Space age: Final frontier

These are no ordinary tourists. Sam Mirsepanj and Mehdi Amjad from Dubai will be among the first hundred space tourists in history when they board Virgin Galactic’s flight.

Sam Mirsepanj isn’t quite sure what to expect when he is blasted into space faster than a speeding bullet aboard the pioneer commercial flight SpaceShipTwo(SS2).

Dubai’s Mirsepanj, 39, will accelerate to 3,218 km/h – nearly four times the speed of sound – into outer space, drift weightlessly for five minutes before an entirely safe but nail-biting entry back to earth.

"From the time that we disconnect from the mother ship, it will be something you can’t explain," said Mirsepanj, who is the 65th ticket-holder in a list of 100 adventure seekers who each paid $200,000 (Dh734,620) to become the first space tourists in history.

SPACE FORUM

At a space forum in Abu Dhabi this week, Stephen Attenborough, Commercial Director, Virgin Galactic, said space tourists such as Mirsepanj will rocket to 3,218 km/h "in half a minute. That’s faster than a speeding bullet. And it’s a vertical climb".

Attenborough explained that the mother ship, WhiteKnight2, will carry SS2 with its payload of six passengers to an altitude of 50,000 feet at the outer edge of space, where it will detach from the mother ship and then ignite for its vertical screaming climb into the heavens.

"You need to get to 100 kilometres to get your astronaut wings," Attenborough said.

Unlike traditional space vehicles of the past 40 years, which had strap-in seating and tiny windows, Virgin’s SS2 cabin is spacious and has large viewing panels giving tourists an unparalleled view of space.

"You’ve got to let people get out [of their seats] and explore," he said. "The views are 1,000 kilometres in any direction."

FIRST FLIGHTS

The first space flights are tentatively slated to take off by late 2009 or 2010.

Virgin passengers should be more at ease during the trip after a minimum few days of training and familiarisation with a host vehicle.

"When it’s time for SS2 to return to earth, the ship will fall out of orbit using its wings for resistance which will then automatically reconfigure into a glider position for a safe and peaceful return to terra firma," said Attenborough.

While the initial missions will originate from the US, future forays will be conducted from ground locations in northern Europe as well as the UAE.

President, CEO and Co-Founder of Dorchester Investment Group in Dubai, Iranian expatriate Mirsepanj’s dream of space travel was rekindled in 2006 when Iranian Anousheh Ansari became the first female private space explorer – her family put up the sponsorship funds for the Ansari X Prize, a prize to encourage commercial space travel.

One thing Mirsepanj has already planned is to break out his family camera to snap "a fun picture of earth from space". "I’m just counting the days until that time," he said.

Mehdi Amjad, owner and Executive Chairman of Omniyat Properties in Dubai, is another Dubai lad who is also among the first 100 booked to ride the speeding space bullet with Virgin Galactic.

One of Omniyat’s projects, The Pad, will incorporate "cybertecture", leading-edge technology that will "react, interact and communicate with residents to enhance lifestyle".

Virgin Galactic’s technology will no doubt propel Amjad into his own cyber experience when he and the five other passengers try on space travel.

"It’s going to be a fascinating experience," said Amjad.

He expects the true moment of exhilaration will be on reaching the pinnacle of the SS2’s thrust into space and then looking back on Earth.

The Design

• The new Virgin spaceship (SpaceShipTwo/SS2) is based on Burt Rutan-designed SpaceShipOne, X Prize winner
• Composite construction – very light and very strong
• Two stage horizontal launch concept – mothership White KnightTwo and space ship SS2
• Fully pressurised cabin, double skin construction
• Extremely safe and controllable hybrid rocket motor
• Unique wing-feathering technology to slow and control re-entry 
• Unpowered (glide) runway landing

Source: Virgin Galactic

Going green

• The equipment is, of course, reusable, using latest and efficient jet technology resulting in no space debris or waste
• Air launch means short rocket burn of approximately 45 seconds within the atmosphere
• Lightweight composite construction minimises fuel consumption
• New Mexico Spaceport planned to be powered by renewable energy sources.

(Source: Virgin Galactic)

UAE takes to space exploration

Space exploration is being embraced by the UAE, said a leading educator at the Global Space Technology Forum in Abu Dhabi.

Ahmad Obaid Al Mansouri, Director General of the Emirates Institute for Advanced Science and Technology (EIAST), said in a keynote speech on the final day of the forum that his organisation is helping to spearhead the "UAE space programme, a pioneering initiative".

Al Mansouri said it is the key "to build up better relations and plan our future projects in a more coordinated manner and enhance cooperation among those working in the space technology field".

He was joined by Dr Hamid Al Naimiy, President of the Arab Union for Astronomy and Space Sciences, who moderated a talk regarding a proposal for an Arab space research agency.

The three-day conference drew more than 30 international expert speakers, many of whom told delegates that space travel is now open to more varied interests other than governments and large corporate backers.

Their space in history

• 1961 Yuri Gagarin becomes the first man in space
• 1969 Neil Armstrong becomes the first man to walk on the moon
• 1996 Original plans for the Ansari X prize announced: $10 million (Dh36.7 million) for the first non-government human space flight
• 1999 The name of Virgin Galactic is first registered
• 2001 SpaceShipOne is created by legendary aviation designer Burt Rutan
• 2004 The first manned space flight by a private, non-government initiative sees Mike Melvill flying SpaceShipOne. Sir Richard Branson and Burt Rutan announce plans for the world’s first commercial manned space operator – Virgin Galactic
• To date only 450 people have been to space (FAI Definition)

(Source: Virgin Galactic)