National Space Symposium Show News - April 7-10, 2008 - (Page 14)

SPACE ENTREPRENEURS ‘Unlocked’ Space Sector Could Be Big Business, as With Other Industries A space sector “unlocked” from government management and constraints could soon represent a large and viable business sector, as has happened with cell phones and the Internet, says Virgin Galactic president Will Whitehorn. “We are in the situation,” he says, “whereby the technology of what you can do in space has moved on by leaps and bounds over the last 25 years, but the methodology of getting there… is extremely primitive. There has essentially been no techWill Whitehorn. nological development since the V-2 rocket.” Virgin is doing its part by offering an airplane-based launch concept with a special jet airplane, designed by Burt Rutan of Scaled Composites, that can carry a varying range of widebody spacecraft high enough that they might rocket under their own power into space. The large cabin volumes made possible by the wide, “open architecture” of Rutan’s “Mothership” will allow spacecraft large enough for space tourists to leave their seats and enjoy a free-floating zero-gravity experience. “None of the other vehicles are designed or capable of being used for anything else but taking a person or people up,” Whitehorn says. Virgin’s extensive market research, he told Show News, taught that “anybody who is wanting to buy a ticket to go to space, wants a full experience.” “Debates over energy utilization within the earth’s atmosphere, climate change, carbon emissions, and a whole set of other issues have reinvigorated interest in the use of space,” Whitehorn says. He says Virgin’s design will allow it to carry sizable payloads for customers— perhaps even military customers. 14 XCOR Unveils Lynx Vehicle Mojave, Calif.-based XCOR Aerospace late last month disclosed plans to develop a two-seat, sub-orbital, runway takeoff spacecraft called the Lynx. First flight of the initial vehicle, dubbed Lynx Mk.1, is set for the first half of 2010, with XCOR hoping that the first sortie to the edge of the atmosphere could be made by late the following year. Topping the list of development challenges are power, liquid propellant rockets suitable for reliable, low-maintenance operation, and a reaction control system (RCS) for exo-atmospheric maneuvering. XCOR hopes to offer space tourist tickets at $100,000. Bigelow Looking for Lockheed Launches Bigelow Aerospace, which is promoting the concept of inflatable space hotels and which successfully launched its Genesis II craft in August, says it’s “converging on terms” with Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services (Booth 500) for Atlas rockets to carry crew and cargo to a Bigelow-built space complex. Bigelow president Robert Bigelow praised “the excellent record and pedigree of the Atlas V401.” SpaceX Hopes It’s Third Time Lucky Space Exploration Technologies Corp, founded by Internet tycoon Elon Musk to develop a private launch system, is hoping for a third time lucky successful launch of its Falcon 1 rocket in June. The first two launch attempts failed, and the space industry was surprised when the U.S. Air Force said it would pay SpaceX $4 million to ride along on its third attempt with its “Jumpstart” project. Jumpstart aims to demonstrate that the service can integrate three separate payloads in rapid response to operational requirements, leaving a final payload decision as late as two weeks before launch. Space Adventures Buys Zero-G Space Adventures has acquired Florida- and Las Vegas-based Zero Gravity Corp by taking its existing equity stake to 100%. It’s “a strategic fit,” said Space Adventures president and CEO Eric Anderson, “strengthening our position as the only operational commercial spaceflight services company,” . Zero-G provides the zero-gravity experience via parabolic flights on a Boeing 727-200 trijet. Space Adventures has promoted concepts including trips to the moon using Russian Soyuz launchers—with a ticket price of $100 million. Space Via Virgin Miles, or Lots of Luck Tickets for a space ride with Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic are on sale now for $2,000,000, and can be secured via a deposit of $20,000. They may also be had by cashing in 2 million Virgin frequent flyer miles, or for 200,000 miles and $180,000. Several lottery mechanisms are either in place or in development to give less wealthy individuals a chance of a voyage, says Virgin Galactic president Will Whitehorn. And Best of the Best, which raffles cars with names like Ferrari and Lamborghini at London’s Heathrow, offered Virgin Galactic tickets to mark last month’s erminal 5, Whitehorn reports. Sir Richard and the ‘Mothership.’ opening of Heathrow T April, 2008 www.aviationweek.com/shownews http://www.aviationweek.com/shownews

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Arthur Clarke, 1917-2008 Critical Questions Loom Beyond the Rocket Motor New GPS for the USAF Generals Have Their Say 2,500 Years in Space Virgin Senses Sea-Change Technology Spin-Offs

National Space Symposium Show News - April 7-10, 2008

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