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TECHNOLOGY A23
Tuesday 16 February 2016
Things to know about the space tourism industry
JOHN ANTCZAK ago in X-15 rocket planes
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Space used for hypersonic re-
tourism projects leaped off
the drawing board when search. Three civilian X-15
a $10 million prize was of-
fered as an incentive for pilots who also surpassed
private development of
manned rockets, but it that altitude were belat-
took years to make a win-
ner. Many more years have edly awarded astronaut
passed since, but the only
space tourists have been wings in 2005, two posthu-
a few wealthy people who
paid millions of dollars for mously.
trips aboard Russian rock-
ets to the International The first American in space,
Space Station. Things to
know about space tourism: Mercury astronaut Alan
X PRIZE In 1995, the St. Lou-
is-based X Prize Foundation Shepard, rocketed to an
conceived the idea of a
$10 million reward for de- altitude of 116 miles on
velopment of a privately
financed, reusable space- May 5, 1961.
ship capable of carrying
three people to an altitude ___
of 62 miles twice within two
weeks. SPACEPORT
The X Prize announcement
the following year was In a remote stretch of des-
timed to an anniversary of
Charles Lindbergh’s non- ert in southern New Mexi-
stop flight from New York
to Paris aboard the Spirit of co, officials at Spaceport
St. Louis in 1927, which won
the aviator the $25,000 Or- America — the world’s first
teig Prize that was offered
in 1919 for the trans-Atlan- futuristic hangar and run-
tic flight.
At the time the X Prize was way designed specifically
announced, maverick
aerospace designer Burt for commercial space trav-
Rutan, creator of the Voy-
ager aircraft that circled el — have been anxiously
the globe in 1986, specu-
lated that the $10 million awaiting Virgin Galactic.
prize could be won in three
years. In fact it took more Taxpayers footed the near-
than eight.
___ This undated image provided by Virgin Galactic shows Virgin Galactic’s first SpaceShipTwo, an ly quarter-billion-dollar bill
SPACESHIPONE air-launched suborbital spaceplane type designed for space tourism. It is manufactured by The for the spaceport years
The Kittyhawk moment for Spaceship Company, a California-based company owned by Virgin Galactic. ago in hopes of it being a
private manned space- gateway for space tour-
flight occurred on June 21, Associated Press ism. With Virgin as the an-
2004, when SpaceShipOne chor tenant, the delay in
— designed by Rutan ShipOne in the lead This undated image provided by Blue Origin shows an illustration flights has made it tough
and funded by Microsoft among more than two of the capsule that will be used to take tourist into space. for the spaceport to get off
co-founder Paul Allen — dozen competitors for the the ground.
soared more than 62 miles $10 million reward, by then Associated Press Spaceport director Chris-
above the California des- renamed the Ansari X Prize tine Anderson can’t wait to
ert and then glided to a after the Ansari family of Known as the Karman line, by the Federal Aviation Ad- attend the upcoming un-
landing at Mojave Airport Dallas, which made its it is used to distinguish be- ministration after surpassing veiling of SpaceShipTwo.
as crowds cheered. wealth in telecommunica- tween aeronautics and the line. She said seeing it in per-
Standing by the stubby- tions and funded the prize. astronautics. Melvill, the The U.S. Air Force, however, son will make the progress
winged, three-seat space- Rutan subsequently an- SpaceShipOne pilot, re- awarded astronaut wings even more real.
craft, test pilot Mike Melvill nounced he would go for ceived the first commercial to five of its pilots who flew “I’m excited they have a
said seeing the curvature the prize later that year. astronaut wings awarded above 50 miles decades spaceship built and things
of the Earth from that al- SpaceShipOne launched are looking forward and
titude was “almost a reli- again on Sept. 29, reach- it’s full speed ahead for
gious experience.” ing the required altitude them,” she said.
The feat placed Space- after Melvill ignored a re- Anderson acknowledged
quest to abort because there’s no question that Vir-
the craft went into a se- gin Galactic is the linchpin
ries of rolls. Well within the for the state’s space tour-
two-week period required ism aspirations. With flights
by the contest, the craft expected to start some-
launched on Oct. 4 with time in 2017, the spaceport
test pilot Brian Binnie at the expects to see as many as
controls. After it landed, 100,000 visitors by 2020.q
X Prize founder Peter Dia-
mandis announced the
altitude was official and
NYPD has used cell trackingthe SpaceShipOne team
clinched the prize.
___ technology 1,000 times since ‘08
WHERE DOES SPACE BE-
GIN?
Earth’s atmosphere does COLLEEN LONG A cell-site simulator can the user making a call or
not abruptly stop and the Associated Press sweep up basic cellphone sending a text message.
vacuum of space be- NEW YORK (AP) — Accord- data by tricking phones in Federal guidelines adopt-
gin, but the altitude of 62 ing to data released by the area to believe that it’s ed in September require
miles (100 kilometers) is ac- the New York Civil Liberties a cell tower, allowing it to a warrant be routinely ob-
cepted as a useful bound- Union, the New York Po- identify unique subscriber tained to use the technol-
ary line by the Federation lice Department has used numbers. The data are then ogy. The rules don’t apply
Aeronautique Internatio- secretive cellphone track- transmitted to police, help- to local law enforcement.
nale, a keeper of flight re- ing technology more than ing them determine the lo- The NYPD says it had no
cords. 1,000 times since 2008. cation of a phone without written policy for its use. q
