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04/22/2003 Archived Entry: "Private space flight"

AD ASTRA. From correspondent Ian McCollum and the Los Angeles Daily News comes this good word:

Burt Rutan, designer of the Voyager aircraft (flew around the world without refueling) just unveiled a completely privately-funded, manned spacecraft to win the $10 million X-Prize with. This guy is the real deal, and it really looks like this vehicle will work as planned. Victor Koman, anyone? :)

In space travel, Rutan hopes his example will spur the same sort of
innovation and experimentation that occurred after the Wright brothers flew
their airplane in Paris in 1909. By five years after the Wright brothers'
first flight in 1903, Rutan said, only 10 pilots had flown powered
airplanes. Within three years after the Paris demonstration, he said, there
were thousands of pilots and hundreds of different types of aircraft. Some
of the designs were bad, he said, but some of what was judged to be nonsense
turned out to be innovations. ...
So far, Rutan said, government agencies have always been in charge of space
travel, and they have always done it for political motivations. 'I want to
see if I can do it,' Rutan said.

Rutan's web site has details on the craft as well as a handful of pictures.

Posted by Claire @ 02:19 PM CST
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