Category: Space Exploration

A new means of propelling spacecraft being developed at the University of Washington could dramatically cut the time needed for astronauts to travel to and from Mars and could make humans a permanent fixture in space.

In fact, with magnetized-beam plasma propulsion, or mag-beam, quick trips to distant parts of the solar system could become routine, said Robert Winglee, a UW Earth and space sciences professor who is leading the project.

Currently, using conventional technology and adjusting for the orbits of both the Earth and Mars around the sun, it would take astronauts about 2.5 years to travel to Mars, conduct their scientific mission and return.

“We’re trying to get to Mars and back in 90 days,” Winglee said. “Our philosophy is that, if it’s going to take two-and-a-half years, the chances of a successful mission are pretty low.”

Mag-beam is one of 12 proposals that this month began receiving support from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Institute for Advanced Concepts. Each gets $75,000 for a six-month study to validate the concept and identify challenges in developing it. Projects that make it through that phase are eligible for as much as $400,000 more over two years.

Under the mag-beam concept, a space-based station would generate a stream of magnetized ions that would interact with a magnetic sail on a spacecraft and propel it through the solar system at high speeds that increase with the size of the plasma beam. Winglee estimates that a control nozzle 32 meters wide would generate a plasma beam capable of propelling a spacecraft at 11.7 kilometers per second. That translates to more than 26,000 miles an hour or more than 625,000 miles a day.

Mars is an average of 48 million miles from Earth, though the distance can vary greatly depending on where the two planets are in their orbits around the sun. At that distance, a spacecraft traveling 625,000 miles a day would take more than 76 days to get to the red planet. But Winglee is working on ways to devise even greater speeds so the round trip could be accomplished in three months.

But to make such high speeds practical, another plasma unit must be stationed on a platform at the other end of the trip to apply brakes to the spacecraft.

“Rather than a spacecraft having to carry these big powerful propulsion units, you can have much smaller payloads,” he said.

Winglee envisions units being placed around the solar system by missions already planned by NASA. One could be used as an integral part of a research mission to Jupiter, for instance, and then left in orbit there when the mission is completed. Units placed farther out in the solar system would use nuclear power to create the ionized plasma; those closer to the sun would be able to use electricity generated by solar panels.

The mag-beam concept grew out of an earlier effort Winglee led to develop a system called mini-magnetospheric plasma propulsion. In that system, a plasma bubble would be created around a spacecraft and sail on the solar wind. The mag-beam concept removes reliance on the solar wind, replacing it with a plasma beam that can be controlled for strength and direction.

A mag-beam test mission could be possible within five years if financial support remains consistent, he said. The project will be among the topics during the sixth annual NASA Advanced Concepts Institute meeting Tuesday and Wednesday at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Seattle. The meeting is free and open to the public.

Winglee acknowledges that it would take an initial investment of billions of dollars to place stations around the solar system. But once they are in place, their power sources should allow them to generate plasma indefinitely. The system ultimately would reduce spacecraft costs, since individual craft would no longer have to carry their own propulsion systems. They would get up to speed quickly with a strong push from a plasma station, then coast at high speed until they reach their destination, where they would be slowed by another plasma station.

“This would facilitate a permanent human presence in space,” Winglee said. “That’s what we are trying to get to.”

Original Source: University of Washington News Release

The X PRIZE Foundation announced key next steps today by two of its top competitors for the ANSARI X PRIZE. The American Mojave Aerospace Ventures, LLC Team (a partnership between Paul G. Allen and Burt Rutan and his team at Scaled Composites) announced today that it has given its official 60-day notice and has scheduled its first competition flight on September 29th, 2004, at the Mojave Airport Civilian Aerospace Test Center in Mojave, California. To win the $10 million, SpaceShipOne will need to make a second flight within two weeks, by October 13th, 2004.

In addition, the Canadian da Vinci Project Team, based in Toronto, Canada, announced its plans to roll-out its completed Wild Fire spacecraft for public viewing and photo opportunities on Thursday, Aug 5th, 2004, at its Downsview Airport hanger in Toronto. The da Vinci Project Team, widely heralded as a contender for the $10 million, will pursue its own ANSARI X PRIZE space flight attempts this Fall.

Also introduced to supporters and press was Amir Ansari, representing the Ansari family, the benefactors who titled the ANSARI X PRIZE, and Astronaut Rick Searfoss, the Chief Judge of the competition. The announcements took place at the Santa Monica Municipal Airport in Santa Monica, California, at 10:30 am PST.

