Have spaceplane will travel
SPACE.com, Feb 25, 2005
Leonard David
ALBUQUERQUE Reusable spaceplanes that propel ticket-holding passengers to the edge of
space are slowly becoming reality.
Ambitious plans for the Rocketplane XP have cost the company about $4 million so far,
says co-founder Charles Lauer.
Among several firms literally hammering away at this prospect is Rocketplane Limited,
an Oklahoma corporation. The company is eager to make space travel as safe, convenient,
and routine as air transportation, with work ramping up on their Rocketplane XP design.
The spaceliner's first commercial passenger flight is projected to be early 2007.
(Related story: Space colony concept picks up steam)
The plan calls for Rocketplane XP to depart from the Oklahoma Spaceport located in
Burns Flat and whisk customers skyward to over 60 miles (100 kilometers) above Earth.
At that height, a spectacular view is promised, along with "over the top" weightlessness
for up to four minutes. The company also envisions transporting innovative scientific experiments and valuable payloads to sub-orbital space and beyond.
Rocketplane XP and the space tourism business were highlighted here at the Space
Technology & Applications International Forum (STAIF), held February 13-17.
Cool ride
"It's going to be a cool ride & the world's largest roller coaster. And you get your
astronaut wings too," said Charles Lauer, co-founder of the company and director of
business development.
Lauer said the Rocketplane team has spent some $4 million over the last 10 months
on the project. Total investment is $30 million to get the first XP built, through
flight test, and nudging its way into revenue-generating service, he said.
Rocketplane Limited, Inc. has obtained from the State of Oklahoma a $13 million
face value Investment Tax Credit to develop a re-usable sub-orbital tourist
business at the Oklahoma Spaceport. Rocketplane's main office and engineering
center are based at Will Rogers Airport in Oklahoma City, and quite appropriately
located on Amelia Earhart Lane.
In addition to the XP spaceplane, the company is delving into future space vehicle
activity that is expected to have a high return on investment, Lauer explained.
Real hardware
"There's real engineering going on," Lauer told the STAIF gathering. "After 10 years
of working on this project, now we've got real hardware."
The fuselage of the Rocketplane XP is a modified Lear 25 series using the same General
Electric CJ-610 turbojet engines found on the standard business jet configuration.
Those powerful engines are used for takeoff and then shut down after rocket engine
ignition.
The XP jet engines would be restarted at high altitude after reentry, as the craft
makes it way on the approach corridor to the Oklahoma Spaceport. Those jet engines,
by the way, are the non-afterburning version of the J-85 engines that Scaled
Composites uses on the White Knight carrier craft that totes SpaceShipOne to
release altitude.
Lauer said Rocketplane engineers are building a new delta wing that attaches to the
Lear jet fuselage on the same keel plate used to mount the current wing structure.
In addition, a new aft fuselage structure is being fabricated to accommodate the rocket
engine thrust loads, as is a new vertical tail structure.
Orbital Technologies Corporation of Madison, Wisconsin is providing the main rocket
motor that incorporates patented vortex engine technology.
Gas and go for the up and going
Lauer told SPACE.com that the suborbital craft will undergo an extensive series of
shakeout test flights next year. "We're going to have a lot of data before we start
commercial service."
Runway rollout of the fully operational XP is slated for the middle of 2006.
The welcome carpet for paying customers is to be rolled out the following year.
The going rate for the up and going passenger is now targeted in the
$150,000 to $160,000 range, Lauer explained.
The "gas and go" traffic model for the XP starts at about 200 people a year,
Lauer said. "Our capacity is a lot more than that."
Given two XP vehicles, flights would be dedicated primarily to tourism, as well
as microgravity research, Lauer added.
Marketing space: lessons learned
Last year, Rocketplane and Incredible Adventures of Sarasota, Florida announced a
marketing agreement in which both companies will begin taking reservations for
the XP space flights.
Taking adventure to a higher level is what space tourism is all about, said
Jane Reifert, President of Incredible Adventures.
"I'm starting my own little campaign to change the phrase space tourism," Reifert
told the STAIF audience. "To me a tourist is somebody going to Disney World with
a camera and blocking traffic when I'm on the way to work&somebody getting in the way."
Reifert said that those hungry to fly into space are highly educated and highly
motivated individuals. They are risk takers, space thrill-seekers, and adventurers,
she said, and shouldn't be associated with someone just camera-clicking away.
There are a number of lessons learned that Reifert and her company have already
chocked up in the adventure tourism business.
"Marketing space will not be easy. Fun haters are everywhere. Most of them are lawyers,
insurance agents and government officials. Anyone marketing space to civilians must
be prepared to meet obstacles," Reifert reported.
A suborbital flight is no vacation, Reifert noted. "Adventurers are fulfilling a
lifelong dream. They will pay premium price to see their dream come true&but they
expect a premium product in return. Be prepared to deliver everything you promise
and more," she advised.
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