Unreasonable plans -
Unreasonable update - RLV News on Unreasonable plans for the weekend, and on the good and bad things that happened
Briefs: X PRIZE history and status; More Hare raising concepts - RLV News links to a Wired UK article on the X PRIZEs
Teaching with Contests.com - This site has a lot of student and teacher prize content in all sorts of fields. Here are a few recent ones with space/science/technology themes:
750 Student Teams Wanted for World’s Largest Rocket Competition
ExploraVision Contest 2010 OPEN
NASA needs you! Apply today to become one of the new Solar System Ambassadors.
Heinlein Society Short Story Contest Winners - Science Fiction Awards Watch
Google Lunar X Prize Moonpie Winners - AstroTwitter
Here are some twitter updates:
@ARCAspace - Asociatia Romana pentru Cosmonautica si Aeronautica - ARCA anunta LANSAREA RACHETEI HELEN, PRIMA RACHETA SPATIALA ... http://bit.ly/1bifRh
@OmegaEnvoy - RT @4frontiers: Just submitted a NASA Phase 1 SBIR proposal on the usage of multi-touch surfaces to control robots. Wish us luck!
@wikkit - We dropped the rocket a few times, we came up with a solid theory on what's been going wrong; it's the best Monday in weeks.
@fineri - Igniter Test,http://bit.ly/8Je7r ,faster pulse on plug/use glow plug and smaller fuel/ox oriffices needed..V1.5 soon!
@ValkyrieFed - The Valkyrie Federation will be going to the Twestival local in Montreal: http://headandhands.ca/
Ah, it's Friday. And not just any Friday, but a Friday before a long holiday weekend here in the U.S. w00t!
For this Friday Fun Day, I need your help for a new project that we'll be starting to work on soon, and that is.... [drumroll, please]... a space-related smart phone app.
Yes, we know the description "space-related" is pretty vague. But we want to leave it that way for now, because we'd like to create something that is useful and interesting to you! So crowdsourcing ideas for this app is definitely the first and most important step. Let us know what you think -- and please be as creative as you like.
A few of the ideas that we've had so far are:
- Real-time Launch Countdown clocks
- Images of the Day
- Twitter updates from space Tweeple, grouped by space interest (lunar, NASA, commercial, etc)
- Directions to nearest Moonpie location
Happy Friday Funday! And here's a fun video (1:23) showing the Apple iPhone display currently in Palo Alto, CA.
Links: New Earth API Docs, Fire Shot, Where 2.0, Panoramio Winners, New SketchUp, Belgrade News - Google Earth Blog - This includes a link to the June 2009 Panoramio Geotagged Photo Contest Winners. As usual, I like to pick one that strikes me as having a "space feeling" in one way or another, and that's the one you see here. Follow the link to see expanded views of all of the pictures and their locations in Google Earth/Google Maps.
@SpaceX_Media - ORBCOMM AND SPACEX REACH DEAL TO LAUNCH SATELLITE CONSTELLATION
@NextGiantLeap - Orbcomm deal to buy 18 Falcon 1e launches finalized http://bit.ly/1ae6bb
NGL partner Sierra Nevada Corp is building the Orbcomm Gen2 satellites. NGL lander based on Orbcomm bus.
@Regolith_Chal - The regolith simulant testbed was installed yesterday, doing some finishing touches today.
@glxp - Do want: my own lunar sandbox. Turns out you can buy lunar/Mars simulant here: http://bit.ly/fTqO2
@SoldTheMoon - I'm locked to the keyboard prepping SBIRs. NASA deadline is Thursday. Exploring lava tubes, rugged drive trains.. all great!
Surge effort by Alex Gutierrez and our CMU friends resulted in six SBIR/STTR submissions to NASA this afternoon; winners named in Nov.
@ISPCS - Just confirmed- Lori Garver, Deputy Administrator, NASA, will speak at lunch on October 22 during ISPCS
@wikkit - I ran into Scott Zeeb of TrueZer0 at the donut shop this morning. He said he's making progress on their new biprop engine design
Team America Rocketry Challenge Registration Opens - Rocketry Online
My weekend with the Stainless Bully... - Unreasonable Rocket
Here are several updates on fundraising and team goals from Team Phoenicia:
An Artful Lift-off: A Offer of Help
A Second Artful Offer
Should We Stay or Should We Go Now? (in reference to next February's Next Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference in Boulder, Colorado)
More Tank Yous
Many people look at the X PRIZE Foundation and say, "WOW" - what a great idea." What they may not know is how one person's initial concept evolves to that "WOW" stage of achievement. Here's my journey.
