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Starchaser Rocket Capsule Drop Tests Successful
thaig writes "Starchaser Industries reports that their NOVA 2 rocket capsule has completed two manned drop-tests from an altitude of 10,000 feet. The capsule was put through a number of manoeuvres during its descent to fully validate the steerable ram-air parachute canopy that made it possible to fly the craft like a glider.
Starchaser Industries' Thunderbird project is a contender for the $10 million X-PRIZE.
Here's the earlier story."
Well Starchaser are supposed to be launching their one man Nova rocket with sometime this year, with teamleader Steve Bennett in the pilots seat. However they said that last year... Britain could have been third country to orbit a satellite in the sixties had the Black Prince launcher been given the go ahead (see http://members.aol.com/nicholashl/ukspace/ukspace. htm for a
comprehensive history of British rocketry in the fifties and sixties),
and was the sixth to orbit in 1971. But remember that Britain was very
much the declining power at this time and the labour government was
cancelling most areospace projects at the time. Its typically British
that we're the only country that developed a launcher then cancelled
it after one sucessful flight.
Bethanie: Whore...
Fan Whore
I dunno about the capsule, but their site spiralled down in flames and crashed before there was even a single comment.
Please help metamoderate.
Starchaser Industries have successfully completed two manned parachute drop tests of their NOVA 2 rocket capsule.
The manned drop tests were carried out at the Red Lake drop zone in Arizona USA on the 22nd and 24th July 2003. The capsule was deployed from the rear cargo door of a Fairchild C123K aircraft at an altitude of 10,000 feet.
The capsule was put through a number of manoeuvres during its descent to fully validate the steerable ram-air parachute canopy that made it possible to fly the craft like a glider. Nova 2 was then brought in for a precision landing. Steve Bennett, Managing Director of Starchaser Industries, said, "We are pleased with how the capsule has performed, we've completed two very successful flights. These drop tests mark a significant milestone in Starchaser Industries manned space programme. We have proved the different key systems in our rocket programme and now have the technology to push forward in our bid to win the X PRIZE"
Weighing in at 250 kg and measuring 3-meters in length, the single seat Nova 2 capsule has become Britain's first manned rocket capsule and has been developed to test a variety of systems for use in project Thunderbird; Starchaser Industries entry into the US $10 million X PRIZE, which is on offer to the first non-governmental organisation capable of launching three people into space.
Steve Bennett is available for comment following the success of the manned drop tests, video footage and digital stills are available, please contact Lee Kirby on 08700 278766288 or email lee@starchaser.co.uk
Please, next time check the link before you moderate.
Anyone know how they plan to slow it from orbital speed to a speed where they and safely deploy the 'chute?
This would seem to be the second hardest part. (Hardest being geting the thing orbial in the first place.)
-Peter
That story was about planning a test drop. This story describes how the test drop has been finished successfully.
However, there are other more important things that our government should be spending money upon. Education, health care and welfare programs are all vastly more important than space exploration. Space programs are a luxury, and in these tough economic times its a luxury that Americans should do without.
The fact that this program was successful shows that the private sector can shoulder the spaceflight burden. Hopefully our government will recognize this and begin to shift funding to programs that are more worthy.
C - A language that combines the speed of assembly with the ease of use of assembly.
Thunderbird the rocket or Thunderbird the mail client?
,er , neverimind.
Phoenix the browser or the database?
Mozilla the browser or
I'd thought the name sounded familiar.
Isn't this the same Steve Bennett who was planning to launch his X-prize rocket on what amounted to the same kind of engines used by the high-power model rocket community, despite the community trying to tell him that they wouldn't scale the way he wants them to? The guy who was prevented from doing further launch tests because he set the firing range he was using on fire? The guy who was ripped apart in the last three articles about him for not having an adequate understanding of what he's doing?
This does not bode well for his scheduled launch attempt.
1.) You can get insurance for anything, the Premiums may be a little high though.
2.) They aren't going into orbit so there is no way to get stuck. It's a simple projectile trajectory, up and down like a cannon ball.
3.) That's the point of the X-Prize.
4.) We can only hope!
Is it really easier to design and build a craft to take you 100 miles above the earth and return safely than it is to track down Saddam?
You get 35 million for Saddam, only 10 million for turning into a shooting star.
1) Your analysis is based on bad assumptions so your result is way off. 2) You're a sick bastard for fucking a horse.
The name Starchaser is a bit optimistic. ... LEOlimper.
:-) so a parachute is somewhat redundant.
How about
So far all they've done is chuck it off the back of a plane.
Anyway to get the 10 megabucks the thing only has to be
capable of launching three people into space.
No mention of gettin em back
Now where can i find three volunteers????
siggy played guitar
I think it's one thing for a little team to build a narrow electric car where the government spent billions and failed, but another entirely to do sub orbital flights where the resources of NASA are still not enough to prevent tragedies like the shuttle accidents. Serious life loss is surely imminent, but the most ironic thing of all is that even if some people do make it up and down again, it can surely never lead to actual orbital flights as the engineering and physics problems associated with getting in an out of the atmosphere really do need astronomical resources to solve?
Being from the little town where Bennet is from
In fact, five prototypes have already been used for quite a while now.
United States of America, good ol' backers of world peace.
My money is still on the Rutan boys and their Scaled Composites entry.
:-)
They're the only ones who have shown credible progress in respect to actually getting a craft flying towards the heavens. Most of the other X-Prize entrants are either playing with models or dreaming
For people who had somequestion mark in place of "ram-air parafoils.."
:) )
"ram-air parafoils" are nothing but a regular recantgular parachute canopies that are used every day in regular skydiving sports ( ive used one exactly 33 times and its been working like charm
It flies like a regular airplane wing, just that the lifting profile isnt fixed. The wing is "open" in front, and the airflow makes the wing "rigid". Thats the general principle anyways. You steer it with pulling the "brakes" on one or other side of the wing, "brakes" are simply the after left and right parts of the wing, that can be pulled down via "steering ropes".
The one that Starchaser is using is obviously somewhat larger than your average skydiver canopy. Beginners canopies measure up to 240sq ft and are rated for average 80-kg person. So if NOVA capsule weighs 250kg+pilot, the canopy must be at least three-four times larger.
And now some general X-Prize remarks. For anyone who is still not getting it: X-prize is not directly aimed at replacing Soyuzes and Shuttles, so none of the contenders is going to orbit, just a suborbital "hop" to 100km's of altitude. Why 100 ? Because thats where internationally agreed boundaries of space begin at. So X-prize passengers will officially be astronauts, the league up until now open to select few of government employees
X-prize and its followup X-prize Cup ( a "rocket NASCAR" ) are hoped to revolutize the private spaceflight industry.
hint: X-prize has its own messageboards @ http://www.xprize.org/messageboard that could actually use some slashdotting.
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