Future space passengers
are getting a leg up on appreciating the physiological rigors of suborbital
spaceflight they plan to take in the future, but without leaving the Earth.
Using state-of-the-art equipment, the National Aerospace Training and Research Center (NASTAR Center) in Southampton, Pa., is helping to train both the pilots and
prospective passengers of commercial spaceliners.
The NASTAR Center is a wholly owned subsidiary of Environmental Tectonics Corp. and houses an array of
training devices, including a specialized high-performance human centrifuge.
Known as the Space Training System-400, the centrifuge mimics the flight
dynamics and sustained Gs of a rocket-powered flight to the edge of space,
while providing a realistic view from the simulated cockpit windows. Along with
G-force exposure, center facilities make available to patrons altitude
exposure, spatial disorientation and other physiological effects they will
encounter as they enter the space environment.
Major changes in
technology — not only in computing power but also in visual display systems —
have transformed the training simulator experience over the years, said Glenn
King, the NASTAR Center's chief operating officer and a chief instructor at the
facility.
"Those old trainers
of the past were just a little box that spun about, pulled by bellows and
cables," King said. Today, electrical and computer power, along with high
motion control algorithms can position training hardware quickly and very
dynamically, giving pilots very accurate feelings of flight, he told Space News
in a Feb. 18 interview.
Along with handling space
travel training, King said the center supports a variety of military and civil
aviation needs, making use of highly modular equipment and programs. "We've
invested anywhere between $25 million to $40 million in this facility and are
privately funded. We receive no funds from the U.S. government or outside
sources. We've funded it ourselves," he said.
Serious people,
serious money
The emerging commercial
space travel business is a real market to service, King noted. "There are
serious people out there with serious money. This is going to happen," he
said, pointing particularly to the ongoing work at Scaled Composites in Mojave,
Calif., and that firm's building of the passenger-carrying SpaceShipTwo
suborbital system.
Training at the NASTAR Center is an integral part of Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic company, which was
bankrolled by the U.K. billionaire to create the world's first commercial
spaceline based on SpaceShipTwo and its WhiteKnightTwo carrier/drop plane.
Seats are selling for $200,000 each.
Dozens of Virgin Galactic
spaceflight customers — known as "founders" — have trained at the NASTAR Center for their SpaceShipTwo suborbital encounters.
"We began our NASTAR
program last year to help test our hypothesis that at least 80 percent of
adults were capable of flying to space from a medical and psychological point
of view," said Will Whitehorn, president of Virgin Galactic in a Feb. 14
e-mail response to a Space News inquiry.
Whitehorn said that
during the fall of 2007 more than 80 paid-up founder astronauts, including
himself and Sir Richard
Branson, made simulated SpaceShipTwo flights, with a visual simulation of
going to space as part of the NASTAR experience. That flight profile involved a
span ranging from 3.5 Gs, that pushes a person's back against their seat, to 6
Gs, that drives an individual down into their seat.
"We discovered that
over 94 percent of adults are capable of coping with this level of G force
including individuals with a medical condition, provided these were properly
understood and accounted for," Whitehorn said.
Whitehorn declined to
discuss the pricing for the training, but in a Feb. 21 e-mail he said: "There
is a product being developed now to give the undecided potential customers the
chance to have a centrifuge experience and we will be announcing the price
shortly."
Physical and mental
demands
Earlier this year,
Whitehorn said the SpaceShipTwo training at the NASTAR Center was extended to
accredited sales agents, the international sales force that is selling seats
for Virgin Galactic.
"By giving people
that sell seats a direct experience of what the flight will feel like, we have
given them the confidence to help potential astronauts understand the
experience," Whitehorn said.
The more prepared a person
is for the physical and mental demands of a flight, the better, agreed Jane
Reifert, president of Incredible Adventures Inc., based in Sarasota, Fla. Her
group offers a range of adventure tour packages, including space training and
travel experiences.
"Customers need
prior experience of high-g and zero-g in order to be capable of fully relaxing
and enjoying their space flight," Reifert said. "You don't want
someone who's spent $200,000 or more for a suborbital flight to be too nervous
or nauseous to enjoy the view. You also don't want to be the passenger sitting
next to someone who becomes violently ill or suffers a panic attack at 300,000
feet (91,000 meters)," she told Space News via a Feb. 20 e-mail.
Self-regulating
industry
NASTAR's King took note
of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) role in developing guidelines for
commercial space crew and passenger training. "They are taking a hands-off
approach at this point in time. I understand their position and their oversight
to give the commercial space traveler a safe environment. If you start putting
regulations out, it would stifle the industry at this point. It's just too
early."
Keeping that hands-off
approach for a few more years is King's advice. "Let the dust settle
and we'll figure out what we're doing. Let the industry self-regulate right
now. So far that's the FAA approach. They've put out guidelines ... but haven't
mandated them to actual regulations. Let's not put out regulations before we
see the data," he said.
For one, there are
several variations of suborbital spaceships now being designed, King added. "Each
one will have its own set of criteria for crew training and passenger training.
It's going to be very difficult for the FAA to set up a generic mandate for all
the different carriers to comply with," he explained.
Last month, the center
began offering two-hour, half-day, full-day and two-day-combo programs that
simulate space voyages, as well as jet flights. Dubbed the Air and Space
Adventure Programs, the cost per participant is anywhere from $3,000 to $5,000,
King said, for one-day and two-day programs. "People can come in and get a
taste of space."
What if a person finds
out they are not space travel worthy? King said the center can work with that
individual to learn countermeasures such as anti-G training maneuvers or
breathing techniques. "All those things that we've taught fighter pilots
for years ... we transfer that directly to the space travelers."
Akin to the evolution of
aviation, King senses that commercial space travel will become a very routine
enterprise. "There will be some hiccups and bumps along the road. But
eventually, it will settle down into a regular commercial endeavor," he
concluded.
For more
information on the National Aerospace Training & Research Center (NASTAR Center), go to: http://www.nastarcenter.com.
