XCOR LYNX : $95,000 per Suborbital Flight

RocketShip Tours and XCOR Aerospace have made a competitive offer to give you a ride into sub-orbital space (62 miles) for a period of several minutes as the full 30 minute trip takes off from the Virgin Galactic Spaceport or another runway system in Mojave, California, like a normal plane would, and lands the same way. The design of the XCOR Lynx implies this maneuvering capabililty with the descent-tuned shape of the nose. For a $95,000 per flight cost, the team will bring down the cost of luxury/adventure travel for their system, offering competition from mainly Virgin Galactic and the Spaceship Two concept (double craft - mothership and progenic craft with single rocket motor) with their price tag of $200,000 per ticket for a similar experience - however, Richard Branson must be noted as pioneering this vision into a reality as he has already accepted many pre-paid in full tickets to those of the world with the will, the wallet and the way in front of them to travel inside of new technology to bring new senses to the brain experience.

We at the USRC are proud to announce that during the production of the XCOR Lynx the team was listening to a special album dedicated to space travel and the alliances necessary to do it successfully. This album is from The Crypticon and titled : The Space Lounge Syndicate "Live from the Omega Station 2017" and is a concept about a complete mission from Earth to a hotel-like space station where the music is coming from the lounge on board... Space Lounge Music.
http://cd.baby.com/cd/slsyndicate
As the owner of The Crypticon, this blog is a part of connecting to the space world and through sound & reason at least 10 copies of this album were sold to the HQ of XCOR.
We would like to thank the CEO, Mr. Jeff Greason for commanding his team towards success and completing milestones on the long journey to safe certification and passenger trust, which is the most important element of running a private space firm. He is pictured below with retired U.S. Airforce Col. Rick Searfoss.
Thank you XCOR for your support and we hope that the Omega Station reality can one day come to fruition with an XCOR docking bay ready to go. This is the USRC way - Allegiance Through All.
The other part of the alliance involves a travel entrepreneur who introduced hundreds of thousands of Americans to European travel in the 1960's. Jules Klar, founder of Phoenix, AZ-based RocketShip Tours, has announced that his company will immediately begin selling these rides to the edge of space for $95,000 per flight aboard the XCOR Lynx.
"Years ago, my dream was to introduce the world to new travel opportunities at prices that were consistent with a unique experience," said Klar. "In 1961 I created $5-A-Day Tours in partnership with Arthur Frommer that enabled thousands of Americans to see Europe at affordable prices." After moving to Arizona, Klar created Great American Travel, a high-end boutique operation specializing in luxury cruises and tours. "We've helped thousands of sophisticated adventurous travelers visit exotic destinations all over the world including Antarctica, where they developed a deeper appreciation for its beautiful, pristine and fragile environment. Today, I am very proud to announce this partnership with XCOR Aerospace to offer participants an out of this world experience - a front row seat to the edge of Space."
"The natural evolution of human exploration knows no bounds. RocketShip Tours and XCOR have come together to usher in the private sector's role in space exploration. There is no doubt that a new era of pioneering space enthusiasts is emerging. In fact, prior to signing this agreement with RocketShip Tours, XCOR had already taken paid reservations for approximately 20 flights," said Klar.
XCOR Chief Test Pilot and three-time Space Shuttle Pilot and Commander, Rick Searfoss said the Lynx will carry people or payloads to the edges of space up to four times a day. Seated next to him in the co-pilot seat, participants will undoubtedly experience the thrill of a lifetime. The awe- inspiring view of the curvature of Earth, the thin blue mantle of the atmosphere below, and inky blackness of space above will provide participants with unforgettable memories beyond description.
XCOR officials discussed the technology used on the two-seat, fully reusable launch vehicle that takes off like an airplane, and lands the same way, while Chris Gilman of Orbital Outfitters, a NASA spacesuit contractor, demonstrated the spacesuit technology that will be worn by those flying in the Lynx. Gilman, winner of an Academy Award for special effects, said the suit is both lighter and safer than older NASA spacesuits.
Klar said he was inspired by the revolutionary Lynx suborbital vehicle because it offers participants a unique and intimately personal experience. "You're sitting in a cockpit in the co-pilot's seat beside your astronaut pilot, with a panoramic view of the stars above and Earth below. It is the ride of your life!"
"I am going to fly aboard the Lynx because I want to experience space from a front row seat," said Danish investment banker Per Wimmer, who will take the first commercial flight aboard the Lynx. Wimmer, based in London, has already earned a reputation as a pioneering adventurer. He recently made the first tandem skydive over Mt. Everest, and maintains a website, www.wimmerspace.com. Wimmer, who uses his adventures to promote various charities, says, "My goal is to place the Dannebrog, the Danish flag, on the Moon one day. Flying to the edge of space aboard the Lynx will make me the first Dane to experience suborbital space flight and takes me one step closer to my ultimate goal."

