An orbital one-man version of SpaceShipOne?

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wvbraun

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Burt Rutan seems to be serious about his plans to build an orbital vehicle:<br /><br /><br /><i> One-man version of SpaceShipOne may be next stage in development of space holidays<br /><br /><br />A one-person version of Scaled Composites' SpaceShipOne that reaches an orbit of 130km (81 miles) to rendezvous with an orbiting hotel may form the next stage of Burt Rutan's private manned spaceflight plans.<br /><br />Speaking at a lecture organised by the Manx Festival of Aviation at the Royal Aeronautical Society in London, the aerospace designer detailed how such an orbital vehicle could be evolved from his existing three-man, suborbital 3,000kg (6,600lb) SpaceShipOne. The amount of spacecraft mass dedicated to fuel would be increased to achieve the greater altitude and speed required.<br /><br />"We'd have a small cramped cabin for the orbital flight and you'd be in it for a long time. You'd want to go to a hotel [because of that] and for orbital tourism you'd want an altitude of 130km," says Rutan.<br /><br />In his lecture, Rutan referred to plans by Robert Bigelow, founder of Bigelow Aerospace, to develop a space hotel based on NASA-originated inflatable habitat technology.<br /><br />Before Rutan begins work on orbital flight technology, he will attempt to win the X-Prize, which requires two suborbital flights within two weeks carrying a mass equivalent to three people. Rutan's first flight is scheduled for 29 September and his second for 4 October. But before he flies for the second time, competing Canadian X-Prize team da Vinci Project is scheduled to try to reach space in its Wild Fire rocket on 2 October.</i><br /><br /><br />Link
 
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najab

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><i>...and for orbital tourism you'd want an altitude of 130km...</i><p>Really?! <img src="/images/icons/shocked.gif" /></p>
 
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mikejz

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81 miles?? That seems WAY too low for a orbit that would not disintergrate and burn up within a week or two. I think a station that low is out of the question. <br /><br />Approach and docking will involve equipment on the order of several hundred pounds plus. The docking system will alone take the space that could accommodate several people. I could see an scaled up SS1 that could orbit, but I don’t see adding docking abilities to a one manned vehicle makes much sense, that space saved could carry a second or third passenger. <br /><br />Personally, I am still voting for putting SS1 as the second stage of a Falcon V rocket.
 
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najab

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I suspect you meant "rules of thumb" but given that we're talking about an orbital hotel at 130km "thump" might actually be more appropriate! <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" />
 
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mrmorris

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Possibly a British->Metric snafu? 130 Miles = ~200 km. Still a really low orbit but not *quite* as ridiculous. More likely he misspoke or a reporter misheard.
 
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drwayne

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"Rules of thump" - now was that a slip or what?<br /><br />Wayne <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>"1) Give no quarter; 2) Take no prisoners; 3) Sink everything."  Admiral Jackie Fisher</p> </div>
 
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propforce

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<i>I suspect you meant "rules of thumb" but given that we're talking about an orbital hotel at 130km "thump" might actually be more appropriate! </i><br /><br />This orbital hotel is being "spin" out of control !! <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>
 
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mikejz

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Space Tourist: Hey this artifical gavity is great! (bobbing up and down in the middle of the Pacific Ocean)
 
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nopatience

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how high is a good orbital distance?<br /><br />Did I read somewhere that an inflateable docking station would invelope the space craft and restore pressure allowing passengers to exit vehicle while floating? or did I dream that. sometimes the line is fuzzy.
 
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drwayne

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The link I posted earlier gives you figures on orbital lifetimes..<br /><br />Wayne <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>"1) Give no quarter; 2) Take no prisoners; 3) Sink everything."  Admiral Jackie Fisher</p> </div>
 
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wvbraun

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"Possibly a British->Metric snafu? 130 Miles = ~200 km. Still a really low orbit but not *quite* as ridiculous. More likely he misspoke or a reporter misheard."<br /><br />Most likely. Rutan knows what he is doing.
 
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arobie

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I'm guessing that this one-man scaled up SS1 would just be to prove that private industry could go orbital. What good would a tourist "bus" be if the pilot can only get himself up there with no tourists?
 
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mikejz

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Rutan is clearly more intrested in R&D right now rather then building these Buses people keep talking about.
 
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arobie

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What do you mean by R&D? The idea of busses came from Rutan. While hinting at the future of his space program a few months back, he mentioned that he would prefer the term "Tourist Bus" to "Tourist Shuttle". Thats where "busses" came from.
 
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arobie

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But you are right, he is not interested in building those busses, just proving the concept.
 
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mikejz

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Bottem line those Buses are not going to be cheap to build--and investors are not going to place there money into a one-shot project. Rutan needs to demenstrate getting to orbit before many people will be willing to invest in larger manned craft. <br /><br />Maybe its time for X-Prize 2. (Lets say 4 people to orbit, be able to come within 100 feet of an orbital target (ISS?) and do it 3 time in 60 days---the prize is say $65 million)
 
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radarredux

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> <i><font color="yellow">Lets say 4 people to orbit, be able to come within 100 feet of an orbital target (ISS?)</font>/i><br /><br />While I may not be a fan of ISS, I don't want to see untested technology coming anywhere near it. <img src="/images/icons/shocked.gif" /><br /><br />How about a large simple inflated silver beach ball as a target? Someone could put it up an a Falcon 1. <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /></i>
 
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mikejz

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Knowing Rutan he during his first orbital flight it will make a surprise visit to ISS just to say hi.
 
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arobie

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I agree, the buses will not be cheap to build, and Rutan does need to demenstrate getting to orbit first. <br /><br />I think the X-prize will be an annual thing, competions for highest altitude, fastest turnaround, most people caried, and so on. I think the X-Prize will eventually be giving prizes to get to orbit, that is unless Rutan gets to orbit first. I don't know if I like to idea of coming within 100 feet of an orbital target. Thats awful close, and I can see an accident occuring. I don't Like the idea of trusting first time orbiters with coming within close proximity of an orbital target.
 
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halman

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wvbraun,<br /><br />I tried the link you posted, but my operating system told me the 'page could not be found'. In reading your post, I have to wonder if what Rutan said was 'nautical miles', which somehow correlates to the velocity measurement of 'knots', which could cause a mis-translation into 'knotical miles', (km).<br /><br />Okay, okay, I know that I am reaching pretty far trying to make some kind of sense out of a non-sensical statement.<br /><br />Wait a minute! I know what he meant! The SpaceShip One derived vehicle will rendeasvouz with the bottom end of an Earth Orbiting Elevator at 81 miles, which will haul it up to the hotel orbit! Yeah, that's the ticket! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> The secret to peace of mind is a short attention span. </div>
 
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spacester

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<font color="yellow">Wait a minute! I know what he meant! The SpaceShip One derived vehicle will rendeasvouz with the bottom end of an Earth Orbiting Elevator at 81 miles, which will haul it up to the hotel orbit! Yeah, that's the ticket! </font><br /><br />Or a space tug. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>
 
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nacnud

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130 km is good enough for a single orbit isn't it? If Rutan is just trying to prove that a private spaceship can reach orbit then one orbit is enough.<br /><br />Looking at the tier one vehicles these have been built to be good enough for the X-prise but in reality would not be ideal for space tourism business. These vehicles are for proof of concept why should Rutan first orbital vehicle be any different?<br />
 
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mrmorris

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Yes -- the link as posted was invalid. It had to be cleaned up to work. Try this.
 
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