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December 19, 2003

The Man Behind The Spaceship

Billionaire investor and former Microsoft guru Paul G. Allen Thursday confirmed speculation that he is indeed the long-rumored sponsor behind the innovative SpaceShipOne project, which broke the sound barrier today during its first manned test flight. SpaceShipOne and its White Knight turbojet launch aircraft represent the first private non-government effort to demonstrate a low-cost manned space effort. SpaceShipOne is a contender for the coveted X-prize.

NASA has tested rocket engines and parachutes that could be instrumental in developing the first spacecraft crew launch escape system in almost 30 years. The tests pave the way for a series of integrated Pad Abort Demonstration (PAD) test flights to support NASA's Orbital Space Plane (OSP) program. Launch pad abort tests support development of a system that could pull a crew safely away from danger during liftoff. Knowledge gained from the testing will reduce the future design and development risks of a launch escape system that could be used for the OSP.

NASA has renamed the Space Infrared Telescope Facility, its newest space observatory, for the late astronomer Dr. Lyman Spitzer, Jr. The official name is now the Spitzer Space Telescope. The Spitzer Space Telescope program is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for NASA's Office of Space Science in Washington D.C. Science operations are conducted at the Spitzer Science Center at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. In concert with the renaming, NASA also released the first scientific images from the Spitzer telescope. The telescope is now online and has already sent back incredible pictures of the great beyond.