Posted on 12/14/2011 11:40:54 AM PST by americanophile
The tycoons of cyberspace are looking to bankroll America's resurgence in outer space, reviving "Star Trek" dreams that first interested them in science. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen made the latest step Tuesday, unveiling plans for a new commercial spaceship that, instead of blasting off a launch pad, would be carried high into the atmosphere by the widest plane ever built before it fires its rockets.
He joins Silicon Valley powerhouses Elon Musk of PayPal and Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com Inc. in a new private space race that attempts to fill the gap left when the U.S. government ended the space shuttle program.
Musk, whose Space Exploration Technologies will send its Dragon capsule to dock with the International Space Station in February, will provide the capsule and booster rocket for Allen's venture, which is called Stratolaunch. Bezos is building a rival private spaceship.
Allen is working with aerospace pioneer Burt Rutan, who collaborated with the tycoon in 2004 to win a $10 million prize for the first flight of a private spaceship that went into space but not orbit.
Allen says his enormous airplane and spaceship system will go to "the next big step: a private orbital space platform business."
The new system is "a radical change" in how people can get to space, and it will "keep America at the forefront of space exploration," Allen said.
Their plane will have a 380-foot (116-meter) wingspan — longer than a football field and wider than the biggest aircraft ever, Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose.
(Excerpt) Read more at csmonitor.com ...
BSOD
The Left a curious unnatural conglomeration of white nerds obsessed with Star Trek and vicious race hustlers who hate NASA.
Not to worry, FUD will eliminate BSOD...
This might be something good.
I’ve wondered what could be done if, say, there’s a problem on the ISS and they have more people on board than the “escape module” Soyuz can hold. ( I know...they’re limiting crew up there to 3 for now).
If this thing were available, they could have a ‘ready stanby” escape rocket, ready to attach to the mothership and launch as soon as possible.
I mean...why the heck not? NASA sure isn’t doing anything....
There was a video of the idea in action (saw it on another FR thread). Yes, there is a 2-stage booster on the middle rocket. At launch, the aircraft goes into a climb. At separation, the rocket drops, then fires its engines and proceeds up to orbit.
As for re-entry, it’s the standard spacecraft return to splashdown/setdown as any regular non-Shuttle spacecraft would.
In the video, the capsule being launched looked suspiciously like SpaceX’s Dragon. Well, maybe not as suspicious, since SpaceX appears to be a possible partner in this venture.
But...they were planning to use their own booster for the same capsule (Falcon 9). Hmmm...
It’s essentially the same system that Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic will use (designed by the same guy), except on a much bigger scale, and the spacecraft will actually achieve orbit.
Rocket launch simulation video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sh29Pm1Rrc0
Company web site.
http://stratolaunch.com/
Scaled, SpaceX and Dynetics
Looks like a group of “Can-Do” heavy hitters.
Now if we can just get the rest of the Federal Government to “Lead, Follow or GET OUT OF THE WAY”, private industry can get things done in many other areas.
Same principle as the White Knight and SpaceShipOne. The “center module” separates at a certain height and ignites a rocket.
Reentry is done with movable wings which can increase drag to the extent that special tiles aren’t needed...but it’s also not going anywhere near as fast as a conventional spacecraft.
How much for dumping my ashes?
Why not Zepplins?
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