The latest design of XCOR Aerospace Lynx rocket plane includes an optional pod that can hold the experimental payload.
By Alan Boyle
Researchers have struck deals with millions of dollars to a total of 17 flights aboard two types of private suborbital spaceships, with the prospect of more in the future for many years. "This is just whetting people's taste for what is to come," said Alan Stern, a planetary scientist who helped engineer the bids and is due to be one of the first to fly.
Stern, an associate vice President Research Institute in the Southwest, conducting suborbital research effort by SwRI and preside over next-generation suborbital researchers Conference this week in Orlando, Florida, the Conference is bringing together scientists and entrepreneurs to develop what Stern calls a "killer app" for space flight: zero-G research suborbital rocket vehicles.
SwRI is involved in both deals announced in recent days: one calls for two researchers to fly on aircraft of Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo rocket, with an option for the purchase of six seats for a total value of $ 1.6 million. The other set aside that six Lynx rocket plane on flights of XCOR aerospace, with an option for three more flights.
Virgin Galactic has started glide tests of his first SpaceShipOne craft, dubbed the VSS enterprise and plans to begin testing the rocket since the beginning of 2012. Chief operating officer of XCOR, Andrew Nelson, said the first flight tests were planned for the Lynx in early 2012 as well.
"I expect there is a good chance that the first flights could be at the end of next year," Stern told me today. "Most would in ' 13, two years from now."
If all 5 points are purchased, "this program will further launches of humans in space" than any single government agency beyond 2012-2014 period, said Stern. When grouped together all astronauts and cosmonauts Government going to the international space station, the total can be bigger, but "If you count only the number of NASA astronauts in these three years, you will find that it is a smaller number," he said.
The cost for Virgin Media's standard rate of $ 200,000 per seat. Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo says its flights will reach nearly 70 km altitude and provide a few minutes of zero gravity.
As Nelson would say Stern nor SwRI would pay for the XCOR Lynx flights, but the rate of tourism for the Lynx is $ 95,000 per seat. Nelson said the first model of Lynx to enter service, brand, would speak for a minimum of 38 km altitude and a little less than one minute to zero-G — which is sufficient for purposes of SwRI. The production model of Lynx, Mark II, could fly about twice as high and provide more long stretches of microgravity.
Stern said that he would be one of the researchers go into space as part of the agreement. Two other staff SwRI, Dan Durda and Cathy Olkin, were trained for space flight. SwRI will be paying for all flights out of its budget to research and development.
Three experiments were ready for flight, Stern said: one involves monitoring vital signs of researchers in zero-G as well as their high G climb and descent. Researchers will even out the Windows of the rocket plans using an ultraviolet imager astronomical observations. Durda, meanwhile, has prepared a sample of material that will be simulated asteroid studied during the different phases of flight. Such research with fake stuff asteroid could help scientists figure out what to expect if a human mission is sent to land on an asteroid, the Obama administration has proposed.
Stern said the space program was aimed at SwRI pump priming to scientific studies using suborbital piloted spacecraft. These flights offer a cheaper alternative, quick turnaround research on the international space station, which typically involves a long-term procedure for approval and execution of experments.
"Someone had to break the ice," said Stern. "We are very proud to be the first".
Other companies, including Armadillo Aerospace and blue origin, are also working on suborbital spaceships and Stern said SWRI was in discussions with those ventures, as well as for future flights.
"We are building a program of space flight, and we will take all comers," Stern said.
Other suborbital Science: perspectives on
Stern is due discuss suborbital science initiatives on 13 March on "virtually speaking science" with co-hosts Alan Boyle and Robin Snelson. Subsribe to Cosmic Log by clicking the "like" on our Facebook page or by following msnbc.com science editor Alan Boyle as b0yle on Twitter. Read more on the book by Alan Boyle on Pluto and planets, check the website for "The Case for Pluto."
No comments:
Post a Comment