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British X-Prize Test Vehicle Set For Test
London - Nov 21, 2001 Nova, the world's first private, piloted spacecraft designed and built in the UK is being launched for the first time at 10.30am on Thursday 22nd November from Cartmel Wharf, Morecambe Bay, Cumbria. Nova is 'the next big step' of Starchaser Industries development programme to be the first non-governmental, privately funded company to put three people into space and win the coveted 'Xprize' of US $10 million. The 11 metre (37 ft) tall Nova rocket is the third prototype created by visionary British spacecraft manufacturers Starchaser Industries Ltd. Weighing in at 747kg (1643 lb) and capable of 0 - 500 miles/hour in under 6 seconds, Nova is set to be a key contender in the world's ultimate space challenge. Starchaser founder and creator of Nova Steve Bennett says, "our rocket represents British technology and innovation at its very best. We are turning dreams into reality and making the concept of commercial space tourism increasingly feasible". "The space race is back on and we predict that a global space tourism industry worth $10 billion will be the big business of the early 21st century and we want to make sure that its Britain that's leading the way to the stars". This unmanned 'shake down' mission' to at least 6000 feet, will test aerodynamics, telemetry, launch and recovery systems and with an average thrust of over 4 tonnes will be a spectacular achievement. If all goes to plan, Nova will carry Starchaser's first pilot sometime next year. Nova is five times more massive and five times more powerful than Starchaser Industries previous rocket 'Discovery'. Steve Bennett founded Starchaser in 1992 as an experimental rocket test programme. So far he has overseen eleven successful rocket launches. Starchaser Industries became a private limited company in December 1998 - its primary goal is to win the X-Prize by September 2003. The X-Prize was set up in St. Louis, USA, in 1996 to promote the opening of the space frontier to paying consumers and to bring about the existence of space tourism. A cash prize of $10,000,000 is on offer to the first individual or non-governmental organisation to fly three people into space up to 100km and then safely back down twice within two weeks. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Starchaser X-Prize SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express Rocket Science News at Space-Travel.Com
Successful First Test For Vega's Zefiro 9 Engine
Paris, France(ESA) Dec 28, 2005Flames, smoke and a deafening noise accompanied the first firing test of Vega's Zefiro 9 third-stage solid rocket motor. A first examination of the data indicates that everything went well at the test carried out yesterday at Salto de Quirra in southeast Sardinia. |
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