British Company to Unveil Manned Rocket Capsule

 

 

WHO:      Independent rocket builder Starchaser Industries Ltd

WHAT:    The unveiling their new "NOVA" rocket capsule

WHERE: STRONG ENTERPRISES

                 11236 SATELLITE BLVD.

                 ORLANDO, FL

WHEN:    MONDAY July 14, 2003.

   Please arrive 10am sharp for the 10.30am unveiling.

 

 

Weighing in at 440 lb and measuring 10 feet in length, the single seater Nova II capsule is being fitted with a bespoke parachute system prior to shipment to Arizona. The manned capsule will then be dropped from a C-123K transport aircraft at an altitude of 14,000 feet over the Red Lake Drop Zone, in order to practice landing the reusable craft.

 

The three drop tests are scheduled to take place July 21st, 23rd   and 25th 

 

Once proven, the capsule will be attached to the Starchaser 4 (Nova) rocket, which was first flown from Morecambe Bay, England in November 2001, for further unmanned tests followed by a manned launch to an altitude of at least 30,000 feet.  

 

NOVA II will become Britain’s first manned rocket capsule and will test a variety of systems for use in project Thunderbird; Starchaser Industries entry into the US $10 million X PRIZE which is on offer to the first non-governmental organisation capable of launching three people into space.

 

Starchaser Industries CEO and test pilot Steve Bennett, a veteran of over 120 high altitude skydives said “We have proved the design of the rocket and capsule both on paper and in the air, it’s now time to show the world that we mean business and move on to the manned phase of our rocket programme”

 

Starchaser Industries chose to partner with Florida based Strong Enterprises because of Strong’s proven track record in manufacturing and operating large parachute canopies for cargo drop applications. “Strong Enterprises are the best in the business,” says Bennett “and what better place to develop a private spaceship than the state of Florida, the world centre for human space access” 

                                                             

 

About Starchaser Industries Ltd:

 

Starchaser Industries began life as an experimental rocket programme in 1992 and was incorporated in 1998. Starchaser is the leading British organisation in the development of commercial space access and space tourism. The company’s immediate goal is to win the $10 million X-PRIZE by being the first private company to launch a reusable 3-man rocket into space, and then go on to take the lead in the estimated $10 bn global space tourism market. Further information can be found at www.starchaser.co.uk

Comprehensive press packs will be available on the day. Previously filmed footage can also be obtained from the Press area of the website by those members of the press who have registered.

 

The X PRIZE Competition

The X PRIZE is patterned from the aviation prizes of the early 1900s, and in particular the Orteig Prize won by Charles Lindbergh in 1927. 24 competitors are entered in the X PRIZE competition, a $10 million purse to be awarded to the first person or team to fly a privately-funded suborbital spaceship 100km (62 miles) to the edge of space, return safely, and then fly again within two weeks. The spaceships must be capable of carrying three individuals. Teams from Argentina, Canada, Israel, Romania, Russia, UK, and the United States are entered.  A complete listing and profiles of their spaceships can be found at www.xprize.org

 

 

For further details about Starchaser Industries please email: info@starchaser.co.uk

 

Ian M Murphy
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