“Eight years ago, under the Arch in St. Louis, we kicked off the X PRIZE competition. Today I’m pleased to announce that the first team is ready to make an attempt to claim the $10 million, with other teams close behind, said Dr. Peter H. Diamandis, Chairman and Founder of the X PRIZE Foundation. “The American Mojave Aerospace Ventures Team and the Canadian da Vinci Project Team are just two of the 26 competing groups who will someday make it possible for spaceflights to be conducted from commercial spaceports across the globe. When the ANSARI X PRIZE competition is won, it will herald the start of a new renaissance of spaceflight in which the general public will have their chance to fly next.”

If successful, Mojave Aerospace Ventures will make history by launching a privately financed, manned spaceship to 100 km altitude, twice within two weeks, each carrying a pilot and the weight and volume equivalent of two additional passengers. On June 21st, Mike Melvill, a pilot for Mojave Aerospace Ventures, became the first commercial pilot to enter suborbital space, earning astronaut wings and a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records. Similar to the June flight, the competition launches will take place at the Mojave Airport Civilian Aerospace Test Center in Mojave, California. The public is invited and encouraged to attend the historic events. Parking passes for public attendance can be purchased on the X PRIZE website (www.xprize.org).

“The idea of competitions have always had a rich heritage in our society,” said Paul G. Allen, sole investor of SpaceShipOne and partner in Mojave Aerospace Ventures, LLC. “This competition has proven that there are many different ways to attack the challenges set out by the ANSARI X PRIZE. From the start we have approached SpaceShipOne with a ‘can-do, home-brew’ attitude. We are grateful that our previous flights have brought even more attention to the ANSARI X PRIZE and given more momentum to the groundswell of excitement that is continuing to build for the long-term potential of affordable space exploration.”

“I want to thank the X PRIZE Foundation for providing the inspiration in 1996, to get us little guys thinking about private development of manned space flight. Last month our team demonstrated that private companies can indeed conduct space flights without government help.” stated Burt Rutan, Team Leader of the Mojave Aerospace Ventures Team and designer of both the White Knight and SpaceShipOne. “We are hopeful to complete both qualifying flights and to win the ANSARI X PRIZE.”

Wild Fire, the Canadian da Vinci Project Team spacecraft, is also launched at high-altitude into suborbital space at 80,000 feet from an unmanned, reusable helium balloon. The Canadian da Vinci Project Team, considered one of the top ANSARI X PRIZE competitors, will reveal its Wild Fire space vehicle to the public for the first time on August 5th, 2004, at its Downsview Airport Hanger in Toronto.

“The da Vinci Project Team has made huge strides in the past year and we’re excited to finally share Wild Fire with the public,” noted Brian Feeney, da Vinci Project Team Leader. “We’re in the commercial tourist race for the long haul and while working with an all-volunteer team, we’ve been able to accomplish major aviation and space milestones in pursuit of the ANSARI X PRIZE.”

In addition, Colonel Rick Searfoss, pilot and commander of three Space Shuttle missions, was introduced as the Chief Judge of the ANSARI X PRIZE. “We have met with the Mojave Aerospace Ventures Team and we are prepared to ensure that the flights are well monitored and that all rules are followed carefully,” said Col. Searfoss. “As an experienced astronaut, I can tell you that I’m personally excited to see the beginning of a new generation of spaceflight.”

About the ANSARI X PRIZE Competition
Currently, 26 teams from around the globe are competing for the $10 million ANSARI X PRIZE. In order to win the competition, teams must build a safe and reusable space vehicle able to carry one pilot and the weight equivalent of two passengers, 100km (62 miles) into suborbital space. The vehicle must be privately financed and safely flown twice within a two-week period. The first registered ANSARI X PRIZE team to complete this feat will win the $10 million prize and a spectacular 5-foot trophy.

About the X PRIZE Foundation (www.xprize.org)
The X PRIZE Foundation is a not-for-profit educational organization with headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri. The Foundation’s ANSARI X PRIZE Competition is supported by its Title Sponsor, the Ansari family, and Presenting Sponsor, Champ Car World Series. The Foundation is also supported by private donations from the St. Louis Community through an organization called the New Spirit of St. Louis Organization. The Foundation’s mission is to educate the public about space travel, create educational programming for students and space enthusiasts, and provide incentives in the private sector to make space travel frequent and affordable for the general public. Several additional sponsorships for the ANSARI X PRIZE competition remain available to corporations or individuals who wish to support the contest and associate themselves with courage, determination, achievement, space, speed, high performance and technology.

