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| EADS Astrium Space Tourism |
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Astrium has unveiled a revolutionary new
vehicle for space tourism at a special VIP
event in Paris ahead of the Le Bourget
Airshow. This business jet sized vehicle is
designed to carry four passengers 100 km up
into space giving more than three minutes of
"zero G" or weightlessness. Guests at the
Paris event were shown a full sized mock-up
of the forward section of the revolutionary
craft including its Marc Newson designed
cabin.
The Astrium space jet will take off and land
conventionally from a standard airport using
its jet engines. However, once the craft is
airborne at an altitude of about 12 km, the
rocket engines will be ignited to give
sufficient acceleration to reach 100 km. In
only 80 seconds the craft will have climbed
to 60 km altitude. The highly innovative
seats balance themselves to minimize the
effects of acceleration and deceleration,
ensuring the greatest passenger comfort and
safety. The rocket propulsion system is then
shut down as the ship's inertia carries it on
to over 100 km, where passengers will become
one of the very few to experience zero
gravity in space.
The pilot will control the craft using small
rocket thrusters enabling passengers to hover
weightlessly for 3 minutes and to witness the
most spectacular view of Earth imaginable.
After slowing down during descent, the jet
engines are restarted for a normal and safe
landing at a standard airfield. The entire
trip will last approximately an hour and a
half.
Astrium is proposing the one stage system as
it is considered the safest and most
economical to operate. If development begins
in 2008, a first commercial flight would be
possible by 2012.
The development of a new vehicle able to
operate in altitudes between aircraft (20km)
and below satellites (200 km) could well be a
precursor for rapid transport
'point-to-point' vehicles or quick access to
Space - opening up previously unexplored
territory. Its development will contribute to
maintaining (and even enhancing) European
competences in core technologies of Space
Transportation.
As single industrial prime contractor for
Ariane 5, main European contributor to the
International Space Station and as a wholly
owned subsidiary of EADS, Astrium has the
necessary expertise and know-how for manned
space flight.
Tags : EADS Astrium Space_Tourism personal_spaceflight space_access suborbital |
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Affichage : 6486
Durée : 100 s |
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