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India is also looking at lunar and manned programs and already has launched its own satellites, etc. Private entries from the US, Canada and the UK (and other countries) can perhaps be considered separately from the goverment operations. There are now many players, some major (some declining, some expanding) and some minor (some expanding, some perhaps will never get off the ground). Exciting times ahead, I hope.

Carmack's Armadillo team are working with hydrogen peroxide monopropellant engines. Although less powerful than bipropellants (eg. liquid oxygen and kerosene), these might also reach orbit if enough stages and/or boosters are used. They've probably still got a better specific impulse than the hybrid engine in Space Ship One.

Also, even if all these things were built just to win the X-prize, the knowledge gained can still be built upon to take the nxt (much more challenging) step.

Scaled Composites and Armadillo are great teams, but don't forget StarChaser, the British team who have already accomplished a heck of a lot, and have started building their X-Prize rocket.

They're realistic; they know that SC is possibly close to winning the prize, but they haven't won it yet. StarChaser is currently focussing on the X-Prize, but their plan doesn't rely on the prize itself. They recognise that whoever wins the prize, the publicity generated will help open up the market for space tourism and (more generally) private micro-satellite launches.

StarChaser's design has been deliberately designed with scalability in mind; it won't require immense amounts of work to build bigger versions. This is all part of their long-term plan. After all, they were in the business before the X-Prize was announced.

StarChaser, Scaled and Armadillo are all doing great work. Best of luck to all of them, whoever ends up getting the prize.

Oh and more on canopies, Starchaser actually tested their canopy before with driving a ATV out of the cargo plane. The story and images can be found here Thats what i'd call an "extreme debugging".

Just what we all need,
Another Thunderbird Project

They have launched a fairly large rocket recently, and have onboard video on the site for you to check out. I think the X prize is a great competition, and gives people the chance to "think out of the box", there has to be a cheaper way of getting into space (and back!) than the currently over inflated budget of the national space agencies. (I have worked in the space sectory for quite a few years and seen the absolute waste and paper shuffling of these organisations) Good luck to all the teams, may the best team win!

Theres the UK Starchaser which is a basic standard rocket style design, and in the true Brit fashion, a fairly amateur/volunteer project (like Thrust SSC).

For those interested check out the UKs main contender for the x-prize here
the general opinion seems to be that steve bennett actually tries to shoot himself up into space on the top of one of his rockets it'll be the last we hear from him...

Link: Starchaser He might just do it, maybe. I'll give him a 1/2 chance of doing it within 2010.

They just canceled the X-33/-34 project mainly becouse of cash problems...

TO make some cash, NASA should invest more in tourism and mining. This may also result in increasing interest in space. Right now, we can't go, just see fancy images, so most people don't care. If you could book a week for $5000 people would, NASA would get cash. If you could mine Helium-3 of the moon, titanium and other interesting stuff, loads of cash might start falling in from the private sector.

For now, the X-Prize, and notably Starchaser is my favourite space program, as these folks have passion for putting people up there, the way we should.


- Knut S.

PS: I know the scientific value of a Pluto mission, and nothing is more important to mankind than science, but getting us out there is an investment in further expansion of missions like that to Pluto, as we would have to make cheaper toys to get us out there, that woulkd benefit all space technology in the end....

I believe that most people (excluding /.) are not as interested in space anymore.

And why is that? Becouse nothing really happens outthere anymore. Space flight - the ultimate resulkt of human technological evolution - is only interesting ot the general public when we put humans out there, do exciting stuff, and actually get results.

In the long run, NASA should focus it's space efforts more on getting people out into space, building stuff like space hotels. The ISS is extremely expencive, how come? It's a VERY VERY advanced science labratory, it can't even have ehe slightest vibration inside. Building a civilian station might be much much more inexpencive. Use a few Russion Egeria rockets to get it up as well, they have huge capasity.

This would focus the atteiontion of people more one space, becouse now we could actually go there! And that is important. I can imagine more poeple wantin got take a trip out, and eventually this would give much more attention to the doings of NASA and human space exploration (that today is 99% done my telescope)

Also, maybe the doomed X-33/-34 was a faliure, but never forget the X-Prize people. Starchaser is hittin gthe skies in 2003, with a fully reusable space craft that can be ready to go in 7 days, and carry three astronoughts to orbit. I's proud to have a prosessor named the same as their craft ;P

Starchaser homepage


- Knut S.