To find out how individuals or corporations can join the efforts of the X PRIZE, or involve neighborhood schools or community centers with X PRIZE educational programs, visit www.xprize.org or contact the office at 636-519-9449

Original Source: X Prize News Release

Space is one of the most extreme environments imaginable. Above the insulating atmosphere of the Earth, spacecraft are subjected to extremes of temperature, both hot and cold, and a significantly increased threat of radiation damage.

The first extreme condition a spacecraft has to deal with is that of launch. The rocket that places the spacecraft into orbit will also shake it violently and batter it with extremely loud sound waves.

Either of these phenomena can shatter delicate pieces of equipment and so engineers always build a thermal and structural model of the spacecraft and test it. They simulate the conditions of launch using the vibration table and acoustic chamber at ESA’s European Space Technology Centre (ESTEC) in The Netherlands.

Temperatures in space can range from the extremely cold, hundreds of degrees below freezing, to many hundreds of degrees above ? especially if a spacecraft ventures close to the Sun.

Although there is no air in space, energy is carried by radiation, usually coming from the Sun, that causes heating when it is absorbed by spacecraft, planets or other celestial bodies.

Depending on where in space they intend a vehicle to operate, engineers build in either cooling systems or insulators.

However, in the case of ESA’s comet-chaser Rosetta, the spacecraft must first venture into the heat of the inner Solar System, before heading away into the freezing outer Solar System.

Engineers designed a system of ‘louvres’ that fit over the spacecraft’s radiator panels. When Rosetta is in the inner Solar System, the louvres swing open, allowing the radiators to expel excess heat into space.

Later, in the outer Solar System, the louvres shut, helping to retain heat inside. Ensuring that integrated circuits and computers can work in the radiation environment of space requires the shielding of sensitive electronic equipment.

Radiation in space can be split into ‘trapped’ and ‘transient’ types. The trapped particles are the subatomic particles, mainly protons and electrons, trapped by Earth’s magnetic field which creates the so-called Van Allen radiation belts around our planet.

The Cluster quartet of spacecraft are designed to work in and investigate this region of space.

The transient radiation is mainly composed of protons and cosmic rays that constantly stream through space and are enhanced during the magnetic storms on the Sun known as ‘solar flares’.

When this radiation collides with electronic circuits, they can change the contents of memory cells, cause spurious currents to flow around the craft or even burn out computer chips.

Building integrated circuits that resist the effects of radiation is known as ‘space hardening’. Usually this involves redesigning the chips so that they are shielded in some way from the harmful radiation. Another approach is to detect the errors produced by space radiation and correct them.

Meteor showers can also damage spacecraft. The little dust particles that cause us to see ‘shooting stars’ travel through space at several kilometres per second and can have the effect of ‘sand blasting’ large arrays of vital solar panels.

During a storm of the Leonids, for example, scientists made the Hubble Space Telescope turn so that its solar panels presented the smallest surface area to the incoming meteors.

Original Source: ESA News Release

Landing mobile bases on the moon is an idea whose time has come, according to a NASA researcher.

Lunar bases that can travel on wheels, or even legs, will increase landing zone safety, provide equipment redundancy and improve the odds of making key discoveries by enabling crews to visit many lunar sites, according to Marc Cohen, a researcher at NASA’s Ames Research Center, in California’s Silicon Valley. Cohen recently presented his concept in a research paper at the 2004 American Institute of Physics Forum in Albuquerque, N.M.

“If you set up a base at a fixed location on the moon, you are very limited in the sites of scientific interest that you can reach,” Cohen said. “What it comes down to is if you’re landing a habitat on legs and wheels, it doesn’t take a lot more investment to make it highly mobile, provided you have enough energy resources that would enable it to travel great distance across the moon with or without the crew onboard,” Cohen explained.

Linked mobile moon habitats might travel like treaded trains without tracks, or they could cross the moonscape in a line like Conestoga wagons crossing the American West. Walking or rolling habitats could dock to one another, or circle close together, when they reach a rest or research site, according to designs suggested by engineers over that last three decades, Cohen noted.

In contrast, a common scenario for exploration of the moon is that one or more astronauts would travel to a remote site in a pressurized or unpressurized ‘rover.’ An unpressurized rover trip would only last hours because the astronauts would be in spacesuits for the entire trek. A pressurized rover could sustain astronauts for a much longer trip, lasting days or weeks.

