SpaceShipOne Makes Suborbital Attempt June 21
It's nothing short of grand history. Scaled Composites'
privately-developed rocket plane will launch into history on June
21 on a mission to become the world’s first commercial manned
space vehicle. Investor and philanthropist Paul G. Allen and
aviation legend Burt Rutan have teamed to create the program, which
will attempt the first non-governmental flight to leave the
earth’s atmosphere.
Paul G. Allen and aviation legend Burt Rutan have teamed to
create a manned space program, which will attempt the first
non-governmental flight to leave the earth’s atmosphere.
SpaceShipOne will rocket to 100 kilometers (62 miles) into
sub-orbital space above the Mojave Civilian Aerospace Test Center,
a commercial airport in the California desert. If successful, it
will demonstrate that the space frontier is finally open to private
enterprise. This event could be the breakthrough that will enable
space access for future generations.
Allen, founder and chairman of Vulcan Inc, is financing the
project. Along with Allen, Vulcan’s technology research and
development team -- which takes the lead in developing high impact
science and technology projects for Allen -- has been active in the
project’s development and management.
"This flight is one of the most exciting and challenging
activities taking place in the fields of aviation and aerospace
today," said Paul G. Allen, sole sponsor in the SpaceShipOne
program. "Every time SpaceShipOne flies we demonstrate that
relatively modest amounts of private funding can significantly
increase the boundaries of commercial space technology. Burt Rutan
and his team at Scaled Composites have accomplished amazing things
by conducting the first mission of this kind without any government
backing."
Wednesday's announcement came after SpaceShipOne completed a May
13th, 2004 test flight in which pilot Mike Melvill reached a height
of 211,400 feet (approximately 40 miles), the highest altitude ever
reached by a non-government aerospace program.
Sub-orbital space flight refers to a mission that flies out of
the atmosphere but does not reach the speeds needed to sustain
continuous orbiting of the earth. The view from a sub-orbital
flight is similar to being in orbit, but the cost and risks are far
less.
The pilot (to be announced at a later date) of the up-coming
June sub-orbital space flight will become the first person to earn
astronaut wings in a non-government sponsored vehicle, and the
first private civilian to fly a spaceship out of the
atmosphere.
"Since Yuri Gagarin and Al Shepard’s epic flights in 1961,
all space missions have been flown only under large, expensive
Government efforts. By contrast, our program involves a few,
dedicated individuals who are focused entirely on making
spaceflight affordable," said Burt Rutan. "Without the entrepreneur
approach, space access would continue to be out of reach for
ordinary citizens. The SpaceShipOne flights will change all that
and encourage others to usher in a new, low-cost era in space
travel."
SpaceShipOne was designed by Rutan and his research team at the
California-based aerospace company, Scaled Composites. Rutan made
aviation news in 1986 by developing the Voyager, the only aircraft
to fly non-stop around the world without refueling.
"To succeed takes more than the work of designers and builders",
Rutan said, "The vision, the will, the commitment and the courage
to direct the program is the most difficult hurdle. We are very
fortunate to have the financial support and the confidence of a
visionary like Paul Allen to make this effort possible."
To reach space, a carrier aircraft, the White Knight, lifts
SpaceShipOne from the runway. An hour later, after climbing to
approximately 50,000 feet altitude just east of Mojave, the White
Knight releases the spaceship into a glide. The spaceship pilot
then fires his rocket motor for about 80 seconds, reaching Mach 3
in a vertical climb. During the pull-up and climb, the pilot
encounters G-forces three to four times the gravity of the
earth.
SpaceShipOne then coasts up to its goal height of 100 km (62
miles) before falling back to earth. The pilot experiences a
weightless environment for more than three minutes and, like
orbital space travelers, sees the black sky and the thin blue
atmospheric line on the horizon. The pilot (actually a new
astronaut!) then configures the craft’s wing and tail into a
high-drag configuration. This provides a "care-free" atmospheric
entry by slowing the spaceship in the upper atmosphere and
automatically aligning it along the flight path. Upon re-entry, the
pilot reconfigures the ship back to a normal glider, and then
spends 15 to 20 minutes gliding back to earth, touching down like
an airplane on the same runway from which he took off. The June
flight will be flown solo, but SpaceShipOne is equipped with three
seats and is designed for missions that include pilot and two
passengers.
Unlike any previous manned space mission, the June flight will
allow the public to view, up close, the takeoff and landing as well
as the overhead rocket boost to space. This will be an historic and
unique spectator opportunity.
Based on the success of the June space flight attempt,
SpaceShipOne will later compete for the Ansari X Prize, an
international competition to create a reusable aircraft that can
launch three passengers into sub-orbital space, return them safely
home, then repeat the launch within two weeks with the same
vehicle.
ANN Editor-in-Chief Jim Campbell has been invited to
Mojave for extended coverage of the launch. Look for special
coverage to begin Sunday, June 20th.