Ten, nine, eight… Space!

Aerospace pioneer Burt Rutan built this SpaceShipOne spacecraft and the entire project is funded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. The cost of the project is an estimated $US20 million. In 1986 Rutan developed Voyager, the aircraft that became the first to go around the world without refueling. SpaceShipOne missions are keyed to winning the Ansari X Prize, a $10 million purse offered by the X Prize Foundation of St Louis, Missouri. The prize money is to be awarded to the first organisation to launch a vehicle capable of carrying three people to a height of 62.5 miles (100 kilometers), then return to Earth, and repeat the flight in the same vehicle within two weeks. As per NASA standards, any individual touching 50 miles (270,000 feet approximately) in altitude is eligible to become an astronaut.

SpaceShipOne flights have proved that you don’t have to be in NASA or a government organisation to reach outer space. The proposed investments by flamboyant players like Branson indicate that space tourism could be a reality soon.

Developments in space technologies have mostly been military-centric. Man reached the moon because of his quest for ballistic missile technology and the geopolitical requirement of starting the space race. The concept of hiring private security organisations for military purposes was unheard of till the Iraq war. In years to come, countries may even opt for ‘‘space agents’’ from private commercial organisations to create hindrance to the enemy countries’ satellite constellations. This could be the ultimate outsourcing of security.