“If you are trying to conduct research with pressurized lunar vehicles, you run into many safety issues,” Cohen said. To avoid life-threatening or other compromising situations that might occur with only one rover traveling to a remote place, a second rover might travel with the first.

“But what if the second rover runs into a problem, too – the same or a different problem? Well, that means a third rover,” Cohen said. “So, why not make the entire base mobile, so that all the resources, reliability and redundancy of the lunar mission move with the excursion crew?” Cohen reasoned.

“In addition, there’s risk if you land lots of immobile modules in one spot — there is a danger you’ll have a very long commute to a place of scientific interest, or can’t get there. Then you’ve wasted billions of dollars. Mobile habitats greatly reduce the risk of finding yourself on the wrong place on the moon,” Cohen added.

Another advantage of mobile moon habitats is that they will be able to move out of the lunar landing zone, which could be hazardous. “The landing zone poses the problem that once a habitat lands on the moon, it is not prudent to land another vehicle within several kilometers because of safety concerns from ejecta in a normal landing, and in case of an explosive failure on impact,” Cohen said.

Cohen suggests that mobile habitats must have robust radiation shielding for them to be practical. “Radiation protection remains a challenge and a potential showstopper, as it does for all lunar base and rover concepts,” Cohen said. However, there are potential shielding concepts that may well be reasonable, according to Cohen.

The Office of Exploration Systems, NASA Headquarters, Washington, funds this research. Publication size images are available on the World Wide Web at:

Mobile Lunar Base

and

Mobile Lunar Base

More information about space architecture is on the Internet at:

http://www.spacearchitect.org

Original Source: NASA News Release

Image credit: Scaled
A privately-developed rocket plane will launch into history on June 21 on a mission to become the world?s first commercial manned space vehicle. Investor and philanthropist Paul G. Allen and aviation legend Burt Rutan have teamed to create the program, which will attempt the first non-governmental flight to leave the earth?s atmosphere.

SpaceShipOne will rocket to 100 kilometers (62 miles) into sub-orbital space above the Mojave Civilian Aerospace Test Center, a commercial airport in the California desert. If successful, it will demonstrate that the space frontier is finally open to private enterprise. This event could be the breakthrough that will enable space access for future generations.

Allen, founder and chairman of Vulcan Inc, is financing the project. Along with Allen, Vulcan?s technology research and development team — which takes the lead in developing high impact science and technology projects for Allen — has been active in the project?s development and management.

“This flight is one of the most exciting and challenging activities taking place in the fields of aviation and aerospace today,” said Paul G. Allen, sole sponsor in the SpaceShipOne program. “Every time SpaceShipOne flies we demonstrate that relatively modest amounts of private funding can significantly increase the boundaries of commercial space technology. Burt Rutan and his team at Scaled Composites have accomplished amazing things by conducting the first mission of this kind without any government backing.”

Today?s announcement came after SpaceShipOne completed a May 13th, 2004 test flight in which pilot Mike Melvill reached a height of 211,400 feet (approximately 40 miles), the highest altitude ever reached by a non-government aerospace program.

Sub-orbital space flight refers to a mission that flies out of the atmosphere but does not reach the speeds needed to sustain continuous orbiting of the earth. The view from a sub-orbital flight is similar to being in orbit, but the cost and risks are far less.

The pilot (to be announced at a later date) of the up-coming June sub-orbital space flight will become the first person to earn astronaut wings in a non-government sponsored vehicle, and the first private civilian to fly a spaceship out of the atmosphere.

?Since Yuri Gagarin and Al Shepard?s epic flights in 1961, all space missions have been flown only under large, expensive Government efforts. By contrast, our program involves a few, dedicated individuals who are focused entirely on making spaceflight affordable,? said Burt Rutan. ?Without the entrepreneur approach, space access would continue to be out of reach for ordinary citizens. The SpaceShipOne flights will change all that and encourage others to usher in a new, low-cost era in space travel.?

SpaceShipOne was designed by Rutan and his research team at the California-based aerospace company, Scaled Composites. Rutan made aviation news in 1986 by developing the Voyager, the only aircraft to fly non-stop around the world without refueling.

?To succeed takes more than the work of designers and builders?, Rutan said, ?The vision, the will, the commitment and the courage to direct the program is the most difficult hurdle. We are very fortunate to have the financial support and the confidence of a visionary like Paul Allen to make this effort possible.?

