X-Prize launch today!

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - X-Prize launch today!

Posted: 10/3/2004 1:49:10 PM EDT

www.space.com

Today at 1000 EST is when White Knight and Space Ship One is supposed to go up again. Official flight plan says the rocket itself should go at 1100.

Also, the Canadian daVinci team is pretty close to their launch, and they are promising to go no matter if Rutan's team takes it, which is good. I hope all the other teams don't just give up either. The more the merrier.

I get to sprint a mile after a test to get home for the shot.

*edit: Update!

Posted: 10/4/2004 4:04:34 AM EDT

[#1]

Bump! Today!

Posted: 10/4/2004 4:27:01 AM EDT

[#2]

I'm ready. I've got NASA-TV on. I should be out of my Monday morning meeting right about separation.

Did you see "Black Sky" on the Discovery Channel last night? There was some really fantastic footage from the testing and development stages. The in-cockpit footage from the first 100-km powered flight was really something. Mike Melvill is one hell of a pilot, that's for cetain!

Posted: 10/4/2004 4:38:12 AM EDT

[#3]

Quoted:
.

Did you see "Black Sky" on the Discovery Channel last night? There was some really fantastic footage from the testing and development stages. The in-cockpit footage from the first 100-km powered flight was really something. Mike Melvill is one hell of a pilot, that's for cetain!

Yeah. It's why I was up until 0200 (with a test today). Excellent show.

Your talking about the flight where Melvill lost his flight data screen and flew straight up on eyeball alone? That was totally impressive. Even Rutan seemed to be amazed he did it.

For anybody that didn't know, Melvill isn't an engineer. He's a high school dropout, and when he was a machinest put together one of Rutan's first kits. Apparently he and his wife flew it to Mojave to show it off, and 25+ years later they're still there.

Posted: 10/4/2004 4:41:30 AM EDT

[#4]

Excellent show on the Discovery Channel last night. It has brought back interest in space travel to me since it seems like regular guys doing it. It'll be intersting this monring to see how well Spaceship One does.

Posted: 10/4/2004 5:16:21 AM EDT

[#5]

Ditto comments above, very cool, see here for live streaming video of today's flight: www.space.com/missionlaunches/xprize_full_coverage.html

Mike

Posted: 10/4/2004 5:40:50 AM EDT

[#6]

Today's pilot has been announced.

SpaceShipOne will be piloted today by 51-year-old Brian Binnie, officials said this morning. Binnie is a program business manager and test pilot at Scaled Composites, which built the vessel. He has 21 years flight test experience including 20 years of naval service in the Strike-Fighter community. He has logged more than 4,600 hours of flight time in 59 different aircraft and is a licensed Airline Transport Pilot.

Today is also the 47th anniversery of the Sputnik launch. Weather looks good.

Posted: 10/4/2004 5:51:49 AM EDT

[#7]

You know, White Knight is one of the coolest looking jets I've ever seen.

Posted: 10/4/2004 6:04:47 AM EDT

[#8]

I'm supprised at the turn around time that they've gotten, 5 days, not too shabby. I think they've got the 10 Million in the bank, knock on wood. We're living at a time when some very cool stuff is going down in the history books, just like 101 years ago when the Wrights took their first flite at Kitty Hawk. This is awesom.

Posted: 10/4/2004 6:52:05 AM EDT

[#9]

Can't seem to get any live video feeds for today's flight. Must be all jammed up. Updates? Last I saw WK1/SS1 still climbing at 0732 PT.

Posted: 10/4/2004 6:55:34 AM EDT

[#10]

Looks like they're going to pull it off. Everything going well so far. This is really Sweet.

Posted: 10/4/2004 7:05:12 AM EDT

[#11]

They got it! And they beat the X-15.

Posted: 10/4/2004 7:06:48 AM EDT

[#12]

SWEET!

I saw the DC show last night, that was a good one.

Posted: 10/4/2004 7:16:29 AM EDT

[#13]

Woo Hoo! Me next! Shotgun!

