29 July 2012
Added "Space Debris and Its Mitigation" to the archive.
16 July 2012
Space Future has been on something of a hiatus of late. With the concept of Space Tourism steadily increasing in acceptance, and the advances of commercial space, much of our purpose could be said to be achieved. But this industry is still nascent, and there's much to do. So...watch this space.
9 December 2010
Updated "What the Growth of a Space Tourism Industry Could Contribute to Employment, Economic Growth, Environmental Protection, Education, Culture and World Peace" to the 2009 revision.
7 December 2008
"What the Growth of a Space Tourism Industry Could Contribute to Employment, Economic Growth, Environmental Protection, Education, Culture and World Peace" is now the top entry on Space Future's Key Documents list.
30 November 2008
Added Lynx to the Vehicle Designs page.
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News / Tourism (Good)
30 June 2001 by Sam Coniglio
The first congressional hearing
At the first Congressional hearing on space tourism at the House subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics, the room was packed with reporters, space activists, and a large number of young people.
News / Vehicles (Good)
27 January 1999 by Sam Coniglio
Amateur Rocket Engineers Build Prototype Reusable Spacecraft
Kevin Bollinger is on a mission. He wants to fly into space. And he is doing it step by step with the San Jose based Experimental Rocket Propulsion Society, known affectionately as ERPS. If ERPS succeeds, you and I could one day buy a ticket on a low cost and safe reusable spaceship.
News / Other (None)
24 April 1998 by Sam Coniglio
Vaughn Cordele Shows He's Got the Right Stuff
Vaughn Cordele, the Civilian Astronaut Corps Pilot, appeared on Thursday's "Late Nite with David Letterman" show. He was dressed in an all black military-style flight suit and was wearing CAC logos. He was slightly nervous, but he confidently talked about himself and the rocket.
News / Other (None)
1 March 1998 by Sam Coniglio
Newsweek, Fortune, Popular Science Introduce the Entrepreneurs to the Public
The proverbial cat is out of the bag. After years of struggling to get recognition, the new space entrepreneurs are getting serious coverage in the mainstream press.

The December 29 issue of Newsweek looked at "The New Celestial Capitalists." Focusing on the business side of space, the article discussed the new opportunities that are changing the frontier. Jim Benson's SpaceDev was showcased as a 21st century gold rush: exploring and claiming near Earth asteroids. Low cost satellite launch and fast package delivery were represented by Kistler Aerospace and Rotary Rocket Company. Space Tourism was represented by Interglobal Space Lines, LunaCorp, and Zegrahm Space Voyages. From the article's perspective, all of these new initiatives spring from the assumption that NASA no longer wants to deal with mundane space operations. As an example, the cost savings that SpaceHab gives to the space shuttle program was compared to the old SpaceLab: $185 million per module versus $1.2 billion.

The February 2 issue of Fortune, normally a conservative magazine, discussed how the new space companies are being formed to deal with the glut of data communication satellites that need to be launched. The X-33 and Lockheed Martin's Venture Star vehicles were discussed. The article then pointed out that even with NASA support, no Venture Stars will be ready to fly by 2001, when several of the competitors will already be operational. Kelly Space & Technology, Kistler Aerospace, Pioneer Rocketplane, and Rotary Rocket Company were mentioned in the article.

Finally, the February issue of Popular Science had the most extensive coverage of the three magazines. The article included several excellent computer images of the best known vehicles. Plugging names such as Tom Clancy, Burt Rutan, Buzz Aldrin, and Pete Conrad, the article did its best to show how serious these companies are. As well as the companies mentioned in the other articles, Space Access was also reviewed. The story of Federal Express' founder Fred Smith offer to put money into a hypersonic cargo plane was discussed, as well as the U.S. Air Force's attempts to build a reusable space plane. The X Prize got a good plug as a side bar article.

The secret is out. The general public is beginning to hear stories of these amazing flying machines. Now with Senator John Glenn getting a ride on the space shuttle, it will not be long before people will start demanding a ride into orbit.

Sources:

  • Begley, Sharon, and Weingarten, Tara. "The New Celestial Capitalists." Newsweek. Dec. 29, 1997-Jan. 5, 1998. pp. 70-73.

