When we think of space-flight, we tend to picture rockets blasting into the final frontier on the tip of a column of fire, thundering energy that seems to be totally random and untamable. Of course a rocket engine is anything but unpredictable but it is a technology very different from our more traditional winged aircraft operations.
But space-flight, at least sub-orbital and low-Earth orbit space flight is fast becoming reality with new machines that call home what is, for all reasons and purposes, a kind of traditional airport.
In a previous article we talked about the Lynx which takes off and lands as a traditional aircraft but its flight profile includes a rocket assisted climb which takes it to 200,000 feet which is commonly recognized as the lower limit of space.
Now comes Stratolaunch, an aircraft that looks like two 747s tied to each other side by side at the wingtips and a droppable payload in the middle which is released at an altitude of 30 to 35 thousand feet and which then boosts itself to low-Earth orbit. Initially designed for cargo (e.g. satellites) only, plans are to come up with a version in time that will carry around 6 passengers. This launch aircraft, which will actually use a lot of 747 parts, will have a wing span that is twice that of a 747-400. Clearly, she will need an airport that has a few things adapted for her special needs.
The mass of this baby will be comparable to an Airbus 380 and the runway must be at least 12,000 feet long, no big surprises there. But the width of the taxiways and runways, the radius of the curves will have to be phenomenal and the refueling facilities will need to supply Jet A1 as well as liquid rocket fuel to fill up the drop-load. It is no surprise either that an airport aspiring for Spaceport status will have to be specially certified by the appropriate authorities before they can start spacecraft operations.
One such certified airport, having received official Spaceport status from the FAA in 2004, is the Mojave Air and Space Port (IATA code MHV; ICAO code KMHV), located in the Mojave desert in California, USA. It is the first such facility in the US and its license says they are allowed to operate horizontally launched re-usable spacecraft.
The airport is open to the public and has been in existence since 1942. Initially it was a Marine Corps auxiliary air station and it built an impressive record of flight test activity until it was turned over to civilian ownership in 1961 after which its special activity continued but with more of a civilian tint.
The name of aircraft pioneer Burt Rutan is irrevocably associated with the airport with some of his first prototypes, like the VariEze, the Defiant and the Long-EZ having first flown from its concrete. The Voyager, after its round-the-world non-stop trip landed at Mojave.
All this future oriented activity takes place on center stage while in the back, parked on one of the biggest storage locations in the world, commercial airliners languish, dreaming about better times while they wait for a chance to fly again or for oblivion as they are cut up for scrap.
Currently more than 60 companies are tenants of the airport and their aviation activities range from flight development and advanced aerospace design to flight testing and research.
“I want to introduce you to unrestricted dream space, right here in Mojave” – says Stuart Witt, CEO and General Manager.
With Burt Rutan being a household name around there, it is easy to believe that the “unrestricted dream space” is not an exaggeration at all.
For the Stratolaunch project, which is in fact Burt Rutan’s vision of the best air launch system he first described 20 years ago, billionaire Paul Allen is providing the cash. With Rutan’s credibility and Allen’s money this project simply cannot fail.
It is not yet certain which spaceport the new air-launch system will be operating from. Mojave is just one of the possible options but so is Hickam AFB on Hawai’i. Whichever site is selected, some major construction will be needed, that is for sure. There is also competition in the form of Virgin Galactic Spaceport America, Richard Branson’s new facility in New Mexico.
Having seen Mojave’s record, I am sure they will not be squeamish about pouring some more concrete if that is what it takes to sign up the Stratolauncher as their newest customer.