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purplecthulhu at 07:40pm on 13/06/2007
purplecthulhu at 07:40pm on 13/06/2007Is this news more than just a way for EADS to score a few headlines at the Paris airshow and a chance spoil Scaled Composite's game?
If it is, then we may see two reusable man-rated commercial sub-orbital systems in the next 5 years. If they prove a success then we would have a genuine space tourism market forming, and variants of the tourist vehicles could be used to launch smallish satellites into orbit for vasty reduced costs.
We've been here before, but could it finally be happening this time?
If it is, then we may see two reusable man-rated commercial sub-orbital systems in the next 5 years. If they prove a success then we would have a genuine space tourism market forming, and variants of the tourist vehicles could be used to launch smallish satellites into orbit for vasty reduced costs.
We've been here before, but could it finally be happening this time?
(no subject)
What I think is more interesting is the idea this flys in and out of conventional airports and seems to have a pretty significant downrange capability. Plus EADS won't be bothering with the meal mouthed (it's experimental, we can dodge the formal flight certification nonsense) way Scaled and the others are having to work because they don't have cash.
That means this enters the exec-jet market and the courier market - which are proper markets.
(no subject)
As to orbital evolution, I don't think there's an easy way for these vehicles to move to orbital passenger flights, but conversion to orbiting satellites might not be so hard if a profitable market can be demonstrated. 200kg to LEO for, say, a million euros is, I think, quite a reduction in costs, but I'm not certain.