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Aviation History
2004
2004-09 - 1508.PDF
SPACEFLIGHT PRIVATE SPACEFLIGHT ROB COPPINGER / LONDON Rutan's tourism vision includes orbiting hotel One-man version of SpaceShipOne may be next stage in development of space holidays A one-person version of Scaled Composites' SpaceShipOne that reaches an orbit of 130km (81 miles) to rendezvous with an orbit ing hotel may form the next stage of Burt Rutan's private manned spaceflight plans. Speaking at a lecture organised by the Manx Festival of Aviation at the Royal Aeronautical Society in London, the aerospace designer detailed how such an orbital vehi cle could be evolved from his exist ing three-man, suborbital 3,000kg (6,6001b) SpaceShipOne. The amount of spacecraft mass dedi cated to fuel would be increased to achieve the greater altitude and speed required. "We'd have a small cramped cabin for the orbital flight and you'd be in it for a long time. You'd want to go to a hotel [because of that] and for orbital tourism you'd want an altitude of 130km," says Rutan. In his lecture, Rutan referred to plans by Robert Bigelow, founder of Bigelow Aerospace, to develop a space hotel based on NASA-origi nated inflatable habitat technology. Before Rutan begins work on orbital flight technology, he will attempt to win the X-Prize, which requires two suborbital flights within two weeks carrying a mass equivalent to three people. Rutan's first flight is scheduled for 29 September and his second for 4 October. But before he flies for the second time, competing Canadian X-Prize team da Vinci Project is scheduled to try to reach space in its Wild Fire rocket on 2 October. Another X-Prize team, Space Transportation, saw its Rubicon One rocket fail a flight test in Washington on 8 August seconds after launch. The engines of the $20,000 rocket failed after it reached an altitude of 1,000ft (305m). Rubicon One's remains crashed to Earth 61m from its launch site after its parachute system failed. It was carrying three dummies represent- SERVICING TIM FURNISS / LONDON NASA approves Hubble repairs NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe has given the go-ahead for the planning of a $1 billion-plus robotic mission to save the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). However, the Goddard Space Flight Center-managed mission will not be confirmed until early next year after studies have been completed. An amendment to the NASA budget request for 2005 has been made to accommodate the TRIAL Robonaut steps out at Johnson Space Center NASA Johnson Space Center's Robonaut has taken its first steps, using a single "spaceleg" to move around out side a simulated space station. The trial confirmed that the Robonaut, operated by a human teleoperator, could climb around the outside of a spacecraft using handholds and plant its foot at a worksite to make repairs or install parts. The Robonaut has also used a set of wheels as an alternative mobile aid, as NASA continues its research into a system that could possibly be used on a robotic Hubble Space Telescope repair mission. The "leg" test proved the Robonaut's capability for climbing, stabilising and handling extravehicular activity tools and interfaces in space. mission planning, but may still face opposition, since the House of Representatives cut the original budget proposal of $16.2 billion by $1 billion. A Space Shuttle servicing mis sion, planned for 2006, was can celled after the Columbia accident in 2003, when it was decided no Shuttle would fly a solo mission in orbit. All missions will now fly to the International Space Station, which will also be used as a safe haven if the Shuttle is damaged. Without the servicing mission, the HST will cease to operate in 2008 after its gyros and batteries fail. A robotic mission will be much more complicated and difficult to accomplish than a standard, proven, crewed Shuttle servicing mission and there are still many influential voices calling for the retention of a crewed mission. Trial confirms Robonaut can climb outside spacecraft RETURN TO FLIGHT NASA homes in on Shuttle protection NASA says it is making signifi cant progress towards understanding the debris envi ronment and materials characteristics of the Space Shuttle orbiter and its thermal protection system (TPS), as part of its return-to-flight (RTF) work. Shuttle flights have been sus pended since the loss of Columbia during re-entry in 2003, writes Tim Furniss. NASA can now better target critical areas for hardening before RTF and make significant improvements to the external tank to reduce debris being shed during launch. It is developing repair techniques and materials for the TPS, particularly acreage tiles and cracks and small holes in reinforced carbon-carbon. NASA admits that attempts to develop a rigid over-wrap for the wing leading-edge that could be used to cover large holes - such as the one that caused the loss of Columbia - have "encoun tered significant challenges". It says it has "deferred develop ment of the rigid wrap" and is "pursuing a broader effort to identify more flexible alternatives for repairing holes in the wings". The first two RTFs will have a contingency crew survival capa bility, enabling the Shuttle to dock with the International Space Station while another orbiter is sent to rescue the crew. • The European Space Agency's (ESA) Mars Express orbiter has relayed high-data-rate images from the NASA Mars exploration rover, Opportunity, on the Martian surface. • The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency launched an S-310-34 sounding rocket from Kagoshima on 9 August, which deployed 10m (33ft)-diam- eter sheets of film at altitudes of 122km (75 miles) and 169km for potential use as solar sails. www.flightinternational.com FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 17-23 AUGUST 2004 25
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