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November 16, 2004
Tires and laughing gas on the moon
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Tara Alatorre MCC Student |
Old tires and laughing gas fueled Burt Rutan’s rocket, winning the prize of $10 million for being the first private company to reach outer space twice.
Designed by Rutan, and piloted by his partner, Michael Melville, the ship has made both flights to the cosmos.
Soon, Virgin Mobile will be using Rutan’s plane design to charter flights to the moon.
These modern day Wright Brothers take space travel to a new efficiency level, cutting travel expenses by billions.
The rockets run off of rubber and medical grade Nitrous gas, two materials that have no direct chemical reaction; making fuel storage safe and the most environmentally friendly fuel ever used.
The shape of the plane mirrors that of a feather. This architectural design is by far the most valuable feature of Spaceship One, allowing re-entry to be a glide back into the earth’s atmosphere. And no expensive heat sensory equipment is needed because it is entering the atmosphere at an appropriate speed.
Taking off and landing is done on a typical runway, and Spaceship One, just like any typical airplane, can be used over and over.
This raises the question of why tax payers are spending billions of dollars a year to support NASA’s archaic rockets.
In the beginning of U.S. space adventures, Americans were told that rockets would be reusable; but now they are obsolete.
NASA has made no effort to simplify space travel, and continues to rely on the same rocket ship design first used more than 30 years ago.
The public has seen numerous tragedies surrounding NASA’s dangerous and complicated take-offs and landings. A typical landing usually entails the cockpit becoming a flaming meteor. Yet, no real effort has been spent trying to improve these tactics. Instead, more money and energy is being spent on extending the time and distance spent in space. Unfortunately, safety and efficiency seem to get bottom priority.
With all of advancements in space technology, NASA’s techniques seem impractical, and comparing Rutan to NASA is like comparing a Volkswagen to a Porsche. Maybe we should consider moving space travel into private enterprises; they seem to be doing a better job anyway.
If you had a choice, would you rather glide gracefully back into the atmosphere with Rutan? Or would you choose to become a flaming meteor with NASA?
Either way, what once was a fantasy, has now become a reality.
So... everyone pack your suitcases, we’re going to the moon!
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