That Darned Shuttle

The launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery, reset for the 4th of July (wouldn’t it be a whole lot cheaper on the non ‘double time pay’ 5th of July) after two weather related scrubs, is now in doubt. A tiny crack has been found in the foam that insulates the external fuel tanks.

We are so petrified of failure that it is becoming nearly impossible to launch. The weather cancellations and the concern over this foam is fear related caution at work! That’s the way it should be, because there’s nothing the Shuttle is doing which is worth a human life.

Enough already. This is old line technology. There are better ideas, more benign ways of leaving and reentering the Earth’s atmosphere. Burt Rutan has already proved that with his “Spaceship One” launch.

Maybe it’s time for the government to get out of the way as far as near Earth orbits and payloads are concerned? It’s time to retire the Shuttle.

My SpaceShipOne Prediction – Coming True

Before Burt Rutan won the X-Prize, back when SpaceShipOne made its first flight to space, there was a problem… a scary roll. I was uneasy watching what went on and I said so here.

Watching the roll, I assumed I was watching a disaster in the making. I knew there was no reason for the ship to corkscrew itself into space. Any second I expected to see a wing break off or parts begin to disintegrate.

I immediately made a prediction based on the very little I know about this kind of project.

September 30, 2004

Rutan will figure a way to get around this problem for one more flight, win the prize, and modify this design into a more stable model for commercial work. SpaceShipOne will go to the Smithsonian before it can hurt anyone.

I actually forgot all about that prediction until I read an interview with Burt Rutan today in the Palm Springs Desert News.

SpaceShipOne

I woke up early (for me) Wednesday, turned on the TV and saw SpaceShipOne fly to space and back. Very impressive. It looks likely this entry from Burt Rutan will claim the $10,000,000 Ansari X Prize. That’s something I first predicted back in May – though it didn’t take a genius to come to that conclusion.

OK – it cost more than $10,000,000 to develop the ship, but that’s not the point. This venture has commercial potential beyond the X Prize itself.

I watched on CNN because I think Miles O’Brien is not only knowledgeable but he’s connected and often has information others do not. I thought sitting him with Burt’s brother Dick, an aerospace legend in his own right who piloted the first non-stop round the world unrefueled flight, was a bad idea. Either Dick’s mind was somewhere else (excusable under the circumstances) or he just doesn’t have the right makeup for TV.

The plane took off, tucked under another Burt Rutan flying contraption. In this regard it was similar to the early X-15 rocket plane, launched from beneath the wing of a B-52. At about 50,000 feet SpaceShipOne was released and within seconds its rubber burning engine was pushing it toward the heavens&#185.

A minute or so later SpaceShipOne, moving vertically, began to roll. I’ve seen a number of different figures but it was at least 16 revolutions, maybe more.

Watching the roll, I assumed I was watching a disaster in the making. I knew there was no reason for the ship to corkscrew itself into space. Any second I expected to see a wing break off or parts begin to disintegrate.

Obviously none of that happened. On the ground, pilot Mike Melville said it was probably something he had done. I don’t believe that for one second.

With the backing of Richard Branson, SpaceShipOne is the prototype for space tourism. It’s not good for business to say your rocket ship is unstable or difficult to control – but it surely is.

Rutan will figure a way to get around this problem for one more flight, win the prize, and modify this design into a more stable model for commercial work. SpaceShipOne will go to the Smithsonian before it can hurt anyone.

This is a great program. The government’s space program is so top heavy, so money laden, that it has discouraged anyone else to get into the business. Rutan and people like him will change that paradigm.

Under different circumstances I would be very upset about the post-flight claims concerning the spinning. Today, I’ll let it pass.

&#185 – I have read and like to say it’s a tire burning engine. Dave Brody, former Executive Producer of Inside Space (a show I hosted under his tutelage) on the SciFi Channel and now in a similar position at Space.com, says it actually burns condoms – a much more romantic thought.