WOW! Look at this!.........

[rocketmaster]

A friend of a friend invented this!
It turns the ceiling of your home into twinkling stars...neato!

http://www.stardomes.com/

[rocketmaster]

First Private, Manned Craft Achieves Space Flight

By JOHN ANTCZAK, AP

MOJAVE, Calif. (June 21) -- A rocket plane soared above Earth's atmosphere Monday in the first privately financed manned spaceflight, then glided back to Earth for an unpowered landing.

SpaceShipOne pilot Mike Melvill was aiming to fly 62 miles above the Earth's surface. The exact altitude reached was not immediately confirmed by radar.

The ship touched down at Mojave Airport to applause and cheers at 8:15 a.m. PDT, about 90 minutes after it was carried aloft slung under the belly of the jet-powered White Knight.
The mission announcer said the mission had been successful.

''Beautiful sight, Mike,'' mission control said to Melvill as the gliding spaceship slowly circled toward its landing.

Later, standing on the tarmac beside the ship, Melvill said seeing the Earth from outside the atmosphere was ''almost a religious experience.''

''You can see the curvature of the Earth,'' he said. ''You got a hell of a view from 60, 62 miles.''

Melvill said he heard a loud bang during the flight and did not know what it was. But he pointed to a place at the rear of the spacecraft where a part of the structure covering the nozzle had buckled, suggesting it may have been the source of the noise.

White Knight took off at 6:45 a.m. carrying the rocket plane. After an hours' climb the pair reached about 46,000 feet and SpaceShipOne was released.

A moment later Melvill flipped a switch to arm the rocket, and another switch to ignite it. After a brief firing, the rocket motor shut down and the craft coasted to the top of its trajectory.
Both craft were built by innovative aircraft designer Burt Rutan, and the project was funded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, who would only describe the cost as being in excess of $20 million.


''Clearly, there is an enormous, pent-up hunger to fly in space and not just dream about it,'' Rutan said Sunday. ''Now I know what it was like to be involved in America's amazing race to the moon in the '60s.''

SpaceShipOne is the leading contender for the Ansari X Prize, a $10 million award to the first privately financed three-seat spacecraft to reach 62 miles and repeat the feat within two weeks.
The three-seat requirement demonstrates the capacity for paying customers; the quick turnaround between flights demonstrates reusability and reliability.

NASA also is interested, said Michael Lembeck, requirements division director

[rocketmaster]

NASA needs the competition. It's the best thing for it. The government needs the wakeup call.
THE FUTURE BEGINS NOW! [img]biggrin.gif[/img] (I think I hear my ride!)

[Tard]

I've been watching that. Amazing! The spacecraft doesn't look like much more than a souped-up Cesna airplane with rockets on the wings!

Imagine the plunge in NASA'a budget... [img]rolleyes.gif[/img]

[rocketmaster]

9/29/04

Success, once again!

While claiming the X Prize remains the near-term goal, Richard Branson has signed a deal to use the SpaceShipOne technologies to develop the world's first privately funded spacecraft dedicated to carrying commercial passengers on spaceflights.

Branson's Virgin Group has formed Virgin Galactic -- a new company that plans to be become the first commercial space tourism operator.

"We've always had a dream of developing a space tourism business and Paul Allen's vision, combined with Burt Rutan's technological brilliance, have brought that dream a step closer to reality. The deals with both their companies, being announced (Monday), are just the start of what we believe will be a new era in the history of mankind, making the affordable exploration of space by human beings real," Branson said.

"We hope to create thousands of astronauts over the next few years and bring alive their dream of seeing the majestic beauty of our planet from above, the stars in all their glory and the amazing sensation of weightlessness. The development will also allow every country in the world to have their own astronauts rather than the privileged few."

Virgin Galactic will open for business by the beginning of 2005 and subject to the necessary safety and regulatory approvals begin operating flights from 2007, the group said in a press announcement.

"It is expected that around $100 million will be invested in developing the new generation of spaceships and ground infrastructure required to operate a suborbital space tourism experience. Over five years Virgin expects to create around 3,000 astronauts and the price per seat on each flight, which will include at least three days of pre-flight training, are expected to start at around $190,000," the announcement read.

"Virgin will reinvest the proceeds in developing a new generation of vehicles for further space ventures. To date the cheapest space tourism experiences in government built and taxpayer funded spaceships cost over $15,000,000 per seat."

"I backed the development of SpaceShipOne because I saw this as a great opportunity to demonstrate that space exploration could someday be within the reach of private citizens," Allen said. "Today's deal with Virgin represents the next stage in the evolution of the SpaceShipOne concept, and will likely be the first of a number of deals that will utilize the technology developed during its creation. I am very happy to have Virgin and Richard Branson as sponsors of our X Prize attempt and excited about space tourism."

"Our June space flight was flown with several new technologies that address both the cost and safety of manned spaceflight. These, combined with the lessons learned from our SpaceShipOne research program, will enable us to develop the finest suborbital operational systems possible," Rutan added.

"I am looking forward to getting started on the development program and the opportunity to work with Virgin on taking Paul Allen's vision to the next stage."

It is expected that Virgin Galactic will formally commence the contractual and design phase of the project after the conclusion of the Ansari X Prize flights and start construction of the first spaceship, the 'VSS ENTERPRISE' in 2005.

[Tard]

Quite a drop in price, but $190,000 is still a lil too rich for my wallet.