Advertising. It Actually is Rocket Science. The DreamSpace Group's Consumer Space Flight Program.
I’m stoked.
In fact, I’m more excited than I’ve been in this business for a while.
I’m involved in launching a spacecraft that everyday civilians, with a hefty credit limit on their Visa, can book a flight on. What’s more, you don’t have to be a Free Mason to qualify for a seat.
Star date: 2012.
The DreamSpace Group was founded in 1996. Its initial roots were in the da Vinci Project, an XPRIZE Competitor, along with Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic Group. The da Vinci Project is still to this day the only other private group in the world (along with Burt Rutan’s Scaled Composites Team / Virgin Galactic) to gain full government approval for manned suborbital flight to space.
Brian Feeney, the brains behind the program, has been fully engaged in commercially manned suborbital launch systems development for the past 13 years.
For the sake of brevity, I’ll refrain from using the above description and instead stick with ‘spacecraft’ from here on in.
Anyhow, as a member on the advisory board I’ll be doing my bit to get the project off the ground and into space.
The ultimate fantasy: Space tourism for the common man.
So, there you are, in a jet fighter style cockpit, save for the charlie-horse, hamstring cramp, because you have a romper room sized, all around, front-end view of uninterrupted space. Peeking back at the pilot behind you, upside down, because you’re unstrapped and performing anti-gravity somersaults, a sense of euphoria sets in.
That’s the $89,000 ticket.
For the hand-holding, cheap type – the sleek, Star Wars inspired XF1 is fully convertible. Why not swap suspended puke with a friend? The passenger space is fully configurable to a two-seat arrangement at a price point of just $49,900 each.
I’m not being facetious. With a $240 million investment in consumer space tourism, Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic is charging $200,000 a seat in their six seat spacecraft. And it’s quickly becoming booked up.
A blue sky, Robert Heinlein fantasy?
Not a chance. There’s too much money invested. Apart from Richard Branson and Paul Allen’s substantial investment – the people behind DreamSpace have invested serious capital as well. Not just in the science and engineering, but in acquiring all the patents, trademarks, licenses and certifications.
In fact, johnny-come-lately, Geoff Bezoz, founder of Amazon, has invested about $100 million in his consumer space project, Blue Origin.
So, when does it fly?
The Aerospace Propulsion Labs rocket engines are the key. The DreamSpace Group has partnered with the Experimental Propulsion Group based in California for the development of the XF1-A rocket engine. It’s based on a successfully tested and proven in-house rocket engine. The XF1-A class of engine is approximately 2700 lbs of sea level thrust and sits in the mid range of engines already successfully developed and tested (for the geeks: 2000 lbs, 2500 lbs, 3000 lbs, 4000 lbs). The XF1-B will use a larger version of the same engine technology, developed and made in Canada, in a proprietary Ejector Combined Cycle Engine (ECCE) design for maximum efficiency and low cost of operation.
A manned prototype XF1-A suborbital technology flight demonstrator will be tested in the fall of this year. Consumer space travel is scheduled to commence in 2012.
Can you hear me Major Tom?
DreamSpace group and its subsidiaries were the second private group in the world (2004) to receive a full manned suborbital launch authorization from government (Canada) including putting in place a US $25,000,000 third party liability insurance policy.
Apart from the assurance of the insurance, the cockpit module is also part of the emergency escape and recovery system. It can separate from the main body of the XF1 spacecraft and land under its own parachute. Backup parachutes are also provided for each occupant.
But I doubt that matters much. Anybody with the dough and cajones to book a flight into space could probably care less.
I’ll be providing updates on the project as they occur. In the meantime, if you’re interested in sponsorship opportunities, or getting involved in some way, let me know and I’ll see if we can accommodate.
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