To reach space, a carrier aircraft, the White Knight, lifts SpaceShipOne from the runway. An hour later, after climbing to approximately 50,000 feet altitude just east of Mojave, the White Knight releases the spaceship into a glide. The spaceship pilot then fires his rocket motor for about 80 seconds, reaching Mach 3 in a vertical climb. During the pull-up and climb, the pilot encounters G-forces three to four times the gravity of the earth.

SpaceShipOne then coasts up to its goal height of 100 km (62 miles) before falling back to earth. The pilot experiences a weightless environment for more than three minutes and, like orbital space travelers, sees the black sky and the thin blue atmospheric line on the horizon. The pilot (actually a new astronaut!) then configures the craft?s wing and tail into a high-drag configuration. This provides a ?care-free? atmospheric entry by slowing the spaceship in the upper atmosphere and automatically aligning it along the flight path. Upon re-entry, the pilot reconfigures the ship back to a normal glider, and then spends 15 to 20 minutes gliding back to earth, touching down like an airplane on the same runway from which he took off. The June flight will be flown solo, but SpaceShipOne is equipped with three seats and is designed for missions that include pilot and two passengers.

Unlike any previous manned space mission, the June flight will allow the public to view, up close, the takeoff and landing as well as the overhead rocket boost to space. This will be an historic and unique spectator opportunity. Information for the general public on attending the event is available at www.scaled.com.

Based on the success of the June space flight attempt, SpaceShipOne will later compete for the Ansari X Prize, an international competition to create a reusable aircraft that can launch three passengers into sub-orbital space, return them safely home, then repeat the launch within two weeks with the same vehicle.

The Discovery Channel and Vulcan Productions are producing RUTAN?S RACE FOR SPACE (wt), a world premiere television special that documents the entire process of the historic effort to create the first privately-funded spacecraft. From design to flight testing to the moments of the actual launch and return, the special takes viewers behind-the-scenes for the complete, inside story of this historic aerospace milestone. RUTAN?S RACE FOR SPACE will be broadcast later this year.

Original Source: Scaled News Release

Image credit: Mars Society
Defiance, detachment, disagreement ? harmful emotions in any small group situation, but in Outer Space these feelings are particularly damaging and possibly life endangering.

ANU psychologists are preparing to gather unique insights into the duress of space travel as part of a ?Mars expedition? to be staged in the Australian desert later this year.

The way that small groups of astronauts interact in the extreme, unfamiliar and isolating conditions of space travel will be closely scrutinised by Dr Rachael Eggins, Dr Kate Reynolds and PhD student Mr Phill Krins, from the Psychology Department in the ANU Faculty of Science.

The researchers are set to record the interactions of participants of an expedition into the South Australian outback in August organised by the Mars Society of Australia. This follows on from an initial study of participants in a planetary simulation in the United States last year.

?The rigorous personality testing astronauts undergo in their relatively cosy, comfortable labs can not measure how their personality might change in a confined, socially stifling and unfamiliar space,? Dr Eggins says.

?In everyday life we are very socially dynamic and belong to a number of groups, such as family, work and friends. There are a number of psychological advantages to having such a dynamic social environment, which will be absent when people spend long periods of time in isolation.?

Mr Krins and Dr Steve Dawson, a research psychologist with the Mars Society of Australia, will travel into the desert with the expedition and ask participants ? who try and replicate as closely as possible what it would be like living and working on Mars ? to complete questionnaires designed to monitor social dynamics.

Participants will undergo a daily cortisol (a hormone produced by the body in reaction to stress) measurement test and cognitive testing to gauge stress and performance levels.

Mr Krins will also keep a daily journal to record important social events, such as leadership changes, likely to affect the social dynamics of the expedition.

?One thing we are interested in is the question of whether or not groups are good or bad for your health,? Dr Eggins says. ?We know that in cohesive groups people perform better, work harder and are more cooperative than in loose-knit groups.

?But do cohesive groups make us work too hard and what does that do to our stress levels??

There are also other issues relating to the wrong sort of cohesion in a group, and small sub-groups forming within larger groups.

?There is a danger groups may become too cohesive,? Mr Krins says.

?When this occurs there may be intense pressure for individual crew members to behave in accordance with ?group norms?. For example, if there is a group norm to not report safety breaches, this could put the entire crew in danger.?

