Space technology: Hybrid propulsion enables low-cost space travel

摘要

In October, SpaceShipOne became the first privately funded, manned spacecraft to exceed an altitude of 328,000 ft twice within the span of a 14-day period, thus claiming the $10 million Ansari X-Prize. The spacecraft, which was funded by Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen, designed by aviation legend Burt Rutan, and built by his company Scaled Composites, was launched from its mother aircraft, the White Knight, over the Mojave Desert in California and reached space three times, first on June 21, setting the stage for the X-Prize flights on September 29 and October 4. Founded in 1996, the Ansari X-Prize is modeled after the Orteg Prize that Charles Lindbergh won in 1927 by flying solo across the Atlantic Ocean. The October SpaceShipOne flight also shattered a 1963 record set by Joseph Walker, who flew the X-15 to an unofficial world altitude record of 354,200 ft. Pilot Brian Binnie's SpaceShipOne flight carried him to 367,442 ft or 69.6 mi above the Earth's surface.