Spacedev update

Earth’s natural satellite came a step closer within reach on December 20 when Spacedev, a private Californian aerospace company, announced that it had completed the first stage of its test flight program for a new hybrid rocket powered lunar lander.
In a flight that had the backing of the International Lunar Observatory Association, Spacedev demonstrated the capability of its four engine, throttle controlled prototype in a thrust adjusted flight to 35 feet; the test also featured a demonstration of hover capability as well as a successful soft landing - vital for when potential customers like the ILOA require the lander to deliver sensitive observation instruments to the South pole of the Moon.
Spacedev have been pursuing a reliable and clean, non toxic engine system for some time now in the hope of eventually providing a private, commercial transportation system for both cargo and human lunar flights; it is through the work of companies like Spacedev that a true human presence on the Moon may one day be attainable. Spacedev;s chairman, Mark N Sirangelo commented: ‘We see many important applications for our throttleable rockets, and we look forward to continuing our relationship with ILOA as well as our research and development of lander vehicles’.
With the forthcoming 2008 US presidential election race conjuring some ‘interesting’ statements about human space flight, the work of Spacedev now seems particularly prescient in being able to imagine (and plan) for a future where manned lunar flights are not on the new Democratic government’s radar. The need then will be for cheap, reliable, private human and cargo access to the Moon - perhaps something akin to a NASA CEV twinned with a Spacedev LSAM - a true synthesis of public and private technology.
(Image: Spacedev)

2008: Time for the stars

Virgin Galactic have outlined their test flight schedule for White Knight II in 2008. With the last of the behemoth carrier plane’s engines to be delivered in January of next year, the company hopes that either June or July will witness the first test flight of the SpaceShipTwo carrier plane.
The ambitious schedule was outlined during Virgin’s attendance at the 3rd Rutherford Appleton Space Conference in the United Kingdom on December 6. The company also chose the conference to reveal that January 23 2008 will be the date when the press and general public will first gain a glimpse of the finalised Spaceshiptwo and White Knight II design: Previous visions of the two craft have merely implied that the new vehicles will be scaled up versions of SS1 and WK1; however nearly three years of advanced design work will no doubt produce subtle differences in the overall look of the two craft. Will Wheathorn, Virgin Galactic’s Vice President commented: ‘ White Knight II will look more like the Virgin Atlantic Globalflyer. We have built all the models to show the public.’
Wheathorn also used the conference to hint at the potential capability of White Knight II, indicating that the company would charge $3 million for the launch of small satellites using the giant carrier plane. As to what type of craft Virgin Galactic will place beneath WK II’s wings to boost the satellites into orbit is another question entirely - the only hint that Wheathorn gave was that the craft would consist of two stages. Perhaps we can look for guidance on this matter to the form of the very large carrier aircraft that T/Space (to which Rutan is a contributor) submitted to the NASA’s COTS competition effort (pictured). Will SpaceShipThree be an air launched two stage rocket?
Certainly, if SpaceShipThree is going to be an orbital craft then it is unlikely to possess wings. Rutan has previously hinted that it is his personal ambition to reach for the Moon. He is therefore unlikely to focus his next efforts, after SpaceShipTwo, on building a craft whose wings will be torn away in Earth’s atmosphere after attaining the kind of speeds that you need to reach in order to attain trans lunar injection and Earth return. SpaceShipThree is therefore likely to be a two staged air launched system with an orbital manoeuvrable, crewed capsule. As for when this vehicle will appear, it seems likely that it will be operating by 2015 at the earliest. Who knows what will be possible if White Knight II and SpaceShipTwo prove to be commercially viable? .
Image: T/Space

The Google Lunar X Prize: Competitors announce plans

In utilising the proven track record and innovative engineering solutions of a company whose work extends back to the Apollo era, you might think that a partnership between Raytheon and a private aerospace outfit, would be just the ticket by which to realize the dream of winning the Google Lunar X Prize: If so, you would undoubtedly be correct, for that is just the intention of Astrobotic technology,a new Carnegie university based robotics team with who hope take the much vaunted Moon prize.
William Whittaker, Astrobotic’s head of technological development, and a leading light in the science of robotics at Carnegie, founded his company in November 2007; Whittaker’s intention was to offer Astrobotic’s varied robotic system to a host of tasks be they in Earth orbit or cis-lunar space. The company declared its intention to participate in the Google lunar X Prize in September 2007, their goal being to snag many of the key milestones outlined in the rulebook, in order to take a share, if not a significant chunk of the total prize fund.
Raytheon’s involvement will figure heavily in the management of the engineering aspect of the Astrobiotic’s eventual lander and rover. Mike Booen, Raytheon vice president of the company’s Advanced Missile Defense & Directed Energy wing, commented: ‘ We are delighted to work with Dr. Whittaker on this extraordinary lunar project. Development of a lunar lander is a natural extension for the company's space-proven technologies’.
With a history of producing systems ranging from satellite control systems to GPS systems for the Department of Defense, Raytheon are sure to give Astrobotic’s efforts a key boost: We can, in turn, expect many more teams to join the race in the weeks and month ahead as Astrobotic are sure to become a star in a yet to be crowded sky.

Image:NASA

Planetspace Inc and COTS

With the failure of RpK’s efforts to design and build a reliable, scheduled crew and cargo craft that can service the International Space Station, a new contender for supply missions has emerged - one which may yet qualify for COTS seed money.
This new potential COTS competitor is Planetspace Inc, a Chicago based aerospace, engineering firm, with solid connections to established aviation giants such as Lockheed Martin and Alliant Tech Systems (ATK). Using the expertise gained from such connections, Planetspace Inc have now come up with a design for ISS re-supply; dubbed the Modular Cargo Carrier, the new craft will be boosted to orbit atop a primary rocket designed and built by ATK: Once in orbit the MCC will docking with the space station’s common berthing port to begin unloading supplies and other precious cargo.
Chirinjeev Kathuria, Planetspace’s CEO was reported to have told reporters: ‘ We’re very comfortable and confident that NASA is going to have a low-cost, very reliable cargo and crew transport to the space station’.
With $175 million in COTS money still available for private commercial, payload and rocket development, it is clear that something of a bidding war is opening up in the clamour to produce a reliable private craft with which to meet US Space Shuttle retirement in 2010. SPACEHAB, a rival aerospace firm headquartered in Houston are also reported to be pursuing the NASA seed corn funds; the company has its own spacecraft, dubbed Arcturus, a craft which SPACEHAB hope to boost to orbit onboard modified Delta 4 and Atlas V rockets.
The Modular Cargo Carrier is not the only project that Planetspace Inc are working on. If the MCC can offer orbital cargo flights, then the company’s Silver Dart sub orbital glider (if built) will offer passengers the chance to view Earth’s curvature from extremely high altitudes. Based upon the US Airforce’s Flight Dynamics Laboratory 7, the Silver Dart ( see top picture) is a knife shaped space plane that will be kicked into sub orbit by a similar booster to what ATK are designing for the company’s Modular Cargo Carrier. Cape Breton in Nova Scotia has been selected for future Silver Dart flights, Kathuria adds: ‘We’re continuing down that development very strongly in terms of developing the FDL-7 for what we call cargo express or space tourism’.
Whether the Silver Dart ever becomes a physical reality or not, it is certainly one of the more unusual designs to have graced the imagination of a space craft developer.

Images: Planetspace Inc