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"Four... Three... Two... One...
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By Starwing, Section Sci-Tech
Posted on Fri Jun 18th, 2004 at 03:47:24 PM PDT
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... Earth be-low us..."
On Monday, June 21, 2004, history is going to be made. For the first time in history, mankind will launch into space without the benefit of any planetary government financing the journey. Update [2004-6-21 12:0:20 by matt]: They did it! Go SpaceShipOne, Go! Pilot Astronaut Mike Melvill joins the ranks of Alan Shepherd and Neil Armstrong as a righteous Space Pioneer.
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The SpaceShipOne project, headed by Paul G. Allen's Vulcan, Inc. is about to become the first non-government funded space flight in what is certain to be a breakthrough for ordinary citizens around the world: the ability to leave this planet, at least for short time. From the website:June 02 2004, Mojave, CA: A privately-developed rocket plane will launch into history on June 21 on a mission to become the world's first commercial manned space vehicle. Investor and philanthropist Paul G. Allen and aviation legend Burt Rutan have teamed to create the program, which will attempt the first non-governmental flight to leave the earth's atmosphere. SpaceShipOne was designed by Rutan and his research team at the California-based aerospace company, Scaled Composites. Rutan made aviation news in 1986 by developing the Voyager, the only aircraft to fly non-stop around the world without refueling. Not only is this event historic, but it opens the doors for people like you and I to one day leave terra firma. According to the information, this is going to be a sub-orbital flight, in which the crew will reach a height of 100 kilometers, at which point weightlessness occurs. The ship will then glide back to earth to a landing site where the general public can easily view the event.
If successful, this flight could open the door for orbital missions, and possibly encourage private investment in non-government funded space exploration which may lead to lunar exploration and even a trip to Mars! This is just what the space program needed: Competition. |
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