Klar said his company is enlisting innovative and progressive travel professionals to sell seats on the Lynx. "Those who are interested in a suborbital space flight can visit our website, www.rocketshiptours.com, and choose a Space Tourism Specialist who is trained and certified by RocketShip Tours."
The total cost of the Lynx flight experience is $95,000. A deposit of $20,000 begins the process of assigning the participant to the qualification program. Klar said one does not have to be an athlete to fly aboard the Lynx, but the procedure will include a medical questionnaire and a screening performed by qualified aeronautic physicians. Instruction regarding life support systems, flight physiology, and other aspects of the Lynx suborbital flight will also be provided. "We want to ensure the experience is as safe as possible and that people are adequately trained and prepared."

"Since this is a suborbital launch, training will require familiarization with the spacesuit and what will be experienced while sitting in the cockpit." Klar said. "We will provide deluxe accommodations for all those who share in 'The Right Stuff' experience we offer and become part of this historic stage in the evolution of human space flight."
"After the flight is concluded, participants will receive an HD DVD recording of their flight experience as well as other mementos," Klar said.
XCOR COO Andrew Nelson noted that RocketShip Tours' announcement marks an important milestone in space exploration efforts. "American entrepreneurs are succeeding - we are bringing down the cost of space flight and making it affordable," said Nelson. "What is most astonishing is that competition has already reduced prices before a single vehicle has flown. What a fabulous holiday gift this is going to make for many people who thought they had everything.""I've had a long career in travel, and I have found that we are not offering a destination, so much as we are offering an experience that appeals to the pioneering spirit inside all of us," said Klar. "This type of adventure is truly transcendent because it widens our horizons, and teaches us not only about the world we live in, but something about ourselves as well. I believe that the view from space aboard the Lynx will undoubtedly be positively life-changing in ways we can only dream of."

RocketShip Tours, Inc. is the General Sales Agent for XCOR Aerospace and exclusive global provider of participant services for the Lynx suborbital vehicle. Located in Phoenix, Arizona, RocketShip Tours was founded by Jules H. Klar, an innovative travel entrepreneur.
XCOR Aerospace is a California corporation located in Mojave, California. The company is in the business of developing and producing safe, reliable and reusable rocket-powered vehicles and propulsion systems that enable affordable access to space.

Some original source material/all photos: XCOR Aerospace

New NASA CHARIOT ROVER Concept

Welcome to future of space-trucking... The Chariot. A multi-independent wheel system with standing platform and a larger size to accomodate additional passengers or instrument bays.

The Chariot is a working prototype of what may very well be the future of NASA lunar rovers. It has six double wheels, each with independent steering, and the pedestal the driver stands on can rotate a full 360°. That way the pilot can navigate the Chariot in any direction, and in a sense the vehicle really has no front or rear.

The improved rover is part of NASA's efforts to bolster its space assets as the organization plans to have an outpost on the Moon by 2020.
With it's open design - this new platform type of chassis will allow unobstructed egress from the vehicle during missions.
The design would potentially allow for differnet pods to be loaded on to it for specific missions like rock collecting or specialized machinery placement and use.

The Chariot is a concept truck with no doors, no windows and no seats, and each of its six wheels has independent steering. As an added bonus, it comes in gold. "This rover concept changed the whole paradigm," said Diane Hope, a program element manager at NASA's Exploration Technology Development Program. "It's not something I would have expected."


The pilot's perch, containing both the driver and the steering wheel, can rotate a full 360 degrees, making the Chariot a car with no permanent front or rear. "The Apollo astronauts couldn't back up at all because they couldn't see where they were going in reverse," said Johnson Space Center roboticist Rob Ambrose.