Also, past research on groups (whether isolated or not) has shown that it is common for the larger group to splinter into smaller subgroups.

?A number of problems can occur when large groups split off into these smaller groups,? Dr Eggins says. ?Polarisation can lead to infighting and poor decision-making.

?But there are advantages ? subgroups can become an important source of creative new ideas benefiting the larger group. Subgroups are also an important source of identity and pride for people. They then work hard to achieve its goals, improving the mission as a whole.?

With unmanned Mars missions underway and intensifying research interest in the red planet, the ANU researchers believe the human element of space exploration should be taken just as seriously as the technological or scientific. The team?s research will focus on developing guiding principles to avoid problems associated with groups in such stressful circumstances.

?It is important that group differences are managed properly and don?t become a source of conflict or feelings of disenfranchisement,? Dr Eggins says.

?These principles will ensure that individuals maintain commitment to the whole, have avenues for input into decision making and follow leadership guidelines.?

Original Source: ANU News Release

Image credit: NASA
In an unprecedented show of unity, thirteen of the nation’s premier space advocacy groups, industry associations and space policy organizations have teamed up to support the effort to refocus NASA’s human space activities toward exploration, including a return to the Moon and moving on to Mars and beyond.

The organizations involved include: Aerospace Industries Association, Aerospace States Association, American Astronautical Society, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, California Space Authority, Florida Space Authority, The Mars Society, National Coalition of Spaceport States, National Space Society, The Planetary Society, ProSpace, Space Access Society and Space Frontier Foundation.

Collectively these groups can count almost one million Americans as members or as employees of member companies. Their first goal as a group is to work for broad Congressional support of the new national vision for space exploration outside of low earth orbit, which they refer to as Moon, Mars and Beyond. To begin they will work to secure first year funding for the initiative, which they view as a necessary first step for in-depth planning of the exploration program to commence in earnest.

In addition they intend to aggressively refute the false impression that Moon, Mars and Beyond is too expensive for this country to take on. They will demonstrate how modest but steady growth in our national expenditures on space can move the nation toward these important goals, and the benefits those expenditures will provide.

As space activity becomes increasingly integrated with every aspect of life here on earth, this new focus on exploration will provide myriad advances in science and technology, untold economic opportunity and serve as an inspiration to our nation’s youth. Given those benefits and the many more that lie in store, this new program of human space exploration beyond low earth orbit is a vital link to the future of the United States and the world.

Original Source: NSS News Release

Entrepreneurs Anousheh Ansari and Amir Ansari, today announced a multimillion dollar contribution to the X PRIZE Foundation which runs an international competition among private spaceships designed to fly the general public into space. On this day, the 43rd anniversary of astronaut Alan Shepard’s suborbital flight into space, the X PRIZE competition is being renamed the ANSARI X PRIZE Competition to reflect the newly-established title sponsorship. The ANSARI X PRIZE is modeled after the $25,000 Orteig Prize won by Charles Lindbergh in 1927 for his historic flight from New York to Paris.

The ANSARI X PRIZE will award $10 million to the first private organization to build and fly a ship that can carry three passengers 100 km (62 miles) into space, return safely to Earth and repeat the launch with the same ship within two weeks. Both flights must be completed by January 1st, 2005. The competition has been endorsed by leading space and aviation organizations around the world and includes the vision to jump-start the commercialization of space travel and industry the same way that Orteig Prize opened today’s commercial airways.

Space exploration has always been a childhood dream for both Anousheh and brother-in-law Amir, who were born in Iran. “As a child I looked at the stars and dreamed of being able to travel into space,” said Anousheh, an avid space enthusiast. “As an adult, I understand that the only way this dream will become a reality is with the participation of private industry and the creative passion of smart entrepreneurs. The ANSARI X PRIZE provides the perfect vehicle to ignite the imagination and passion of fellow entrepreneurs, giving them and their courageous pilots a platform for success.”

Currently, 26 teams from seven nations around the world have registered to compete. Several teams have already conducted successful test launches and plan to announce their competition launches within the next few months.

“The vision for the X PRIZE Foundation and the ANSARI X PRIZE competition began in May 1996 with the support of the business leaders from the St. Louis Community,” said Dr. Peter H. Diamandis, X PRIZE Foundation Chairman and Founder. “My dream, along with Anousheh and Amir, has been to open space travel to the public. With profound thanks to the Ansari family, we have created a self-fulfilling prophecy. The ANSARI X PRIZE Teams are creating a multitude of different designs specifically for public access. One of these unique designs will win in the months ahead and many others will go on to offer commercial services.”

