DALLAS, Texas – Taking advantage of the theme of the panel he was speaking
on, Jim Benson, CEO of the Benson Space Company, officially announced changes to
the basic design of his company's Dream
Chaser space tourism vehicle Friday.
Benson made
the announcement during the "Entrepreneurial Space: The Future is Now" panel
during the International Space Development Conference (ISDC) being held here
from May 25 to 28.
Benson
Space based the original design for its vehicle on the HL-20, a winged lifting
body originally designed in Russia and reverse-engineered
by NASA. However, following trade studies, the Benson team determined that
Dream Chaser could either provide low-gravity return maneuvers or land at the
original launch site, but not both. Determined to stick with the company's
original operational concept, Benson and his team decided to start with a
"clean sheet" design and put off development of the HL-20-based rocket.
With input
from Benson's Chief Pilot, former astronaut Hoot Gibson, the team decided to
design "something that looks like a bullet." Dream Chaser now resembles an X-15
aircraft with a set of T-38 wings and rows of circular windows ringing the
forward fuselage, like Rutan's SpaceShipTwo. Benson Space still has long-range
plans for orbital and lunar travel, which could include the HL-20- based
vehicle.
Personal
spaceflight has been a lifelong dream for Benson: "I want to go into space.
It's been 52 years. I'm tired of waiting." He believes Benson Space can be
first to market with their new space tourism vehicle, with operations beginning
in 2009. Benson's current task is fundraising, a process he is close to
completing. In response to questions from the ISDC audience, he declined to
comment on where he might base operations, saying that the Dream Chaser could
operate from any spaceport. He also did not specify if he would operate both as
a vehicle manufacturer and space tourism "experience provider." It is possible
that Benson Space could be a one-stop shop. This would be a different business model
from Scaled Composites, which operates more like a traditional airframe maker
and leaves flight operations to Virgin Galactic.
George Nield,
assistant deputy administrator for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Office
of Commercial Space Transportation also spoke on the panel. Nield supported Benson's
assertion that space can be turned into a healthy "ecosphere" for commerce if
more people have access. He reminded the audience that the purpose of his office
is to ensure public safety and provided a friendly economic environment, roles
FAA currently fulfills for commercial aviation.
Scott
Hubbard, former SETI Institute Director and now a visiting scholar at Stanford
University, described a student business case study he established to
investigate the potential for "New Space" entrepreneurial activities. He and
his students looked five to eight years into the future, investigating
entrepreneurial means for increasing space commercialization. The study found
that the big aerospace companies would continue to dominate the near future,
but personal spaceflight businesses could make money through sideline
activities like franchises, merchandising, advertising, logos, and product
endorsements.
NOTE: The
views of this article are the author's and do not reflect the policies of the National
Space Society.
Visit SPACE.com/Ad Astra Online for more
news, views and scientific inquiry from the National Space Society.
Bart
Leahy is a
technical writer at Schafer Corporation in Huntsville, Alabama.
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