RE: Civilian Astronauts progress report # 19 L media & temp
This is the first I have heard of the Mayflower project. I had heard of CAC
but some how got the impression they were a group of Civilian Astronauts
sans a space vehicle.
CAC - You are not listed on the X-Prize's web site
(http://www.xprize.org/teams/index.html.asp?Client=26) as an entrant to the
X-prize competition. Is this an oversight? I take it you are an entrant.
SF-DISCUSS - There has been some discussion before on who will be the first
to make a sub-orbital flight and claim the X-prize. I would like to reopen
that discussion, and solicit opinions on the merits of various designs and
current progress amongst the X-prize contestants, especially in light of
recent news: CAC; Rotary Rocket ATV et al.
So who do you all think is making the most significant progress? After
reviewing CAC's web page I find their project very exciting!
THANK YOU.............................................KAMAL
> Civilian space travel to benefit coastal cities worldwide
>
> Houston, Texas - Feb. 17 - The planned launch of the Mayflower
> Expedition's initial civilian space flight late this year or early in 2000
> is
> likely to boost the economies of coastal cities around the world,
> according to Harry Dace, who directs the Civilian Astronaut Corps
> project from his headquarters near Houston's Johnson Space Center.
>
> For example, the Los Angeles to Sydney route is a prime example of how
> civilian space flight - or sub-orbital space travel - can benefit
> travelers.
> "It's a 15- or 16-hour flight from L.A. to Sydney," Dace says, "using
> commercial air. Most of that is dead time for the passengers.
> Mayflower can travel the same distance in about 45 minutes. Which
> makes better sense?"
>
> All of the larger coastal cities such as Sydney, Lisbon, Bordeaux and
> Rome could reap important benefits from not only business travel, but
> from increased tourism, along with infrastructure expansion. "Look at it
> this way," Dace explains. "Tourists are going to travel from the interior
>
> of their homeland to watch the Mayflower rockets launching and landing
> right off their coasts. They're going to need hotel rooms, gas stations,
> restaurants and all the support facilities that accompany tourism."
>
> "It's an exponential thing," Dace continues. "It's possible that highway
> improvements between the interior and the coast may be needed in some
> locations. Hotel construction is going to become priority, not only for
> the tourists who travel to see the space flights, but also for the
> passengers who travel aboard Mayflower."
>
> With nine flights already fully booked to their six-passenger limit and
> four others filling quickly, Dace sees the initial overwater flights
> originating near Galveston Island, Texas, as being on course for launch
> within the next 10 or 12 months.
>
> "Tampa, Fla., will probably be the second city, after Galveston, to
> benefit
> from our manned space flights," Dace says. "We'd fly from Galveston to
> Tampa using the protected area over the Gulf of Mexico. After Tampa,
> well, that might be from the West Coast to Honolulu, or New York City
> to Miami."
>
> New York to Miami route is a very heavy air-traffic route for business
> people and tourists. Their time in the air is literally time that's
> thrown
> away. Mayflower will travel the distance in 15 to 20 minutes of actual
> flight time, meaning that the traveler can enjoy almost a full day at
> their
> destination, over and above the flight time.
>
> Jim Akkerman, a retired NASA propulsion and space systems engineer,
> designed the CAC space vehicle.
>
> Members of the Civilian Astronauts Corps are private citizens from
> around the world who join the limited liability corporation to participate
>
> in a private club that's pioneering civilian space flight. The membership
>
> fee of $5,500 allows members to participate in a space voyage and when
> the expedition's 340 flights have been flown to receive a partial rebate
> of
> their fee when CAC sells its equipment to a commercial vendor.
>
> Flight membership fees are held in escrow until approximately all of the
> 2,000 civilian astronauts have joined the mission. According to the
> contract flight members can resign and have their full fee refunded at any
>
> time until actual construction of the rocket begins.
>
> Initially, Mayflower will make two flights a day, with plans to increase
> to
> five or six daily as demand increases. The initial corps of 53 members
> represented 11 countries, giving CAC a true international flavor. New
> members are being added at a steady pace. The civilian astronauts include
> a successful telecommunications entrepreneur, an emergency medical
> technician, a retired mathematics professor and a television coordinator
> of airtime for commercials.
>
> For more information on CAC and the Mayflower Expedition,
> contact Bob Orkand at Merger Communications, (713) 267-2328 or
> Harry Dace at CAC, (281) 482-4005. Graphics and artists' concepts are
> available.
>
> Thank you for your continued interest in this important project.
>
> Harry Dace
> CAC Director
> 403 NASA Road 1 East, Suite 2000
> Houston, Texas USA 77598
> Tel: 281-482-4005
> Fax: 281-482-8129
> http://www.mayflowerrocket.com
> cac@xxxxxxxxxxx
>
>
Follow-Ups:
RE: Civilian Astronauts progress report # 19 L media & temp
From: Sam Coniglio <spaceman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date
<td bgcolor=#b0b0b0
width=33%>Previous
<td bgcolor=#b0b0b0
width=33%>List
<td bgcolor=#b0b0b0
width=33%>Next
Thread
<td bgcolor=#b0b0b0
width=33%>Previous
<td bgcolor=#b0b0b0
width=33%>List
<td bgcolor=#b0b0b0
width=33%>Next