I am a space cadet.
Since the age of 6, I've always wanted to go to space. So, I studied medicine - thinking that was my path to orbit, but alas, NASA didn't agree, so I had to find another plan - a plan that led to the founding of the first X PRIZE.
In 1994, to motivate me to complete my pilot's license, my good friend, Gregg Maryniak, gave me Charles Lindbergh's autobiography of his solo flight across the Atlantic. The Spirit of St. Louis told the tale of Lindbergh crossing the Atlantic to win the $25,000 Orteig Prize. I had no idea his motivation was a prize - and suddenly, my path was clear. If it worked for Lindbergh, it would work to incentivize private spaceflight and in the course, my trip to space. My first hurdle was to find the seed money to get the idea off the ground. The active space communities seemed a natural fit, but my friend, Doug King, the newly installed President of the St. Louis Science Center, proposed that St. Louis would be the ideal place to launch the X PRIZE. The synergies were obvious: it was where Charles Lindbergh raised the seed money to build his prize-winning aircraft nearly 75 years earlier; it was home of the McDonnell Douglas Corporation which had built the Mercury and Gemini Capsules; and St. Louis is historically known as the Gateway for early exploration of the West.
I had my first meeting with Al Kerth, head of the St. Louis community's Civic Progress Organization, the man whom I was told was "the guy you have to convince in St. Louis." I will never forget the moment, when halfway through my impassioned pitch about my X PRIZE vision, Al got up out of his chair and said "I get it! I get it! This is huge! We need to do this in St. Louis!"
Over scotch that evening, Al told me about his own vision for the X PRIZE - to find 100 St. Louisans to each pledge $25,000 (the size of the Orteig Prize that Lindbergh won) to form the NEW Spirit of St. Louis. Together, Al and I met one-on-one with incredible people ... folks like spirited explorers Lotsie Holton and Doug King; civic leaders such as Dick Fleming, Walter Metcalfe and Hugh Scott; corporate giants like John McDonnell and Andy Taylor; and entrepreneurs like Bill Maritz and Marc Arnold. Through their generous contributions, the X PRIZE now had the opportunity to revive the pioneering legacy of Lindbergh and the original Spirit of St. Louis and to find the Lindbergh of our generation.
On May 18, 1996, underneath the St. Louis Gateway Arch, and on stage with NASA Administrators, FAA Associate Administrators, Buzz Aldrin, Byron Lichtenberg, Owen Garriott and 17 other astronauts, along with members of the Lindbergh family (including X PRIZE Trustee Erik Lindbergh), we announced the $10 Million X PRIZE for the first private team to fly two consecutive flights to the edge of space within two weeks. With more than 50 media outlets recording this incredible event, I was convinced that the hardest part was behind me and that we would rapidly find a purse sponsor. With the support of NASA, the FAA and some of the biggest names in the Space industry, who wouldn't want to get involved? Especially since they would only have to pay if the prize was won! The harsh reality, though, was that every CEO said the same three things: "Can anyone really do this?" "Isn't someone going to die trying?" and "Why isn't NASA doing this?" It was a long struggle with a few high points, like when Tom Clancy spontaneously donated $100,000 during our 1997 gala. But the $10 Million title sponsor, our holy grail, still evaded us.
That was, of course, until a magical moment in 2001 when I met the Ansari family, who immediately saw the vision and signed on as the title sponsor of what we would historically rename the "Ansari X PRIZE." Five years after we announced the competition, I could finally take a deep breath and enjoy the fact that the purse money was secured. But then the real challenge began - making sure there would be a winner...
Please tune in next week and every Friday through October 2, to read the inspirational stories of the visionaries and heroes who turned my "crazy idea" into a reality. Next week we will hear from the Romanian team who overcame significant hurdles to compete for the Ansari X PRIZE, and is now set on winning the Google Lunar X PRIZE. Other guest bloggers in this series include Anousheh Ansari, Ansari X PRIZE title sponsor; Brian Binnie, the astronaut who flew in the Ansari X PRIZE winning flight; Lori Garver, NASA Deputy Administrator; and Will Whitehorn, President of Virgin Galactic, the personal space tourism company now licensing the Ansari X PRIZE winning SpaceShipOne design and technology.
It's been a great first week here at X PRIZE. I've been able to jump right into the fun space projects here, including the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge and (of course!) the Google Lunar X PRIZE. One of the best aspects of the job so far has been meeting the other motivated and creative people that work here at X PRIZE. Over lunch yesterday with some of the folks who work on projects outside of the space realm, we had a fascinating discussion about the future of suborbital transportation. The discussion got me thinking, so I've turned it into a blog post to collect your input as well.
