In addition to the rockets and non-stop jet planes, a number of products and programs also have been launched at X Prize Cup. Expecting some glare from the national media, a number of space start-ups unveiled new stuff at a series of press events this weekend. A quick scan:
1) Orbital Outfitters, the first new spacesuit company since the launch of Apollo in the 1960s, showed off a prototype for IS3C, its debut offering. Chris Gilman, its designer, wore it around the Holloman Air Force Base on Saturday. Gilman, a wardrobe designer (and winner of an Technical Oscar for climate-control undergarments), built faux spacesuits for Zathura, Space Cowboys, Austin Powers 2 and Deep Impact. Orbital's CEO Jeff Feige, a former lobbyist for New Space companies, wouldn't tell me how much his suits would cost, other than claiming they'd be cheaper than a space tourism ticket (Virgin Galactic's will be $200,000).
Feige did say he planned to bring these spacesuits to market -- R&D and manufacturing combined -- for less than what NASA's spacesuit purveyors now charge for each suit. And they look sharp. According to the Orbital's press release, these suits are made with wealthy space tourists in mind, who "don't just want to know they are safe, but they want to look good as well."
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(photo credit: Chris Jonas)*
2) Rocketplane: this space-travel startup showed artist renderings of its new and changed features in their Rocketplane XP, the suborbital vehicle designed to challenge Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo as the leading space tourism carrier. The new Rocketplanes include more cabin space, updated tails and landing gear, more powerful jet engines (used before the rocket engines kick in) and interior design by Frank Nuovo, the man behind Nokia's phones.
3) Teachers in Space, privatized: When NASA launched its Teacher in Space Program in 1984, it figured it would help boost interest by educators and students in science, technology, engineering and math -- the so-called STEM curricula. The program generated enormous interest, with thousands of teachers applying to be the lucky citizen-astronaut. Then came Challenger, and the death of Christa McAuliffe, in 1986. NASA replaced Teachers in Space with the Educator Astronaut Program, which was more a tool for recruitment.
Now, the Space Frontier Foundation is hoping to revive the Teacher in Space concept, launching a wiki-based competition. Teachers can propose an experiment to be performed on a suborbital flight or a lesson plan inspired by their proposed suborbital flight. Winners will be given suborbital trips on private aircraft. At a press event, Edward Wright, the program manager, used charts and graphs showing how kids today have a better chance of becoming NBA stars than astronauts. "Is it any wonder they show less interested in math and science?"
But kids still like the idea of educators as astronauts. Overheard at the Teachers in Space booth, at the X Prize Cup's exhibit hall: "Can we send our teacher into space and not bring her back?" More on the project, from Alan Boyle's Cosmic Log, here.
