Posted on 10/06/2004 7:12:29 AM PDT by RockyMtnMan
MOJAVE, Calif. — A $20 million, private investment in manned space flight earned a $10 million return yesterday when a stubby, white rocket captured the X Prize by soaring to the edge of space for the second time in less than a week. SpaceShipOne's jubilant backers predicted it won't be long before that red ink turns black, as the thirst for adventure and exploration fuels a boom in space tourism.
"There are real dollars to be made here," said St. Louis entrepreneur Peter Diamandis, who created the prize to inspire a new breed of rocketeers and move human space travel out of the exclusive domain of government.
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, who bankrolled the SpaceShipOne project and tracked the flight from mission control, said it was hard to remain calm even though the craft had performed the same feat twice before.
"When the rocket engine fires, your heart just jumps right into your throat," he said, grinning. "It's pure exhilaration."
Like Diamandis and many others involved in the project, Allen grew up marveling at America's astronauts — and expecting rocket trips to become as commonplace as airplane rides.
That boyish delight was evident yesterday among now-grown men who used personal fortunes and professional skills to bring their dream closer to reality.
Diagram of the first flight in June.
"The 9-year-old boy inside me is jumping for joy and waiting to take a flight," Diamandis said.
SpaceShipOne's feat came on the 47th anniversary of the launch of the Soviet satellite Sputnik, which kicked off a space race between Cold War superpowers.
The carrier plane, White Knight, took off shortly after dawn, looking like a pterodactyl clasping the egg-shaped rocket to its belly. At about 46,000 feet, the rocket detached and pilot Brian Binnie pointed its nose up and ignited its engine.
Thousands of watchers on the ground tracked the bright orange flare until Binnie switched the engine off after about 80 seconds. The rocket coasted to a height of nearly 70 miles, well above the 62-mile target spelled out in the X Prize rules.
SpaceShipOne designer Burt Rutan said Allen will share the prize money with the team that built and operated the rocket.
To snare the trophy, aviation maverick Rutan had to demonstrate that his rocket could reach the edge of space with at least one person and the equivalent weight of two others aboard. Then he had to repeat the process within two weeks, proving the craft could ferry people to space over and over.
In June, Mike Melvill became the first civilian pilot to earn astronaut wings by piloting SpaceShipOne's inaugural flight. Melvill was also at the controls for the first X Prize qualifying flight Sept. 29, when the rocket unexpectedly rolled 29 times on its ascent.
Yesterday, Melvill piloted the White Knight carrier plane. No explanation was given about why he did not fly SpaceShipOne, but the team has four pilots qualified to fly either craft.
Rutan and his team worked 12-hour shifts for five days to solve the problem of the Sept. 29 flight, and Binnie's flight was virtually flawless.
During the three minutes of weightlessness at the apex, Binnie let loose a paper model of SpaceShipOne and watched it float around the cockpit.
Then the craft dropped into a roller-coaster descent that briefly slammed him with five times the force of gravity.
He guided the spaceship through its long. looping glide back to Earth, with a landing more seamless than those of most commercial jetliners.
Later, he described the view from the top: the blue curve of Earth and the blackness of space.
"It's a thrill everyone should have in their lifetime," he said.
Last week, airline executive and adventurer Richard Branson announced a deal between his Virgin Group and Allen's Mojave Aerospace Adventures to license SpaceShipOne's technology as the basis for a five-person spaceliner to begin shuttling tourists by 2007, for $200,000 a head.
But skeptics question whether space tourism will ever be more than a diversion for the type of elite adventurers who now pay $60,000 for guided trips up Mount Everest.
"Space tourism conjures up the notion of going to Hawaii or the Caribbean, but this is nothing like that," said Henry Hertzfeld, an expert in the economics and laws of space at George Washington University's Space Policy Institute.
"It's a short-term thrill that will appeal to only a few people."
Brad Blake and his 11-year-old son, Zak, were enthusiastic enough about space flight to get up at 2:30 a.m. for the three-hour drive to Mojave from their home in Reedley, Calif.
But neither imagined himself flying in space anytime soon — not only because of the cost but also because a trip that only goes to the edge of the atmosphere is so brief.
"It would be a lot better if you could spend some time up there," Blake said.
Many experts agree.
"I don't think we'll really have an industry until we go orbital," said Dennis Parks, senior curator at the Museum of Flight in Seattle.
But pushing a spaceship all the way into orbit would require speeds in excess of 16,000 mph — eight times faster than SpaceShipOne's top velocity of about 2,000 mph. And vessels would have to be heavily shielded to protect against the fierce friction and heat of re-entry, adding to weight and complexity.