Posted: 10/4/2004 7:16:44 AM EDT

[#14]

Once they get this going so they can take passengers they'll be able to cut flight time coast to coast or anywhere in the world down to a couple hours. Just blast into space, fly to your re-entry window and drop down at any point on earth that you'd care to go. I'd think that L.A. to NY would only take a coulple hours instead of the 6 or so that it takes now. This is going to open up a lot of things for the future.

Posted: 10/4/2004 7:19:14 AM EDT

[#15]

Quoted:
Once they get this going so they can take passengers they'll be able to cut flight time coast to coast or anywhere in the world down to a couple hours. Just blast into space, fly to your re-entry window and drop down at any point on earth that you'd care to go. I'd think that L.A. to NY would only take a coulple hours instead of the 6 or so that it takes now. This is going to open up a lot of things for the future.

Plus there is now a $50 million prize up for the first team into orbit.

Posted: 10/4/2004 7:38:32 AM EDT

[#16]

Quoted:
Once they get this going so they can take passengers they'll be able to cut flight time coast to coast or anywhere in the world down to a couple hours. Just blast into space, fly to your re-entry window and drop down at any point on earth that you'd care to go. I'd think that L.A. to NY would only take a coulple hours instead of the 6 or so that it takes now. This is going to open up a lot of things for the future.

with a system like this but made higher suborbital you could get anywhere in the world in 2.5 hours.

1 hour pigyback to altitude

1-45 minute flight time 30-45 minute rentry and landing

also the current vehicle even has military applications. it can either be a kinetic weapon, or be used to for air reconisance passing 200k+ feet about any air defense....

Posted: 10/4/2004 7:51:49 AM EDT

[#17]

Quoted:
Plus there is now a $50 million prize up for the first team into orbit.

That's what I'm talkin' 'bout!

Posted: 10/4/2004 7:55:00 AM EDT

[#18]

Rocket Wins $10M Prize for Trip to Space

link

"It feels a little bit like Kitty Hawk must have," Blakey added.

If the altitude of 368,000 feet is confirmed, the backers will claim the Ansari X Prize, a $10 million award that goes to the first privately built, manned rocket ship to fly in space twice in a span of two weeks.

comment : looks like they did it

Posted: 10/4/2004 8:01:00 AM EDT

[#19]

Quoted:
Quoted:
Plus there is now a $50 million prize up for the first team into orbit.
That's what I'm talkin' 'bout!

I also forgot that NASA wants to start a $10 million prize for various accomplishments in private space industry.

Posted: 10/4/2004 8:13:24 AM EDT

[#20]

they've done it, they've done it! damn, if they aint flew

now perhaps he can put the bird in the wind tunnel and find out why it likes snap-rolls

Posted: 10/4/2004 8:18:57 AM EDT

[#21]

Here's a comment from the head of the da Vinci project, who hope to launch their ship in the upcoming weeks.

"It's an historic moment," said Da Vinci's [Brian] Feeney, who said his group still planned to launch its own space effort later this [month]. "If we come in second to the most accomplished aerospace engineer of this and the last century, that's not so bad."

Good luck to them too. They've got a innovative launch and recovery system.

Quoted:
now perhaps he can put the bird in the wind tunnel and find out why it likes snap-rolls

Yeah, I wonder how many people know that the most they did there was a tail assembly on a truck running flat out down the runway.

Also, you gotta love that propulsion system.

Posted: 10/4/2004 12:58:55 PM EDT

[#22]

Since the other thread got filled with bullshit, I'm bumping mine back up.

New stuff: A company called International Fuel has stepped up to sponsor the X Prize Cup. It'll be an annual 10 day competition for space vehicle launches.

The foundation announced last week that it plans to hold a 10-day X Prize Cup event every year in Las Cruces, New Mexico, in which all X Prize teams could compete.

The foundation said the cup is designed to combine elements of Grand Prix Racing and the America’s Cup, where the public can attend and watch the space vehicles fly, talk to the astronauts and learn about new technologies.

Dr. Peter H. Diamandis, chairman and president of the X Prize Foundation, described IFT as a major sponsor of the cup.

