SpaceShipOne Wins the X Prize

Chris Kraft’s book Flight: My Life in Mission Control discusses the history of the space program, more specifically, the path that led to the first United States manned spaceflight. Every manned space flight made by Americans has been funded by the United States government—until now. This past October, a privately funded spacecraft, SpaceShipOne, became the first of its kind to launch a man into space. In fact, by performing the feat twice in a two week period, it won the $10 million Ansari X Prize. The X Prize, which twenty-four teams had been competing for, was founded by Peter Diamandis as an effort to fuel competition for space liners. The prize had been set to expire at the end of the year before being won earlier this year.

SpaceShipOne was designed by Burt Rutan, whose tiny company is known for their build-your-own-airplane kits. SpaceShipOne is the size of a small biplane, and its fuel consists of laughing gas and rubber. In order to make it to space, the ship is tethered to a larger plane called the White Knight and towed 48,000 feet into the air before it is released and flown on its own. The ship then travels at 2,200 miles per hour and reaches a maximum height of 70 miles. When gravity goes into effect, SpaceShipOne’s wings rotate upward, creating a feathering effect so that it floats gently back to Earth. The funding of the ship was provided by Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft and fifth richest man in the world. The ship is so innovative that it was even named Time Magazine’s Coolest Invention of 2004.

Rutan and Allen have even made plans with Virgin’s Richard Branson to have sub-orbital and orbital spaceflight available to the public. If the five larger versions of SpaceShipOne that Branson ordered are done on time, then Virgin Galactic should be running by 2007. However, before space tourism can begin, the company must work on making the trips safer. Thus far, 4% of the humans who have gone to space have died there, and that is too high of a number for commercial travel. Despite the risks, there are already 7,000 people on the waiting list for a $190,000 ticket for a suborbital flight.

When NASA was formed in 1958, Chris Kraft could have never fathomed the possibility of everyone experiencing zero-gravity one day. Now that that prospect seems possible, it makes me wonder if this concept will become widely accepted by society. There is an obvious interest, based on the 7,000 person strong waiting list, but 7,000 people represent only a tiny fraction of the total population of the United States. Most people do not have $190,000 lying around, and I am sure that even if money was not an issue, safety would be. I think that the program will have a number of skeptics because of the relative danger that is involved in space flight. Furthermore, many other people probably think that commercial space travel is a pointless waste of money. However, because the program is privately funded, the general public has no say on whether the program will proceed or succeed.

I personally think that commercial space travel is a worthwhile venture. If I had an extra $190,000, I might even consider taking a trip. I mean, why shouldn’t technology be pushed to the limits? Safe and relatively inexpensive space travel could allow much more zero-gravity experimentation for scientists and could provide the opportunity of a lifetime for the average (rich) person.

Hybrid Vehicles

After writing a research paper about hybrid vehicles, I have decided that I would like to own one someday. Maybe after I get out of college I will be able to buy one, but I know that if I spend the money on a new car, I would definitely want to get a hybrid. They may cost more than their non-hybrid counterparts, but I’m sure that in the next few years the price gap will begin to shrink. Also, the increased gas mileage of a hybrid will save me money at the pump. Even if that is still not enough to make up for the difference in price, knowing that I am doing something good for the environment is also something to take into consideration. I hope that hybrid vehicles become more popular over the next few years and that more and more people will consider buying them.

If you want to learn all about hybrid vehicles, click here.

The Importance of History 122

When I first came to Clemson I knew that I wanted to major in engineering, but I had no idea what kind. In addition to hearing from all of the engineering departments and going on several tours, this class also helped me to make my decision as to what kind of engineer to be. I have finally decided that I want to be an industrial engineer.

During the Technology and Work lecture on October 8th, we discussed Frank and Lillian Gilbreth, parents of twelve children. Frank Gilbreth worked in factories to improve efficiency and eliminate wasted motion. Lillian Gilbreth created an efficient system at home in order to care for her twelve children. I find the story of these two pioneers of industrial engineering extremely fascinating, and they are just one more reason for me to become an industrial engineer. I guess it might also be a family thing because my dad graduated from the engineering college at his school with a degree in industrial management although I never really thought about that until after I had already made my decision.

In addition to helping me discover what kind of engineering I wished to pursue, this class has also made me think more about the responsibilities of engineers. I had never really considered the fact that engineers must be so sensitive to the reactions of society. I am glad that I have had the opportunity to learn about this topic, a topic that is hardly covered in the CES 102 course.

Also, under the new industrial engineering curriculum, this course is a requirement. I think that that is a good idea because all engineers, especially industrial engineers, could benefit from knowing the history of their profession. This is especially helpful to industrial engineers because the job of industrial engineers is to change things so that they work more efficiently. If they did not know what had succeeded in the past, then they would not know if something would work in the future. Since industrial engineering tends to work more with people than other kinds of engineering, learning about the affects that technology has on society is extremely helpful.

Furthermore, with the evolution of computers, engineering has changed a great deal over the past fifty years and will continue to change well into the future. Industrial engineers must be able to adapt to these changes and make the other engineering disciplines more efficient. I look forward to someday being a part of this profession, and I look forward to continuing to learn about it in my next few years at Clemson.