New Player in the Game: European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company- Astrium

Inside of space jet cabin. Source: EADS.net

It seems that Richard Branson and Virgin Galactic are going to have some serious direct competition in the near future. The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company, or EADS for short, has recently announced its plans to enter the suborbital space tourism race [see announcement]. The project leader, Marc Newsome, has said that they would like to begin the project in 2008 and if they are able to do so then a first commercial flight would possibly be available by 2012. Marc Newsome will be in charge of designing the interior cabin which is said to have "highly innovative seats [that will] balance themselves to minimize the effects of acceleration and deceleration, ensuring the greatest passenger comfort and safety." The Australian born designer has been named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. As Creative Director of Qantas Airways, he has also been responsible for the design of their entire fleet including the Airbus A380 and I can say from personal experience that Qantas has, by far, been the best airline with which I have traveled.

Space jet floating in suborbital space. Source: EADS.net

The Flight

The flight will consist of two stages on a space jet comparable to a business jet sized vehicle and will carry four passengers. The space jet will take off from a conventional airport and normal jet engines will carry the craft to an altitude of 12 km when the rocket engines will be ignited. In a mere 80 seconds the rockets will have propelled the space jet all the way up to an altitude of 60 km. The ship will receive enough boost from the rockets to lift it to its peak altitude of 100 km where it will hover weightlessly for 3 minutes and give tourists an incredible view of the Earth. Passengers will get plenty of opportunity to catch a view with the 15 windows, each 30% bigger than a standard jet window. The jet will then make its descent slowly until the jet engines can safely be initiated. The jet will then land at a standard airfield. In total, the entire trip will last between an hour and an hour and a half.

Below is the promotional video of a flight from EADS Astrium:

Financing

Estimated to cost around one billion euros, the project will largely be supported by private capital. Return on investment will from the emerging and very promising suborbital space tourism market. Astrium says that the price per ticket could be anywhere from €150,000 to €200,000. Following five years of operation, EADS Astrium hopes to have claimed 30% of the space tourism market.

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It seems that the private space industry is growing at an ever faster pace. I can only hope that this is just the beginning. My guess is that we will witness several other companies make announcements about entering the great private space race before 2012--especially if Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipOne and Bigewlow Aerospace's space hotels take-off (no pun intended). I do believe we are at the start of an exciting time period here.

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Money Backing the Private Space Industry... Part 1

While conversing with someone the other day I realized how little the common person knows about the private space industry. Sure, people have heard about Dennis Tito and Lance Bass paying an exorbitant amount of money to travel into space or even Virgin Galactic, Richard Branson's suborbital space tourism company. Beyond that, however, not much else is known. So, what kind of funding is behind this industry? Let's take an in-depth look:

Three billionaires alone are placing big bets on the future of space industry including the 6th richest man in the world: Paul Allen. Allen, who, according to Forbes, is worth more than $22 billion and admits to spending "in excess of $20 million" on SpaceShipOne, said he wouldn't be the sole investor in any space venture — although he might be willing to go in with someone else. Richard Branson, another multi-billionaire and founder of Virgin, hasn't specified the amount he is willing to spend but already has contracts in the works for a Virgin labeled SpaceShipTwo. Virgin Galactic plans to fly 500 passengers a year at about $200,000 each, to an altitude of slightly over 100 km.

Jeff Bezos, the 147th most affluent person in the world with a net worth of $4.3 billion and founder of Amazon.com, looks like a very promising backer. So far his company, Blue Origin, has been relatively quiet and has hardly made a rustle in the news but the company looks very serious. Blue Origin seems to be the biggest sleeper in my opinion and Jeff Bezos looks to be perhaps the most exciting prospect for the future of space. A source close to the Blue Origin group has said that the company has an ambitious 20 year plan:

They want to develop near-Earth space, not only from a tourism standpoint They see industry up there: space colonies, hotels, stuff like that. They want everything, not just ballistic trajectories.

Normally, this kind of talk would be considered an afterthought but when you realize the kind of money Bezos has and the kind of funding his money could bring with him things start to get interesting. Beyond the secrecy and the money behind the idea there is an interesting piece of Bezos' past that seems to solidify the seriousness and potential of this company:

In 1982, the high school valedictorian told The Miami Herald that he hoped to one day put space hotels, amusement parks, and yachts in orbit. Bezos biographer Robert Spector thinks his life goal is to "amass enough of a personal fortune to build his own space station." (courtesy wired.com)

Not only has Bezos accumulated a lot of money early (he is only 42), his net worth is still growing— and growing quickly. His net worth has almost tripled since 2003 (was worth $1.7 billion).

Even though Blue Origin is very secretive and has been more of a "think-tank" for most of its history it has produced some tangible progress. The New Shepard spacecraft has already undergone some initial test launches. The craft will eventually provide flights up to an altitude of 100km. To further substantiate Blue Origin's progressive attitude and genuine goals one need only look at their qualifications for employment:

"We are building real hardware, not PowerPoint presentations," said a job notice posted on the Blue Origin Web site in April, 2003. "You must have a genuine passion for space. Without passion, you will find what we're trying to do too difficult.

"There are much easier jobs."

Other than members of the billionaire club there are several other mega-rich people worth mentioning. Come back for part 2 to read more about them and the private space industry as a whole. As always questions and requests are invited. Be looking for part 2 soon!

Related Articles:

• Money Backing the Private Space Industry.. Part 3--Robert Bigelow
  
• The Manifest Destiny: Mark II (Essay on our destiny as humans to colonize space)
• Money Backing the Private Space Industry.. Part 2
• About This Blog--My Purpose