An X Prize goal was to encourage the type of competition and innovation that might eventually lead to affordable orbital flights, Diamandis said.
To keep that spirit going, he is organizing an X Prize Cup for 2005 in New Mexico. Rutan and the other 25 teams that were contending for the original prize are invited to compete for multimillion-dollar purses in categories such as fastest rocket and highest altitude. And, Diamandis said, "maybe even the coolest-looking spaceship."
"SAFE RETURN - Civilian astronaut Brian Binnie stands atop SpaceShipOne with a flag that he carried into space Monday morning at Mojave Airport Civilian Aerospace Test Center. "I wake up every morning and thank God I live in a country where all this can happen," he said." ROB LAYMAN/Valley Press
I'm thinking of Tessier-Ashpool S.A. "Freeside: Why wait?"
ROB LAYMAN/Valley press 
Ron Siddle - Valley Press
Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?
Sheesh, celebrate the achievement for a while, Dennis.
No kidding, let the guys have a little glory for a bit. With the right investment they'll have no trouble getting there and after winning the prize they should have no trouble raising the capital.
I dont think NASA could have thought about this for $20mil
I suspect it might have paid for a few high level meetings and a new set of procedures for moving forward.
The quote should be "ooops, my bad, is this coming out of my check?".
In just a few posts,
somebody will say, "There will
always be a need
for NASA," but they
never really explain why
anyone needs them . . .
Clinton butchered NASA! Flying John Glenn was political. Cooperating with the Russians on the space station was political. It cost us great amounts of time and money letting them build major componants of the station. It was a huge mistake. The only reason Clinton did it was they thought it would keep the Russian scientists from working on nukes.Clinton butchered NASA's Budget. Bush has given NASA much needed attention, direction and leadership. The return to Moon and then Mars is very carefully thought out. I am a member of the X-Prize foundation as well. It is ALL part of the equation. NASA does things no other entity can do. The Columbia astronauts believed in NASA. WE owe them a NASA that they wanted it to be. That does not give NASA a free pass. YES, accountabiilty. But do not destroy NASA in the process. They would NOT want us to give up. They would say Fix it, and press on. NASA just needs the help of the President and the support of the country to do the job they were made to do. They have it now. Another reason this election is important to me, Kerry gets elected? goodbye return to moon. Goodbye Mars missions. Hello Gore-like projets that study the o-zone hole until we are blue in the face pleasing only liberal professors and gubmint contractors.
I worked for JPL in the early 80's and it was sad that the 60's vintage go-go NASA spirit was already dying or dead.
The problem was that the people with the work ethic to make genuine projects happen had left because without the near-term goals, they didn't have the enthusiasim. The people left were typical government bureaucrats, putting in their time at a job they couldn't be fired from. In one instance, I rescued a PhD that had been given a simple contract research project that he wasted 2 years on and was incapable of completing. We did it in 1 week.
The Columbia and Challenger crews were a sad loss. I would have flown on those flights if I'd have had the chance. But in 100 shuttle flights, what have they accomplished? That's plenty of time to have assembled a Mars vehicle in LEO. They easily could have flown a Moon return flight by Von Braun's original Earth Orbit Redeveus method.
But instead, they did safe, bureaucratic same old, same old flights.
I'm no more impressed now that I was in, what was it, 1981 when Columbia first flew?
They've completly wasted 20 years with no real accomplishments. Apollo was designed and built and we learned how to fly it in something like 5 years.
What a waste.
And I believe many of the problems have been addressed in the new space iniative. The people that wrote it are keenly aware of NASA's past problems.
www.nasawatch.com is an excellent web page to keep track of things. Bush has threatened to veto the budget if they touch NASA. That is amazing. Clinton wouldnt have cared one wit.
I am old enough to remember the plastic moon rover toys on TANG. I have watched the space program very closely a long time now. I have seen it held hostage by politicians, both presidents and congress. What Bush is doing is revolutionary for NASA. Im not just waving Bush's flag here either. I have not heard language backed up by leadership like this since Reagan on space.
Americans want a space program. A recent poll showed strong support for it.
http://www.space.com/news/space_poll_040719.html
We have a president that is willing to lead now. I am pretty sure he he is going to win.
I know its not much in the medias radar screen. But the new space initiative is steady, building blocks over time, with long term goals of human exploration. If my generation is going to see man back to the moon. This is the opportunity. Under Bush, given another four years to cement the new iniative in place. I see no reason why NASA would repeat the same mistakes. There are too many people that want this to work now.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
