Estes Model Rockets produces small version of SpaceShip One

By ANN Senior Contributing Editor Kevin O'Brien

Right now only a handful of people have been inside Space Ship One, and even fewer of them -- Brian Binney, Peter Siebold and Mike Melvill -- have flown it under power. A similar spacecraft -- a fleet of them, actually -- may be conducting tourist flights for Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic operation in just a few years. Sir Richard, Burt Rutan, Paul Allen and all the others involved in the project dream of bringing space flight to the public. At least in the beginning, they're going to have to start with the guys who sit in Virgin Atlantic's Upper Class seats when they travel.

What if you're burning up with SpaceShip Fever, and can't wait years, or spend the price of a house?

Well, brother, come on down! Estes Model Rockets are going to hook you up!

The "Top Secret" (SpaceShip One) X-Prize Model Rocket is what model rocketeers call "sport scale," which I read as "looks good if you don't get too picky." It's about 1:17 scale. The manufacturer rates the building difficulty as Skill Level 2. The skill levels are numbered from the bottom up, so the plain English translation of that is: "it's pretty easy."

The model is made with the traditional construction of paper tube and balsawood fins, and builds up to be about 13 inches long. The examples that we have seen were decorated in the livery of the June 21 first flight.

Unfortunately, you don't get the innovative feathering mode, the brilliant ingenuity of which struck Mike Melvill speechless when he tried to describe it, or the glide to the landing. Your rocket returns to Earth under the 12 inch canopy of a parachute. Don't expect to achieve the altitude of the real Space Ship One... can you imagine building this with your space-happy son or daughter and then consoling the kid after it rockets 337,500 feet into the air and lands God-knows-where? Absolute ceiling on the model is a more modest 400 feet.

The best part is that with all the R&D done for you by Burt Rutan and Estes, the model SpaceShip One will not set you back the estimated $25 million that project partner Paul Allen has spent, or even the approximately $200,000 it will initially cost to ride in the successor ships of Virgin Galactic. The list price on the model is a very reasonable $16.69.

What if you are a partisan of another X-Prize team? Well, perhaps Estes has a model for you, too. X-Prize related rockets that will be available in the months to come include the "Lucky Seven," "Gauchito," "Canadian Arrow," "Rubicon," "Cosmos Mariner," "Thunderstar," and "Vanguard Eagle." They will all be classified at Skill Level 1 or 2, and illustrate the broad range of solutions that innovative space engineers have proposed for the X-Prize problem.

FMI: www.estesrockets.com