A profound revolution in space exploration is brewing. No, governments are not about to become redundant—not least because of the astronomical sums involved. But in the more familiar suborbital and low-Earth orbit regime, private industry is likely to begin to play a key role.

October 4, 1957. launch of the sputnik 1 dramatically heralded the dawn of the space age. Since then, national governments have considered the “final frontier” their own turf. To begin with, the US and the USSR played out their earthly rivalry in the heavens, using space as a means to project the dominance of their respective political and economic systems rather than the triumph of humankind as a whole. Through half a century, this two-horse race became multi-cornered, as the European Union, China, India and Japan joined the fray. But all national space programmes, as well as collaborative efforts, like the International Space Station (ISS), are government controlled. That may soon change. Several pioneering companies are close to introducing a new generation of privately designed and built spacecraft that will routinely give adventurous passengers, also known as space participants, a sip of outer space.

One reason why governments are indispensable in space is the massive sums involved. The development programme of the Ares 1—National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) futuristic launch vehicle—is expected to cost a whopping $35 billion (Rs 1,59,985 crore). Its October 27 inaugural test flight carried a hefty price tag of $445 million (Rs 2,035 crore). Despite the expense, lack of adequate safety and reliability has been a major bugbear of space exploration. Each launch is still a nail-biting affair. That is why there is growing demand from professionals as well as ordinary folk for safe, cost-effective and dependable space missions. And many farsighted business people are already counting down to launch.

Virgin Leads the Pack

Virgin Galactic, backed by the expertise of Scaled Composites’ legendary designer Burt Rutan and the hardnosed business acumen and flamboyance of Virgin Group’s Richard Branson, is likely to be first off the blocks. If Galactic’s plans fructify, commercial suborbital travel could become routine around three years from now. Flights would probably be launched from Spaceport America, New Mexico, USA—the first spaceport designed with the needs of the personal and commercial space industry in mind.

Virgin Galactic’s project involves mother-ship WhiteKnightTwo taking off from a runway, carrying baby space capsule SpaceShipTwo, which would later separate for an independent suborbital flight. On June 21, 2004, SpaceShipTwo’s predecessor, SpaceShipOne, became the first private manned craft to reach space. In 2005, Scaled and Virgin set up a new joint venture, called The Spaceship Company, to expeditiously exploit the wider capabilities of the aircraft/space capsule. However, technological setbacks and difficulties in raising capital on account of the global financial crisis conspired to slow things down considerably. WhiteKnightTwo finally rolled out in July last year and its aerial test programme is proceeding smoothly. SpaceShipTwo was unveiled on December 7 at the Mojave Air and Spaceport in California and christened Virgin SpaceShip Enterprise. It will undergo rigorous testing over the next 18 months till it is certified safe enough to take Branson, his family and Rutan on the first flight. A fleet of two motherships and five spacecraft is planned. Though Virgin Galactic hasn’t committed to a commercial launch date yet—2012 is the earliest—around 300 people are impressed enough to have signed on the dotted line, agreeing to pay $200,000 (Rs 91 lakh) each for a party in space. Around 500 paying participants are expected to be accommodated in the first year of service.

WhiteKnightTwo looks like twin planes flying side-by-side and welded together at the wingtips. At over 40 m across, its wing is the longest single carbon composite aviation component ever manufactured, with enough room to connect SpaceShipTwo directly to it. In fact, most of WhiteKnightTwo’s components have been built using composite materials, representing a giant leap for lightweight material technology. It is powered by four Pratt and Whitney PW308A engines, which are amongst the most powerful, economical and efficient available anywhere. It will be able to mount up to four spaceflights daily, both day and night.

SpaceShipTwo is a pressurised spacecraft with a crew of two and room for six passengers. It has a sleek 18 m long fuselage and upturned gull wings. It will separate from the mother-ship at a height of about 15 km, and blast into space at three to four times the speed of sound. It will then attain a height of 110 km, well beyond the 100 km Kármán line which represents the defined boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space. However, it will not be able to sustain that height and speed for long, remaining purely suborbital. The adventurous passengers will experience about six minutes of weightlessness, and a heavenly view of Earth. SpaceShipTwo will re-enter the atmosphere using sophisticated technology to obtain the best re-entry angle. The mission will end in a smooth and gentle un-powered glide back onto the runway. The total flight duration from take-off to landing will be around two-and-half hours—just right for the eager but inexperienced space participant.

Though space tourism is currently grabbing the headlines, small satellites are likely to be the next big thing. A small satellite launch currently costs $5 million to $10 million (Rs 23 crore to Rs 45 crore). Virgin Galactic’s proposed LauncherOne satellite launch system could slash the cost to a commercially irresistible $1 million to $2 million (Rs 4.5 crore to Rs 9 crore). In this configuration, WhiteKnightTwo will carry aloft not a spaceship but an expendable or even reusable booster for launching satellites, capable of placing a 200 kg payload into low earth orbit. WhiteKnightTwo has the flexibility to launch its precious payload from various locations, putting an end to today’s rigid launch pad requirements. And the duration elapsed, from initial contract to launch, may be slashed to weeks rather than months.

Other companies forging ahead in the space race include XCOR Aerospace, which is making steady progress with its Lynx Rocket Ship. Lynx, the size of a small corporate jet, is expected to fly for the first time next year. This, too, will be a purely suborbital space plane, targeted at tourists. It will carry a pilot and one paying participant. It will climb to around 65 km at a bargain price of $95,000 (Rs 43 lakh). Armadillo Aerospace has made significant progress in engine design as it works toward the development of vertical take-off and landing vehicles. And Blue Origin is developing its New Shepard, also a vertical take-off and landing rocket, intended to routinely launch multiple astronauts at competitive prices. It expects to take its first researcher astronaut into suborbital space in 2012. Once the suborbital market grows and generates sufficient profits, these can be ploughed back into the development of more powerful launch vehicles. Someday, private launchers could conceivably even achieve orbital capability. And a combination of frequent flights and affordable rates will provide scientists and educators a new set of options to investigate space.