We at the USRC say "Great! But where will my logo go?" - They should make an advertising billboard fin, call it a solar generator and get over that part already.
The Moon - brought to you by NASA, JPL, Virgin Galactic, SpaceX and The Crypticon. Because the logo says so.

INDIA TO THE MOON!

Congratulations to the entire country of India and all your people in the world that bear allegiance to you - for you are now the 6th country ever to make a mission to the moon. To date, only the U.S. Russia, the European Space Agency, Japan and China have sent missions to the moon. Chandrayaan-1 culminates in years of your scientific endeavours and preliminary test to finally - and successfully - land a usable machine on the moon.

Chandrayaan means "moon craft" in ancient Sanskrit.


The two-year mission seeks high-resolution imaging of the moon's surface, especially the permanently shadowed polar regions, according to the Indian Space Research Organization. It will also search for evidence of water or ice and attempt to identify the chemical breakdown of certain lunar rocks, the group said.
The Chandrayaan-1 is carrying payloads from the United States, European Union countries Germany, Britain, Sweden and Bulgaria, and India plans to share the data from the mission with other programs, including NASA.

Most recently India's fellow Asian nations, China and Japan, put lunar orbiters in place. Japan launched the Kaguya orbiter in October 2007, followed by China's launch of the Chang'e mission a few weeks later.

BANGALORE: “Just as we had promised, we have given India the moon,” said G. Madhavan Nair, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation, after the Moon Impact Probe (MIP) onboard Chandrayaan-1 successfully ejected and landed on the lunar surface on Friday night. With the tricolour painted on its sides the probe marked India’s presence on the moon and put India in the elite club.

Surrounded by scores of space scientists and with the former President and pre-eminent scientist A.P.J. Abdul Kalam by his side, a visibly jubilant Mr. Nair told presspersons gathered at the ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC): “It was during Jawaharlal Nehru’s time that the nucleus for a space programme started. It is befitting that on children’s day, celebrated in his honour, that India should plant its flag on the lunar surface,” he said.

The MIP, one of Chandrayaan’s most important scientific payloads, and one of undeniable geopolitical importance, had piggy-backed on the lunar craft for nearly 400,000 km, detaching itself successfully from the mother-craft at 8.06 p.m. India has now become the fourth country to have its national flag on the moon.

After a 25-minute flight MIP impacted the moon’s surface at a speed of 1.6 km per second, landing on its target near the Shackleton crater on the south pole of the moon.

This is a picture of the indian launch vehicle history:

ASE : Association of Space Explorers

We here at the USRC are proud to announce an official alliance with the ASE (Associaction of Space Explorers).

ASTEROIDS - COMETS - METEORS - BEWARE!

The watchful eye into the night sky is expanding as the reality behind earth-bound spaceform debris makes literal light in the sky.
Maybe you recently saw the footage of the Canadian meteor event this past October 2008 where for a brief moment the entire area was lit like daylight. Well relativity is the hindsight we are using now to protect Earth from disasters.

Between 500 and 1,000 massive asteroids cross the Earth's path regularly and any one of them could cause a global catastrophe with space experts urging quick preventive measures.
Some 6,000 cosmic objects circulating around the planet are currently known to experts in the field, the ASE told a press conference at the UN headquarters in Vienna, where it presented its report "Asteroid Threats: A Call for Global Response."

And of these, up to 1,000 had a diameter of 93 miles or more, meaning they could cause major damage to the Earth's surface, prompting fires, tsunamis and ensuing disasters like famine, disease, radiation poisoning, increased violence and a state of survival that may induce an increased level of violence and social unrest.
This could be a path to an apocalyptic future - waters may rise and decimate coastline cities.

These are just a few of the reasons the ASE has been created and currently the organization includes some 320 members from 34 countries, all of whom have already been in space.

A research, information-sharing and defence network was thus urgently needed to coordinate a global response to the problem, under the leadership of the UN, it said.
Although it should be possible to predict a collision up to 15 years before it occurs, the technology needed to divert an incoming asteroid has yet to be developed and this will require international cooperation, they said.
The UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space is due to examine the report.

We at the USRC say it is time to create a vast array of outer limit satellites that use radar imaging to ping all objects in the known sub-verse surrounding our solar system.
This could also be used to monitor incoming actual spacecraft from other civilizations as well as monitor flying man-made space debris and potential space anomalies like random generational wormholes and omni-holes.