Rutan Rocks!
This post was slightly delayed due to work on the new site layout and other ongoing projects. The events mentioned in this post took place on April 18. - ZH
Burt Rutan has just moved up several notches in my book - which is saying a lot, considering his prior status. Apparently he got bored with building airplanes that travel around the world without refueling, and wanted something a little more interesti ng. That’s why this past Friday, he unveiled his newest engineering project.
A spaceship.
Yes, you read that correctly. Burt Rutan has gotten into the race for the X-Prize. And he did it in style - he rolled out operating hardware. The project, SpaceShipOne, has two components - an aircraft (the White Knight) designed to carry the space capsule (SpaceShipOne) to a high altitude for launch, and SpaceShipOne itself. In true Rutan fashion, neither one looks like anything you have seen before. SpaceShipOne is straight out of Amazing Stories, and the White Knight looks like a hybrid of a P-38, a Learjet, and a sailplane. Also, in true Rutan fashion, the system is stunningly elegant. The White Knight, which has been operating since August of 2002, has all of the same avionics and the same cockpit design as SpaceShipOne. In fact, it even has the same landing profile. Rutan wasn’t just content with building a carrier aircraft, he built a flying simulator of a spaceship at the same time.
As icing on the cake, Rutan provided some Rumsfeldian quotes about the entire project. (Editor’s note: If no one has coined “Rumsfeldian” yet, I’m taking it. Definition: A statement that is direct to the point of being tactless, but also right on the money.) He has said that he is “tired” of waiting for others to provide affordable human space access. As if that wasn’t enough for NASA, he also provided this lovely gem: “We seem to be making acronyms for engineer welfare instead of having the courage to fly something.” Ouch. Now let’s see if Rutan has the techno logy to back that up. Rutan has done some impressive work before, but this will mark a new feat if he pulls it off.
I would like to do a manned spaceflight before the Wright Brother’s anniversary. – Burt Rutan in