In March 2004 the X PRIZE Foundation also announced a Presenting Sponsorship from Champ Car World Series, the leading open-wheel race car series. The competition has room for two remaining major sponsorships which will provide a company with its logo on all the competing spaceships, hospitality and a variety of other benefits.

About Anousheh Ansari
Anousheh Ansari is a co-founder of venture capital firm Prodea, Inc. Mrs. Ansari co-founded telecom technologies, inc. (tti), a supplier of softswitch-based solutions for network and service providers in 1993, which was acquired by Sonus Networks in 2000. She was listed in the Fortune magazine’s “40 Under 40” in 2001, recognized by Working Woman magazine as the winner of the 2000 National Entrepreneurial Excellence award and was chosen as the winner of the 1999 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Southwest Region, for the Technology and Communications category.

About Amir Ansari
Amir Ansari is a co-founder of venture capital firm, Prodea, Inc. Mr. Ansari co-founded telecom technologies, inc. and served as the CTO for the company prior to its acquisition by Sonus Networks. He has filed several patents in the area of Voice over IP and is currently sitting on the Board of Directors of several technology companies.

About the X PRIZE Foundation
The X PRIZE Foundation is a not-for-profit educational organization with headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri. Supported by private donations and the St. Louis community, the Foundation’s mission is to create educational programming for students and space enthusiasts as well as provide incentives in the private sector to make space travel frequent and affordable for the general public. Several additional sponsorships for the ANSARI X PRIZE competition remain available to corporations or individuals who wish to support the X PRIZE Foundation and associate themselves with space, speed and high technology.

Original Source: X PRIZE News Release

Image credit: SpaceDev
SpaceDev (OTCBB: SPDV) announced that it has been awarded a five-year $43 million cost-plus-fixed fee indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract by the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) to conduct a micro satellite distributed sensing experiment, an option for a laser communications experiment, and other micro satellite studies and experiments as required in support of the Advanced System Deputate. The first of four phases is expected to be completed this year and will result in detailed mission and microsat designs. The milestone-based, multiyear, multiphase contract has an effective start date of March 1, 2004.

?This contract is our largest award to-date, and the successful completion of each contract phase would result in significantly accelerated growth in sales and revenues for us over the next few years,? said SpaceDev founding chairman and chief executive, Jim Benson. ?This award is the result of working collaboratively with the MDA team for two years, and our successful and revolutionary Internet-based CHIPSat microsatellite launched in January 2003.

SpaceDev?s new high precision microsats for MDA will build on and improve proprietary SpaceDev-developed CHIPSat technology, such as SpaceDev?s high performance, Miniature Flight Computer?, SpaceDev?s general purpose Micro Space Vehicle Operating System?, SpaceDev?s Internet-based Mission Control and Operations Software? that permits SpaceDev satellites to be controlled from anywhere in the world from a laptop computer. For the new low earth orbit MDA satellites, SpaceDev will increase pointing and tracking precision, increase the processing power of its flight computer to achieve more difficult real-time problem solving on-orbit, add autonomous satellite commissioning, and will introduce other innovative techniques and technologies.

?The SpaceDev engineering team continues its transformational thinking by developing and delivering fast turnaround, high performance, responsive space systems at affordable prices,? said Benson. ?With CHIPSat, our hybrid-based Streaker? small launch vehicle under development for the Air Force, and our hybrid rocket motors for safe government and private sector human space flight, we feel that SpaceDev is in a position to achieve more firsts in space technology and operations. We believe that SpaceDev is becoming a global leader for responsive and innovative small satellites and hybrid rocket propulsion systems.?

Original Source: Spacedev News Release

Image credit: ESA
Will swarms of co-operating robots one day be exploring some of the most intriguing worlds in the solar system? James Law, an engineer who is a doctoral student at the Open University, supports the idea that using whole teams of robotic explorers working together offers distinct advantages, especially when it comes to tackling the challenges presented by remote bodies such as Europa and Titan. In a presentation on Wednesday 31 March at the Royal Astronomical Society’s National Astronomy Meeting at the Open University, he will be reviewing some current ideas on co-operative robot technology and suggesting how it might be applied to a Titan mission with a concept for a ‘Master’ robot controlling a bevy of ‘Slaves’.