Most of you know that the original X PRIZE was the Ansari X PRIZE, which Scaled Composites won after their vehicle, SpaceShipOne, successfully completed two suborbital flights (>100km). The winning of the Ansari X PRIZE sparked the imaginations of many as to the potential evolution of this new suborbital spaceflight industry. If flying from one spaceport and returning back to it was already possible, how far were we from flying across long distances from one spaceport to another? Suddenly Los Angeles could be less than a few hours from Tokyo, instead of the 10+ hours of current travel time by airliners.
Based on my personal experiences with airline seats and service lately, and probably yours as well, the era of affordable suborbital point-to-point transportation could not come fast enough.
Putting aside the technical, economical, and legal issues that need to be tackled prior to this industry becoming a reality, imagine that the technology and infrastructure already existed today. I'm wondering, "What would you pay (today) for a transoceanic flight that takes two hours instead of 10+?" Go ahead and vote in the widget below (no sign up required, just click the squares to vote).
Amongst our lunch table yesterday, those who travel internationally for business thought that double to triple the current cost of an average business class, transoceanic airline ticket, and/or somewhere between $10,000 - $15,000 per ticket would be reasonable. One comment was made that I found particularly interesting: “If I can be productive during the time that I’m traveling, then flight time doesn’t really matter.” Do you agree? The advent of wi-fi on some flights now has significantly added to the ability to be productive while cruising at 30,000 feet.
Now let’s play a little forecasting game. What do you think the time scale for development of these vehicles will be? Are you optimistic about the rapid progression of the suborbital (or even hypersonic) vehicle industry, or do you think it will take us awhile yet to gain the necessary technologies and infrastructure necessary to make point-to-point transportation feasible?
Feel free to post additional comments below. And if you're interested in learning more, here are a few resources to get you started, and one upcoming event:
Team FAST Forward, Study group of high speed, point-to-point transportation (released August 4, 2009)
Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference, Feb. 18-20, 2010
International Space University Masters '08 Report, "Great Expectations: The Potential for Suborbital Transporation"
RLV News (Space Transport News at HobbySpace) has been covering a lot of space prize developments over the last few days. Here they are:
Briefs: N-Prize update; Lunar science interest - This one covers 2 new N-Prize teams: The Valkyrie Federation (which I mentioned recently) and Thomas Space Corp.
Briefs: GLXP updates; Finding sponsors; Tech prizes - This one features Team Phoenicia and Odyssey Moon, with a brief mention of the Mars Society University Rover Challenge in one of the articles. (Note from the URC site: Stay tuned for the release of the 2010 URC rules - Coming soon!).
Briefs: Team Phoenicia & NG-LLC; Rocket concepts - This covers Team Phoenicia's offer to sell tattoo space on their vehicle for $10 per square centimeter to help them raise the lunar prize funds they need.
White Label Space gets new partner - In addition to the new partner AOES, you can read about the other world-spanning White Label Space partners in their press release.
Beam propulsion update - This one includes a discussion of Beam Power Competition team LaserMotive.
Now here are a few prize updates from other sources:
More updates, photos and videos from Regolith Excavation teams - Green Cheese Solutions covers all sorts of recent activity in the 2009 Regolith Excavation Challenge. This includes team posts, slide shows, chats, videos, twitter updates, and more. One of the teams, BFD, plans another day of testing at Dockweiler State Beach (near any other notable space prize locations?) at ~11am on Friday (September 4) - it's only Tuesday and Friday is already looking like a Fun Day!
Communications Setup Details - Regolith Excavation Challenge - This gives a bit more background on one of the items noted by Green Cheese Solutions.
@wikkit (Ben Brockert of Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge team Masten Space Systems) - http://twitpic.com/fy04j - The three fires visible from Mojave. Both photos are 40 second exposures at night.
@Bob_Richards - Horsing around at Skywalker Ranch http://twitgoo.com/2tg7b #SingularityU BBQ tonight.
@OmegaEnvoy - With the Rover Naming Contest coming to an end today check out the latest submission by @jasontweets: http://bit.ly/wXCdI
Take a look at the latest submission to the Rover Naming Contest, great name! #GLXP http://bit.ly/15LIut
Videos from Japan’s first Space Elevator Games - Space Elevator Blog
ALS Patient Stephen Hawking Awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom - Prize4Life
