Segmentation?

An article to be read under www.xprizenews.org today is reporting that SS1 Will not be available for experiments in scientific sense. The reason is its destination or exactly the destination of vehicles developed of it as passenger carrier.

So Rutan and Scaled/Mojave have decided to specialize to the tourist-segment of the space travel and spacecraft market.

This might give other teams increased chances by going to those segments SS1 and its derivatives don't service.

That might mean increased chances to find sponsors too - but that'S not sure.

What do you think?

Scaled Composites already has the scientific/experimental project for a different ship:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6001932/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-37_Future-X

SS1 was designed specifically to win the X-prize, as such it has design elements which are engineered optimally for that purpose, and probably is less ideal for science work anyway.

Scaled Composites is an Aerospace company, not science, if you want space science you could go through NASA. Also im sure other scientific research ventures are persuing private spaceflight as a means of getting up there.

With space will always be science, but the SS1 was definetly not meant for it, but im sure Science Contractors will look to scaled to build ships that could be used for research.

Sorry - there's a misunderstanding.

I didn't want space research but referred to an article reporitng that Rutan explicitly that he wouldn#t agree to experiments on board his vehicle.

He said that beacsue several institutions and organizations have asked for this possibility. The experiments haven'Ät been specified in that article but I suppose that theier purpose hasn't been space research but engineering and technological reserach.

I immediately thought of the discussion what services might be provided by suborbital vehicles and suborbital flights. Experiments and Test have been mentioned - by myself but by a few others too if I remeber right.

All these people asking for doing experiments on board of SS1 would pay for doing these experiments. So this business could have helped to amortize SS1.

Now if another team launches successfully to at least 100 km the organizations asking for experiments might go to this other team.

My fcus isn't on space research but on sources of revenues for the XPRIZE-teams.



Dipl.-Volkswirt (bdvb) Augustin (Political Economist)

Assuming that Mojave Aerospace finalize the design for the new space tourism vehicle for Virgin, I would not surprise if NASA or someone else approach Mojave to buy one of the vehicles for scientific research purposes. The unit cost by then could be reasonably affordable..

It might be NASA, or some universities or even a private company with the intention of leasing out the vehicle for anyone who can pay, for science or fun.

Well definetly its a money venture to let scientists up into space, as long as they are paying the money. Virgin Galactic might offer such programs, as for different ships I'm not sure. The SS1 model was definitely not made for research, more experimental purposes in itself. If they equip those models with more equipment, and science companies pay big for it to be on there, then they definetly have more business right there.

We will have to wait and see although if Mojave will be first in the private space science sector, maybe someone else will step up.

Rutan definitely and expressively has said that there will be no flights of SS1 and derivatives for scientific purpüposes but for passengers only - according to the article under www.xprizenews.org.

He has been asked by scientific organizations and he has said no.

May be that the reason is the market for passenger flights is considered to be much larger - Branson estimates he can sell 3000 tickets at least. If that does prove to be wrong they really may offer flights to do experiments onboard the vehicle.

But then others may be ahead at the markets for research flights - Armadillo for example.

What is mor likely?



Dipl.-Volkswirt (bdvb) Augustin (Political Economist)

Most likely the passenger end is much more, space tourism i suspect, when it gets cheaper, will be the most popular "ride" on earth, or off earth at least.

The scientific end for companies now might be more money on the side, but in the future I believe the science end will catch up with the transportation end. We always want to know more about space, and there will always be probes, always be science missions, because its a human's lust to know what is beyond.

The science venture for now however will continue is NASA, and companies who wish to sell their space time for it. But who knows, there is alot of money in the field...

I could foresee several universities forming a consortium to buy their own suborbital vehicle(s), which they'd then use for their own research and lease out to other scientific users. There's a similar arrangement already in AURA:-

http://www.aui.edu/

which operates several major astronomical observatories including the VLA and VLBA:-

http://www.vla.nrao.edu/