Posted: 10/4/2004 1:05:20 PM EDT

[#23]

Quoted:
they've done it, they've done it! damn, if they aint flew

now perhaps he can put the bird in the wind tunnel and find out why it likes snap-rolls

Ah, it is in a very thin atmosphere. Aerodynamics will not have much to do with it. You are just sorry they didn't bite it! YOU are the sorry loser! Go Rutan! Call us back when you have been to 62 miles twice in one week. Until then, sit back and learn from someone with 10X the acomplishments you will EVER have. Rutan 101....... Planerench out.

Posted: 10/4/2004 1:36:53 PM EDT

[#24]

Quoted:
Quoted:
they've done it, they've done it! damn, if they aint flew

now perhaps he can put the bird in the wind tunnel and find out why it likes snap-rolls

Ah, it is in a very thin atmosphere. Aerodynamics will not have much to do with it.

It does when going up and down. When going transonic the plane likes to roll a bit.

They couldn't afford to put it in one of the huge good wind tunnels in terms of time and money (you pay a lot and then wait for time), so they figured Rutan and the computer said it would fly, and the model said it would fly, so they went with it. A small problem with the tail was fixed by getting data by driving a tail assembly down the runway (which is how Rutan tested a model of his first plane before building).

IIRC on the show last night they said they would've liked to have done wind tunnel work, but just couldn't.

I also didn't see the point of being kind of nasty towards Belfry. At least that was the impression I got.

Posted: 10/4/2004 1:59:54 PM EDT

[#25]

Quoted:
Plus there is now a $50 million prize up for the first team into orbit.

Do you have any more info? I have not heard of this yet.

Posted: 10/4/2004 3:39:46 PM EDT

[#26]

Quoted:
Quoted:
Plus there is now a $50 million prize up for the first team into orbit.

Do you have any more info? I have not heard of this yet.

www.space.com/missionlaunches/bigelow_spaceprize_040927.html

While a team of aerospace engineers takes aim this week on the $10 million Ansari X Prize competition for privately developed suborbital spaceflight, a Nevada millionaire is planning an even loftier contest.

Robert Bigelow, chief of Las Vegas-based Bigelow Aerospace, is apparently setting higher goals for private spaceflight endeavors with America's Space Prize, a $50 million race to build an orbital vehicle capable of carrying up to seven astronauts to an orbital outpost by the end of the decade, according to Aviation Week and Space Technology.

Bigelow told Aviation Week that not only would America's Space Prize winners secure the $50 million purse, half of which he's putting up himself, but they'd also snag options to service inflatable space habitats under development by Bigelow Aerospace.

Much like the Ansari X Prize, America's Space Prize would require participants to demonstrate a quick turn around in their launch capabilities, Bigelow said.

The Ansari X Prize challenges participants to develop a reusable three-person spacecraft capable of reach an altitude of at least 62 miles (100 kilometers) twice in two weeks. The first to do so by the end of the year wins $10 million and a trophy.

The SpaceShipOne spacecraft built by aviation pioneer Burt Rutan and his firm Scaled Composites is poised to make its first X Prize flight on Sept. 29. On its heels is Wild Fire Mark VI, a spacecraft built by the Canadian GoldenPalace.com/da Vinci Project led by Toronto's Brian Feeney. The Canadian team's Oct. 2 launch schedule was revised last week to an unreleased launch date.

Bigelow's plan would challenge teams to build spacecraft capable of more than just suborbital hops, such as maneuvering and docking abilities with Bigelow habitats more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) above Earth and reentering the Earth's atmosphere at 17,500 miles (28,163 kilometers) an hour, Aviation Week stated.

The first test version of Bigelow's inflatable modules is expected to launch in November 2005.

NASA has announced its own intentions to offer cash prizes for private space accomplishments through its Centennial Challenges office, which may offer prizes that range from $250,000 to $30 million. Potential challenges could include soft lunar landings and asteroid sample return missions, NASA officials have said.

He's planning on launching a scale test bed model of an inflatable hotel station late next year.

Bigelow owns Budget Suites of America. He also wants to build a ship to take people to the moon. Build it in space (another reason he needs a ship capable of orbit and a space station), half mile long, rotates to provide gravity. He's another big space nut who's pissed off at governments jerking off in low earth orbit. www.space.com/sciencefiction/bigelow_tourism.html

Posted: 10/4/2004 3:42:54 PM EDT

[#27]

AD ASTRA!

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - X-Prize launch today!

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