL small launcher program."
If so, I hope Northrop shows more staying power than it did with
Kistler.
If Northrop had stepped up and funded the completion of the K-1
back in 1999
when Kistler's resources dried up after the LEO constellation market
collapsed, the company would now control the leading launcher technology
in the world and would be sending regular cargo shipments to the
ISS. Instead they wrote off their investment and waited for Kistler
to find other funding sources.
June
25, 2003
News briefs... The two companies
in competition for the SpaceShipOne propulsion contract carried
out a couple of tests this month according to the latest
update at Scaled.com. Spacedev
and eAc
have each done four tests since last November.
June
20, 2003
Regulating roadblock? ... Rand
Simberg has a post
about a possibly serious conflict between Burt Rutan and regulators
over the test flights of the White Knight/ SpaceShipOne.
Note that their are two players within the FAA that are involved
- the dominant aviation part, which, among other things, "certifies"
planes for passenger flight, and the much, much smaller Space
Transportation Office (AST), which licenses rockets for launch.
At the SA'2003
meeting, the AST representatives generally gave the impression that
they wanted to work with the suborbital companies and help the industry
develop. (For example, they said "certification" was not
in their vocabulary.) I believe Rand is expressing this positive
impression and suggesting that Burt give AST a chance. He could
apply for a multi-launch license and see how it goes rather than
rejecting that process out of hand.
[One very knowledgeable source counters that the AST also seemed
to be working well with orbital RLV companies a few years ago but
once the AST lawyers got involved, the actual regulations issued
were "onerous, ill-considered, counterproductive and idiotic."
So maybe it's a good idea for Burt to keep the pressure on.
June
16, 2003
News item ... The SpaceShipOne
cover article for the July issue of Popular
Science is now on line: Burt
Builds Your Ride to Space - Popular Science - June.16.03 along
with Is
ex-Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen backing Rutan? More on the Silicon
Valley connection - PopSci Exclusive - July.03.
June
12, 2003
SS1/WK news item... The photos
page now includes two images of the first captive carry test
and one of the SS1 undergoing vibration tests.
June
10, 2003
Wired on Rutan & the X PRIZE...
The cover article for the July issue of Wired magazine reports on
the X PRIZE with an emphasis on Burt Rutan's SS1
project : The
Right Stuff Forget cyberspace. Geeks are about to conquer outer
space. And the $10 million X Prize is just the beginning - Wired
- July.03 issue.
There's also a sidebar about Bezos and his Blue
Origin company : Amazon
Enters the Space Race Jeff Bezos blasts off with his own jet propulsion
laboratory. - Wired - July.03 issue. Another sidebar gives brief
descriptions of other IT moguls pursuing space projects: Techies
Go Trekky - Wired - July.03. issue.
June
2, 2003
White Knight/SS1 Updates Online...
Scaled is now posting descriptions of each test flight, going back
to the first White Knight flight last August. See the Test
Updates page. It also includes info on the SS1 ground tests
and the rocket motor tests. (Via sci.space.tech)
May
31, 2003
Suborbital soundings ... People
working at the Mojave airport occasionally hear the rumblings from
static tests of the SS1 engines.
May
28, 2003
SS1 flight update ... The latest
issue of Aviation Week has a one page story about the recent
captive carry flight of the SpaceShipOne
with the White Knight. Highlights include:
May
21, 2003
Successful SpaceShipOne captive flight
... As indicated here earlier, Scaled
Composites flew the White Knight with the SpaceShipOne
on its first captive flight this week. See the the announcement
on the X PRIZE
site and also SpaceShipOne
makes first captive carry flight - Spacetoday.net - May.21.03,
which says that Peter Diamandis mentioned the flight during a presentation
at the COMSTAC meeting today.
May
19, 2003
First SS1 Captive Carry Flight...
I've heard that Scaled
Composite plans soon to fly the White Knight with SpaceShipOne
for the first time, perhaps as early as Tuesday.
May
8, 2003
SpaceShipOne briefs... London
takes notice - Three-seater
powers up for cheap space trip - Times Online - May.8.03 (link
found at spacetoday.net)...
... The Scaled Composites entry
page at the X PRIZE has, not surprisingly, been updated and
includes a new team
briefing (pdf, 284kb). No new info from what's on the Scaled
website but does provide the essential info in a nicely compact
form.
May
7, 2003
SpaceShipOne briefs... London
takes notice - Three-seater
powers up for cheap space trip - Times Online - May.8.03 (link
found at spacetoday.net)...
... The Scaled Composites entry
page at the X PRIZE has, not surprisingly, been updated and
includes a new team
briefing (pdf, 284kb). No new info from whats on the Scaled
website but does provide the essential info in a nicely compact
format.
May
6, 2003
Another article about the SS1 - Not
Just for Millionaires and Pop Stars: A private company reveals its
craft for sending tourists to space - Astronomy - May.6.03
May
1, 2003
Test firing of SpaceDev's hybrid engine.
SpaceDev SS1 engine photos...
I had missed this earlier press
release (April 18th) at SpaceDev.
It includes photos and videos of their hybrid engine that is competing
with eAc to win
the Scaled SS1 propulsion contract (see the eAc press release below.)