  • Schonfeld, Erick. "Blasting Off the Cheap Way." Fortune. Feb. 2, 1998. pp. 140-141.

  • Sweetman, Bill. "Rocket Planes." Popular Science. Feb. 1998. pp.40-45.
News / Other (None)
24 February 1998 by Sam Coniglio
Payloads, Launch Capacity Discussed
News / Other (None)
7 November 1997 by Sam Coniglio
Government, Big Contractors, Mingle with Entrepreneurs
The future of mankind's space activities is in business, not government, predict the attendees of this year's conference. Hosted by the Space Frontier Foundation, the sixth annual gathering took place in Los Angeles from November 7-9, 1997.
News / Other (None)
27 September 1997 by Sam Coniglio
DC-X, Clementine Project Leaders Win Awards, Author Tom Clancy donates$100,000 to Foundation
The second annual X Prize Gala showed that more people are taking space tourism seriously. From the extensive media coverage to the famous new sponsors, Peter Diamandis' latest creation is gathering momentum with the public.
News / Other (None)
30 July 1997 by Sam Coniglio
Entrenpreneur Seeks to Fund Private Space Mission
A Colorado entrenpreneur is working with a team of researchers to develop
News / Other (None)
21 July 1997 by Sam Coniglio
LunaCorp Closer to Goal of a Commercial Lunar Vehicle
A prototype lunar rover called Nomad successfully passed field trials on the Atacama Desert in Chile. Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute built the rover. Sponsored by NASA, the experiment tested the ability to safely maneuver over hazardous terrain without human intervention, and to transmit high resolution video data.
News / Other (None)
21 July 1997 by Sam Coniglio
Cheap Access to Space (CATS) Symposium in Washington D.C.

Rotary Rocket Company of Redwood Shores, California revealed its revised design for the Roton, a rocket-helicopter hybrid vehicle. Using a combination of oxygen and JP4 fuel, the Roton will take off using aerospike engines. It will deliver its payload to low earth orbit. Then it will return to Earth engine-first. At a certain altitude, propellers will extend from the nose of the Roton, and the vehicle will return to the launch site in a manner similar to helicopters. Landing gear will extend, and the vehicle will softly land.

Gary Hudson, President of Rotary Rockets, notes that the first Roton will be about the same size as McDonnell Douglas' Delta Clipper Experimental (DC-X) vehicle. The Gross Lift Off Weight ( GLOW) is about 225,000 pounds. It will carry 2-3 tons of payload, primarily communication satellites. They plan to scale future versions up to the 20 ton class. The first vehicle will be designed for 20-30 flights, while later versions will be able to fly hundreds of times. The company's goal is to build and operate these vehicles until such time as others buy and operate them.

The second public announcement came from Pioneer RocketPlane Company of Lakewood, Colorado. Charles Laurer, Vice President of Business Development, showed reporters and the public the new design for the Pathfinder rocket plane. In order to protect the two F-100 turbofan jet engines from the heat of reentry, they have been repositioned to the top and aft of the plane, where there is less heat. Pioneer just won a $2 million contract with NASA's Bantam Rocket Program, which is for promoting the development of small reusable launch technologies. Pioneer will be competing for another $30 million in contracts, to eventually reach their goal of $100 million in funding. They plan to fly in 1999.

Manned by a crew of two, the Pathfinder vehicle is designed to take off like a regular jet plane, using the 6000 foot runway at Vandenberg Air Force Base. At an altitude of 25,000 feet, the Pathfinder will rendezvous with a tanker plane and be fueled with liquid oxygen. After separating from the tanker, the Pathfinder will ignite its RD-120 rocket engine and zoom to a sub-orbital altitude of 80 miles. At this point, the Pathfinder's cargo bay will open up. A satellite boosted by a Thiokol Star engine will place it into proper orbit. The Pathfinder itself will close its cargo doors, and return to its launch site under power.

As well as the new vehicle design, Mr. Lauer announced that banker and former member of the US Air Force, Richard Freytag, has joined the Pioneer Team. Also announced was an agreement with Thiokol for building the Star booster motors.

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