Revolution In Space Transportation Could Mean Safer, Less
Expensive, Missions
Entrepreneur and philanthropist Paul G. Allen announced Tuesday
that he and aerospace pioneer Burt Rutan have reunited to develop
the next generation of space travel. Allen and Rutan, whose
SpaceShipOne was the first privately-funded, manned rocket ship to
fly beyond earth’s atmosphere, are developing a revolutionary
approach to space transportation: an air-launch system to provide
orbital access to space with greater safety, cost-effectiveness and
flexibility.
The space flight revolution Allen and Rutan pioneered in 2004
with SpaceShipOne now enters a new era. Only months after the last
shuttle flight closed an important chapter in spaceflight, Allen is
stepping in with an ambitious effort to continue America’s
drive for space.
“I have long dreamed about taking the next big step in
private space flight after the success of SpaceShipOne – to
offer a flexible, orbital space delivery system,” Allen said.
“We are at the dawn of radical change in the space launch
industry. Stratolaunch Systems is pioneering an innovative solution
that will revolutionize space travel.”
Allen’s new company, Stratolaunch Systems, will build a
mobile launch system with three primary components:
- A carrier aircraft, developed by Scaled Composites, the
aircraft manufacturer and assembler founded by Rutan. It will be
the largest aircraft ever flown.
- A multi-stage booster, manufactured by Elon Musk’s Space
Exploration Technologies;
- A state-of-the-art mating and integration system allowing the
carrier aircraft to safely carry a booster weighing up to 490,000
pounds. It will be built by Dynetics, a leader in the field of
aerospace engineering.
Stratolaunch Systems will bring airport-like operations to the
launch of commercial and government payloads and, eventually, human
missions. Plans call for a first flight within five years. The
air-launch-to-orbit system will mean lower costs, greater safety,
and more flexibility and responsiveness than is possible today with
ground-based systems. Stratolaunch’s quick turnaround between
launches will enable new orbital missions as well as break the
logjam of missions queued up for launch facilities and a chance at
space. Rutan, who has joined Stratolaunch Systems as a board
member, said he was thrilled to be back working with Allen.
“Paul and I pioneered private space travel with SpaceShipOne,
which led to Virgin Galactic’s commercial suborbital
SpaceShipTwo Program. Now, we will have the opportunity to extend
that capability to orbit and beyond. Paul has proven himself a
visionary with the will, commitment and courage to continue pushing
the boundaries of space technology. We are well aware of the
challenges ahead, but we have put together an incredible research
team that will draw inspiration from Paul’s
vision.”
To lead the Stratolaunch Systems team, Allen picked a veteran NASA
official with years of experience in engineering, management and
human spaceflight. Stratolaunch Systems CEO and President Gary
Wentz, a former chief engineer at NASA, said the system’s
design will revolutionize space travel.
Former NASA Administrator Mike Griffin, also a Stratolaunch board
member, joined Allen and Rutan at a press conference in Seattle to
announce the project. “We believe this technology has the
potential to someday make spaceflight routine by removing many of
the constraints associated with ground launched rockets,”
Griffin said. “Our system will also provide the flexibility
to launch from a large variety of locations.”
The Stratolaunch system will eventually have the capability of
launching people into low earth orbit. But the company is taking a
building block approach in development of the launch aircraft and
booster, with initial efforts focused on unmanned payloads. Human
flights will follow, after safety, reliability and operability are
demonstrated.
The carrier aircraft will operate from a large airport/spaceport,
such as Kennedy Space Center, and will be able to fly up to 1,300
nautical miles to the payload’s launch point. It will use six
747 engines, have a gross weight of more than 1.2 million pounds
and a wingspan of more than 380 feet. For takeoff and landing, it
will require a runway 12,000 feet long. Systems onboard the launch
aircraft will conduct the countdown and firing of the booster and
will monitor the health of the orbital payload.
The plane will be built in a Stratolaunch hangar which will soon be
under construction at the Mojave Air and Space Port. It will be
near where Scaled Composites built SpaceShipOne which won Allen and
Scaled Composites the $10-million Ansari X Prize in 2004 after
three successful sub-orbital flights. Scaled Composites is a wholly
owned subsidiary of Northrop Grumman. “Scaled is all about
achieving milestones and pursuing breakthroughs, and this project
offers both – building the largest airplane in the world, and
achieving the manufacturing breakthroughs that will enable Scaled
to accomplish it. We are thrilled to be a part of this development
program,” said Scaled Composites President Doug Shane.
“We anticipate significant hiring of engineering,
manufacturing, and support staff in the near and medium
term.”
The multi-stage booster will be manufactured by California-based
Space Exploration Technologies, one of the world’s
pre-eminent space transportation companies. “Paul Allen and
Burt Rutan helped generate enormous interest in space with White
Knight and SpaceShipOne,” said SpaceX President Gwynne
Shotwell. “There was no way we weren’t going to be
involved in their next great endeavor. We are very
excited.”
Dynetics will provide the mating and integration system and the
systems engineering, integration, test and operations support for
the entire air-launch system. The mating and integration system
will be manufactured in Huntsville, Alabama in Dynetics’ new
226,500 square foot prototyping facility. Dynetics has been a
leader in aerospace engineering since 1974. “We are excited
to play such a major role on this system. This is an ambitious
project unlike any that has been undertaken and I am confident the
Stratolaunch team has the experience and capabilities to accomplish
the mission,” said Dynetics Executive Vice President and
Stratolaunch Board Member David King.
Stratolaunch Systems’ corporate headquarters is located in
Huntsville, Alabama. Tuesday's announcement was the first public
word that Allen and Rutan were back in the space business. But
space has long been on Allen’s mind. In the close of his
memoir, Idea Man, published earlier this year, he hinted at his
plans, writing that he was “considering a new initiative with
that magical contraption I never wearied of sketching as a boy: the
rocket ship.” (Image source Stratolaunch)