Of the 17 landers sent to investigate Mars, only 5 have survived to perform their missions. In spite of this, scientists are already looking for their next planetary targets, with Saturn’s moon Titan and Jupiter’s moon Europa being distinct possibilities. Given both the greater distances involved, and extreme climatic conditions, how can the likelihood of a successful robotic surface mission be increased? Although robotic rovers have become the preferred choice over static landers, due to their greater versatility, the addition of motion systems increases their weight and reduces the reliability of these already complex mechanisms.

Advantages of teamwork
One alternative, proposed in 1989 by Rodney Brooks of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is finally coming to fruition – the idea of replacing solitary rovers with swarms of cooperative robots. With scientific equipment evenly distributed between them, each rover can be made smaller, lighter, and less complex. These robots can then work together or independently, in order to complete the mission objectives.

This approach has several distinct advantages. Launch costs could be reduced and soft landings achieved by delivering lighter payloads. Robustness is improved, since a critical failure on any rover is isolated from the rest. Although losing a rover may restrict the capabilities of the swarm, it is not likely to result in termination of the mission. Indeed, in many cases the affected rover will still be able to play a useful, though limited role.

Robotic swarms permit a variety of new missions, such as simultaneous measurements over wide areas, useful in climate monitoring and seismic sounding, or multiple experiments performed concurrently by different robots. Rovers can also work together to access areas of greater scientific interest, for example cliff faces. James Law cites David Barnes of the University of Wales at Aberystwyth, who is developing a swarm of aerobots – flying robots which could be used for terrain mapping or deploying smaller micro rovers. Another benefit of using small cooperative rovers is that additional robots can be launched and integrated into the swarm to extend a mission, enabling new experiments, or replacement of lost and damaged rovers.

Robots for Titan
In his talk, James Law will present his own vision for a mission to Titan. Though we have to wait for the Huygens probe, due to land on Titan early next year, to discover the true nature of Titan’s surface, it is likely to be mixed. “In this situation, a Master-Slave robot configuration with a variety of transport modes could be favourable,” he suggests. “A ‘Master’ lander supplying power and communications provides an outpost for a number of small ‘Slave’ rovers and balloons. The lander would be equipped with a range of scientific packages, which it could distribute amongst its slave robots depending on the environment around the landing site. These subordinate robots are then able to act either cooperatively – for example, to dig and image a trench in order to investigate its geological layers – or on their own, analysing or collecting samples and returning them to the lander for more in-depth analysis. The rovers would return to the lander to recharge their batteries and change their scientific payloads. Robots capable of operating in a liquid environment could be dispersed on any Titan sea to measure wave motion, perhaps by balloon, then be sacrificed, by ‘drowning’, to measure conditions below the surface.”

Exploring Europa
Among schemes proposed by others that James Law will review is one for the exploration of Europa, devised by Jeff Johnson of the Open University and Rodney Buckland of the University of Kent. It involves Self Organising IMAging Robots, or soimars, small cube-shaped robots each carrying a single-pixel imaging device (such as a photodiode) and weighing as little as 10 grams. Each one is able to communicate with its neighbours and is capable of moving in water, using small propulsion screws. A swarm of these tiny robots could be deployed into a sub surface ocean on Europa to image the environment.

A transport craft containing communications and power facilities would land on Europa’s ice crust and release an ice-penetrating device containing the soimars. This device would bore through the ice and release the soimars into the ocean. The soimars then self-organise into a stack, aligning their imaging devices. By cooperatively swimming, the stack scans an area under the ice. If a single imaging device fails, the faulty soimar is simply released and the swarm reorganises to form an error free array. This also enables more soimars, perhaps from subsequent landers, to join the swarm and improve the image resolution. In this configuration, the soimars are physically attached to one another. An alternative use would be to equip them with touch sensors and have them swim as a dispersed cloud along the ocean floor, mapping its elevation. A simulation has been developed at the Open University to demonstrate the self-organising behaviour of the swarm.

A mechanical workforce for Mars
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has research underway on cooperative robot teams, including robotic work crews for carrying large items, robotic excavation teams, and robots that can rappel one another down steep cliff faces. An objective of this work at JPL is to deploy a robotic workforce on Mars to construct mining and refining facilities, which will provide fuel for future human missions. With proposals to land men on Mars, and eventually more distant locations, these robotic work crews will be indispensable in both investigating the destinations, and creating outposts to support our arrival.

Original Source: RAS News Release