One of the bigger developments at [...]]]> I was on vacation last week in London, but that did not stop me from making a visit to the Royal Aeronautical Society last Tuesday for their “Space Tourism: A New Industry in the Making” conference. I’ve written up some highlights of the conference in The Space Review this week.

One of the bigger developments at the event was a confirmation by Hugues Laporte-Weywada of EADS Astrium that their suborbital spaceplane project, launched with great fanfare just over two years ago at the Paris Air Show, is going into stasis because of a lack of funding. They have been working on some key technologies, including the LOX/methane rocket engine that the vehicle will use, but now that this work is wrapping up the project will on until (or if) they can raise the €1 billion (US$1.4 billion) they estimate they need to develop the vehicle. Laporte-Weywada conceded that this means that they won’t be the first to enter the market, but tried to liken the situation to that encountered by Airbus, which entered the commercial jetliner market many years after Boeing and other companies but is now an industry giant.

Another area of focus was on the regulatory situation, particularly in the UK. Will Whitehorn of Virgin Galactic noted that no other country has a regulatory environment as favorable as the US, thanks to the Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act of 2004, although Sweden is the closest, thanks to existing law that has governed sounding rocket launches there for decades. (A representative from Spaceport Sweden noted that they are working with the Swedish National Space Board to get final clarification on the regulations that would govern suborbital commercial human spaceflight there.) The UK has no enabling law, which is hindering proposals to establish a spaceport in northern Scotland. Whitehorn said he wanted to talk with other British space companies to seek a comprehensive overhaul of UK space policy (including but not limited to commercial suborbital spaceflight regulation), with an eye towards the national elections planned for next year.

Neither the video nor the press release provide much in the way of technical details about the engine tests, other than the engine is the [...]]]> Virgin Galactic announced this morning that the company has successfully carried out its first full-scale engine tests for SpaceShipTwo. Virgin released a video featuring the tests along with a press release:

Neither the video nor the press release provide much in the way of technical details about the engine tests, other than the engine is the largest hybrid engine of its type ever. Both do play up the “low environmental impact” of this propulsion system, and the potential applications beyond space tourism for future space transportation systems using such technology. (Server farms in space?)

Virgin Galactic president Will Whitehorn is scheduled to speak later this morning at the International Space Development Conference in Orlando. I’ll be there and report on any other announcements or developments he provides there.

The text of the press release is below:

SUCCESSFUL SPACESHIPTWO ROCKET MOTOR TESTING

Virgin Galactic today announces the successful completion of the first phase of tests of the rocket motor that will propel space tourists, scientists and payloads into space.

In the desert of southern California, Virgin Galactic’s key supplier Scaled Composites and its subcontractor SNC (Sierra Nevada Corporation) have successfully completed the first tests of the innovative rocket motor that will propel space tourists, scientists and payloads into space. The hybrid Nitrous Oxide system being used is the largest of its kind in the world and it will send Virgin’s customers up into sub-orbital space at speeds over 2500 mph (4000kmh), to heights over 65 miles (110km) above the Earth’s surface, before the spaceship descends back down through the atmosphere using its pioneering feathered re-entry system.

Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Galactic said: “As Virgin Galactic gets ever closer to the start of commercial operations, we are reaching and passing many important and historic milestones. The Virgin MotherShip (VMS) Eve, the first of our amazing, all carbon composite, high altitude WhiteKnightTwo launch vehicles, is flying superbly. SpaceShipTwo, which will air launch from Eve, is largely constructed and awaiting the start of its own test flight programme later this year.”

The rocket motor burns for a very short period of time because the spaceship is launched from VMS Eve in the upper atmosphere, rather than from ground level. This means much less fuel is required, and the fuel burn is more environmentally benign than the solid rockets used in most ground based systems.

While the rocket motor is extremely powerful, it is also completely controllable. This system can – if necessary – be shut down at any time, allowing the spaceship to glide back down to land at a conventional runway. This is a significant feature in the overall safety of the Virgin system for human space flight.

Sir Richard continues: “Less fuel and clean fuel all add up to a space launch system which will be completely unprecedented in its low environmental impact compared with current space flight. The spaceship’s carbon footprint for each of its passengers and crew will be about a quarter of that for a return trip from London to New York, demonstrating again the extraordinary benefits that new technology can bring to the quest for clean transportation.”

“We believe space is on the cusp of a new industrial revolution. Virgin Galactic’s mission has always been to transform the safety, cost and environmental impact of access to space. Not just for passengers, but also for a range of important scientific purposes, and to send small satellites into orbit. The world’s scientific community is united in recognising that making better use of space will be vital to mankind’s ability to manage the huge future challenges of life back here on Earth.”

The rocket motor will continue a series of exhaustive tests, and the spaceship itself will start flight testing later this year. The testing programme for the rocket, the spaceship and VMS Eve will be extensive.

PS: Virgin Galactic is now also on Twitter, as I recently discovered.

Update 12:30 pm: I talked briefly with Whitehorn after his ISDC speech. He wasn’t immediately certain about the length of these initial engine tests, but believe that they were at least 30 seconds long. Another set of engine tests, of longer duration, is scheduled to start in a week or so.

Also, I’ve uploaded another set of photos to Flickr with the highlights of Saturday’s activities, including a look at launch pads used for [...]]]> The X PRIZE Foundation issued a press release about the 2008 Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge Saturday, highlighing Armadillo’s Level 1 victory, their attempt at Level 2, as well as TrueZer0′s Level 1 attempt.

Also, I’ve uploaded another set of photos to Flickr with the highlights of Saturday’s activities, including a look at launch pads used for the competition.

I’ve created a Flickr set of images from yesterday’s activities at the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge. The picture above, though, probably best represents the mood of people here at the end of the day yesterday when Armadillo Aerospace won the $350,000 first prize for Level 1. They’ll be back at it again today, using [...]]]>

I’ve created a Flickr set of images from yesterday’s activities at the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge. The picture above, though, probably best represents the mood of people here at the end of the day yesterday when Armadillo Aerospace won the $350,000 first prize for Level 1. They’ll be back at it again today, using Pixel (a veteran of the 2006 LLC) to try and win Level 2. Look for updates throughout the day here and on Twitter.

TrueZer0 has left the staging area and is setting up for their flight attempt, no earlier than 11:30 am MDT (when the FAA window opens). Stay tuned for updates.

Update 12:10 pm MDT: The vehicle took off and flew upwards for several seconds, then lost power and crashed. There was a small fire that was put [...]]]>

TrueZer0 has left the staging area and is setting up for their flight attempt, no earlier than 11:30 am MDT (when the FAA window opens). Stay tuned for updates.

Update 12:10 pm MDT: The vehicle took off and flew upwards for several seconds, then lost power and crashed. There was a small fire that was put out, and no injuries reported.

Update 1:45 pm MDT: TrueZer0 team members explained that the vehicle lifted off well, but started spinning faster and faster around its z-axis, forcing them to abort; that turned off the rocket and caused the vehicle to crash. They said the believe the vehicle to be a total loss, but something that only set them back about $10,000. They seem winning to give it a try again next year.