Commercial space travel will bring the average citizen closer to the stars soon, writes Stuart Danker
EVER thought of taking a break from the city, and leaving for somewhere remote to get away from the daily grind?
Very soon, the term “silent retreat” may well take on a whole new meaning, because in space, there is no sound.
Swiss watch brand Luminox held an event recently to launch a range of watches made for outer space. It also unveiled a giant model of the XCOR Lynx Mark II, a rocket-powered two-seat airplane that can accommodate a pilot and a passenger on a suborbital flight 103km above sea level.
The plane was developed by Xcor Space Expeditions, a US-based private company which Luminox partnered. Xcor Space Expeditions is dedicated to developing, testing and piloting rocket-powered airplanes capable of launching sub-orbital space flights across the boundary of space to over 100km above sea level.
Already having established its watches for land, water, and air, Luminox looks to timekeeping in the element of the unknown. There is nothing more apt than combining time and space as manipulation of the former has always involved space, be it in Einstein’s theory of relativity or in science fiction literature.
Time and space aside, the actual craft that will take you there is a marvel itself. The Lynx Mark II is both a glider and a jet, which means that, unlike one-off space travelling that conventional astronauts do, it will return safely to land and can be reused for 5,000 more trips.
Made out of lightweight and durable material, what’s more interesting about the Lynx Mark II is how it will handle re-entry temperatures multiple times and still be travel-worthy. Measuring six metres in length and five metres tall, it can launch and land in most airports, making the actual experience of flying off into space feel like just any other flight.
As the aircraft will be gliding most of the time, one of its test pilots, Harry Van Hulten, was quoted in Luminox Times as saying that he has to handle it differently, especially during landing, because it’s not as simple as firing the rockets for another round of approach if you miss the first time. While it sounds dangerous, Van Hulten says that it’s perfectly doable, especially with his years of experience training in different planes.
TRAINING REQUIRED
“We will be going up at Mach 2.9 and we will be re-entering the atmosphere at 4Gs for 30 seconds. It’s not that bad, as we sometimes hit 9Gs when training in the F-16s, but because it can be tiring for people who aren’t used to it, the average person will need to train for it,” said Van Hulten.
The tensing of abdominal muscles is important to prevent passengers from losing consciousness due to G-force (G-Loc), a standard procedure for pilots. But passengers will need to know how to use the technique to force blood flow to their brain, or risk not being conscious enough to enjoy the journey.
Indeed, passengers expecting to travel into space will have to go through the relevant preparations, including motion simulators to subject them to strong G-forces, flying tandem in a performance aircraft to get a feel for high-speed flight and parabolic training to acclimatise themselves to zero-G environments.
Van Hulten says that besides being able to handle the journey, passengers should be concise in their communication with the pilot, as there will only be two of them in the shuttle. They will also be hooked up via a transmitter in their spacesuit, which is a new experience in itself.
“When I ask if you’re allright, I’ll need you to answer yes or no, and not ‘Well, you know, I’m okay, but I’m kind of,” he explains.
FLYING AMONG THE STARS
The journey itself is an hour long. The shuttle takes three minutes to reach space at 103km above sea level. Then the pilot cuts the engine and takes the aircraft coasting through space. After leaving the fringes of the atmosphere and experiencing weightlessness for around six minutes, re-entry with forces up to 4Gs will commence, with 40 minutes of gliding back to the runway following soon after.
As much as this programme will make space-travel more accessible to the common man, the price tag remains quite exorbitant for the masses. At US$100,000 (RM324,200) per trip, it could mean, for the average Joe, the price of a home. According to Luminox though, it will be cheaper to operate in the long term.
At the end of the journey, passengers will join the ranks of some 500 certified astronauts and may have their perspective on life changed forever.
As Van Hulten points out: “Up there, it becomes so clear how vulnerable and precious Earth is. We will be able to look past all our small problems and get to the big stuff like preservation and sustainability.”
Someday perhaps, we will need to venture into the unknown to perpetuate the human race or to look for resources. And with commercial space-travel set to take off within the next year, this may very well be the beginnings of our explorations in the final frontier.
Special training
THERE are four special training programmes a passenger has to go through before flying off into space.
The Desdemona: An advanced motion simulator designed to train astronauts, complete with a video console, along with G-force and zero-G simulators.
L39 Albatros: A tandem seat airplane meant to prepare passengers for the high speeds they will be facing aboard the Lynx Mark II.
G-centrifuge training mission: This is where passengers learn to deal with G-forces and practise techniques needed to keep the blood pumping through their brains.
Zero-G flight: Also known as parabolic flight, passengers will be subjected to 20 seconds of weightlessness for a total of 20-30 cycles. It is designed to get them familiar with performing tasks in weightless conditions.