April
30, 2003
Space
Access'03 Review included some SS1 related topics.
News
briefs ... Jeff Foust discusses RLV regulations and issues,
relevant to the SS1, brought up at the Space Access'03 meeting :
RLV
regulation: licensing vs. certification - The Space Review - Apr.28.03
...
... Rutan's SS1 and regulation
questions : Private
Innovation, Public Stagnation by Rand Simberg - FOXNews.com - Apr.25.03
...
... More about SS1 and SpaceDev
: A
quest to bring space within reach: Designer betting a reusable winged
rocket just the vehicle - SignOnSanDiego - Apr.29.03.
April
23, 2003
Environmental
Aerosciences press release:
Environmental Aeroscience Corporation (eAc)
announces selection as a team member providing the hybrid rocket
propulsion system for
Burt Rutan’s Manned Space Program
Miami Florida - April 22, 2003
Founded in 1994, eAc has pioneered the development of nitrous
oxide hybrid propulsion including the first ever sounding rocket
flight of such a system from a NASA launch facility. eAc has been
designing, testing, and flying hybrid rocket motors for tactical
missiles, sounding rockets, and satellite launch applications;
and with this announcement, space tourism. After two years of
secret development with Scaled
Composites, we are proud to announce our involvement as a
vendor for the propulsion system for SpaceShipOne.
We are excited to have participated in the unveiling of this
historic program on Friday, April 18, 2003. “Even though they
are a tiny company … they’ve fired over a thousand hybrid motors,
and that’s why they were selected,” said Burt Rutan at the event.
Korey Kline, eAc Director of R&D was quoted as saying “These are
the Wright Brothers days of Civilian Space Flight”.
Several developmental firings at our test facility in Miami were
conducted in support of the SpaceShipOne propulsion system. The
experiences of the South Florida testing allowed eAc to bring
to Scaled a functional and proven system resulting in the efficient
execution of the first successful static test in Mojave. eAc’s
forward bulkhead with the SpaceShipOne oxidizer filling and vent
systems was selected and qualified thru a competition with another
vendor and will be used for all ground and flight testing. The
hybrid rocket design represents the state of the art in low recurring
cost nitrous oxide hybrid propulsion for space tourism applications.
eAc is currently working on advanced hybrid propulsion developments
with AFRL and DARPA, including the world's smallest orbital launch
vehicle, the MuLV.
The MuLV is a safe, responsive, and affordable launch system that
will carry 350-1200lb payloads into low earth orbit. A turbo-pump
fed 30,000 lb thrust common-core booster design is used to lower
development costs. A single motor system is designed and used
for the central booster motor, with a variety of combinations
of strap-on boosters of the same design. The lifting capacity
is determined by this first stage configuration. Developmental
firings include a 16” diameter nitrous hybrid that has produced
11,000 lbs thrust levels. The first series of nine test firings
on this scale have been very successful allowing us to fine-tune
the fuel grain geometry and injector design..
SpaceShipOne simulations...
An Aviation Week reporter takes the SS1 to space and back in this
detailed account of his simulator piloting : Flying
Scaled Composites' SpaceShipOne Simulator - Aviation Week - Apr.21.03
...
... Scaled apparently uses
the X-Plane simulator.
See the White
Knight X-Plane simulation at X-Plane.org....
... A somewhat more modest
SS1 simulation is included in this Java
applet at SpaceTethers.com.
April
22, 2003
More SS1 info ... Jeff Foust
writes more about the SS1 rollout- Rutan
aims for space: A look at SpaceShipOne - The Space Review - Apr.21.03
...
... In his latest update,
John Carmack comments on the SS1 and how it will affect (or not)
the plans at Armadillo Aerospace for the X PRIZE competition.
Spacedev launcher... SpaceDev
has announced that it will begin development of a small launcher
- 1000lb to orbit - based on the hybrid propulsion system developed
for the SpaceShipOne program - SpaceDev
Announces Streaker Launch Vehicle : SpaceDev Propulsion Technology
Spin-offs from SpaceShipOne Program - SpaceDev - Apr.22.03.
SpaceDev's hybrid
development began after it purchased the rights to the AMROC
technology. The company is also developing an orbital transfer “space
tug” for the Air Force called the Maneuvering
and Transfer Vehicle (MTV™) that also uses hybrid propulsion.
Good press for the SS1... Jon
Bonné at MSNBC has written a couple of excellent articles about
Rutan's spaceship (found the links via Transterrestrial
Musings). The article - Flying
to space: A cockpit view : A trip 62 miles high and back down, all
in 90 minutes - MSNBC - Apr.21.03 - gives a nice overview of
what a flight would be like.
The other article - Private
space race, public hurdles : Regulations may hampter efforts to
prove technology - MSNBC - Apr.21.03 - discusses potential regulatory
roadblocks for suborbital tourism and possible solutions.
Note: I exchanged
some emails with Mr. Bonné a couple of months ago, first
about the Kistler K-1 and then about private suborbital rocket development
and the X PRIZE. He was very skeptical and indicated that he didn't
think there had been much progress since the competition was first
announced back in 1996. He now seems to be much more positive.
