Of all places, MSNBC has a good article with specifics on SpaceShipOne’s flying characteristics. It really looks like they’ve put a lot of thought into it, down to using the same flight controls for the carrier ship and rocketplane so that maneuvers can be practiced in either.
Yearly Archives: 2003
SpaceShip One!
Scaled Composites revealed their passenger-carrying spaceship today. This is an actual, working vehicle they’re planning to use as part of a commercial space program. It would also get them the X Prize once flown. Wow!
For those who don’t know Scaled Composites, it’s an aerospace firm run by Burt Rutan. His plane Voyager was the first to fly around the world without landing or refueling. He’s known for working, low-cost aircraft designed with revolutionary techniques. Go Burt!
Weapons of Mass Distortion
Just in case it gets clouded, the main justification for attacking Iraq was the supposed presence of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons. Let me know if anyone finds any.
A sci-fi mecca?
Looks like Paul Allen wants to create a Science Fiction Experience multimedia museum in Seattle. I’ll reserve comment until it opens, but it should be interesting to follow.
(Nitpick note: it’s Heinlein’s “Rocketship Galileo” that inspired him as a kid, not “Spaceship Galileo”. Ya-hey.)
Segway in France
Not sure if it will happen, but it would be nice to see Segway kiosks the next time we go to Paris. I’d love to be able to rent a couple of Segways at the train station, strap our bags to them, and zip over to the hotel. Tooling around the museums and such would be easier, too, especially if it’s easy enough to lug one onto the Metro. The Segway site has video examples of the kiosks, too.