IF YOU have an itch to fly into space and half a million dollars to spare,
you may soon be able to nip down to the store and buy a spaceship in kit form.
Once assembled, the craft, called the Kitten, will take you and two friends 200
kilometres up at a top speed of Mach 4. It鈥檚 not quite Earth orbit, but who鈥檚
counting?
鈥淚t should be as reliable as any other kit鈥攁 boat, a helicopter or a
small private sub,鈥� says James Hill, president of Cerulean Freight Forwarding
Company, based in Oroville, Washington, which plans to sell the kits.
Cerulean is the latest of 19 entrants into the X Prize competition, a contest
which will award $10 million to the first private group to launch a
reusable vehicle into space, defined as 100 kilometres up. In marketing the
Kitten as a kit that enthusiasts can buy, Cerulean is going one better than its
competition.
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The idea may not be as far-fetched as it seems. Amateurs already build and
fly kits for all kinds of aircraft, including helicopters and jet planes. The
Kitten will be built from many off-the-shelf components that already have safety
accreditation from the Federal Aviation Authority. This makes it easier to make
sure the craft is safe, says Hill.
The ship will use engines made from ceramic materials and burn a mixture of
methane and liquid oxygen, generating a maximum 3g of thrust. This
should propel the craft through a sub-orbital hop, after which it will glide
back to Earth like NASA鈥檚 X-24 lifting body.
To save weight, compressed nitrogen will both cool the engines and power
hydraulic systems, while a laptop computer with special software will help the
pilot fly the craft. Because the Kitten won鈥檛 reach orbit, it won鈥檛 need a heavy
heat shield for re-entry.
Hill says universities might buy the kit to run zero-gravity experiments or
other space research. The first Kitten could even be ready in three years, if
additional investors step forward.
鈥淎n amateur-built spaceship would probably face tough scrutiny from
regulators,鈥� cautions Dick Knapinksi, a spokesman for the Experimental Aircraft
Association, an enthusiasts鈥� group based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. 鈥淎t the very
least, the US would have to waive the 18-kilometre ceiling that limits private
pilots now, he says.
