Benson Space Improves Design of Its Spaceship

[Chris Bergin]

Benson Space Improves Design of Its Spaceship

New NASA/Air Force-derived Design 'Safer and Better,' Says Jim Benson

POWAY, Calif., May 25 /PRNewswire/ -- As a result of a five month-long study by SpaceDev, Benson Space Company (BSC) has chosen to pursue a fresh approach in the design of its Dream Chaser spaceship, it was announced today by BSC Chairman and President Jim Benson.


Rather than using the orbital NASA HL-20 vehicle as a model, BSC will base its suborbital spaceship on an amalgam of the NASA and Air Force X-2, X-15 and T-38 vehicles. While the new design is safer and more aerodynamic, explains Benson, it will also be easier and faster to construct, allowing BSC to remain on-schedule to make its initial commercial spaceflights in 2009 -- aiming to provide the first, safest and best astronaut-making spaceflights for the emerging space tourism market.


"The mandate of our initial five-month Phase I study, which began in November, was a design review to ensure that we had the very best spaceship possible. During the past two months a small, highly experienced team has taken a fresh look and concluded that we can do better," says Benson. "To that end, the new spaceship will incorporate the best elements selected from other successful vehicles. This will result in a spaceship that provides a better ride and even more spectacular views, and at this early stage we will lose little time in bringing it to the commercial market."


The new Dream Chaser spaceship design is lighter and sleeker, resulting in less drag and requiring less propulsion than the earlier design. The vehicle, powered by safe hybrid rocket motors, will launch vertically and glide to a landing at the launch site. A safer carefree reentry, after achieving an altitude of at least 65 miles, will subject passengers to minimal G-forces, compared to other designs. It will also have many large, well-placed windows for ideal passenger views of the Earth and space.


About Benson Space Company


Established in September 2006, Benson Space Company (BSC) seeks to provide the first, safest and lowest cost astronaut-making spaceflights for the emerging personal spaceflight market. BSC is led by Jim Benson, founder of Compusearch and founder and former chairman and CEO of SpaceDev, which developed the world's only hybrid rocket motors used for human spaceflight. Under Benson's guidance for nearly a decade, SpaceDev designed and produced an innovative satellite for NASA and the hybrid rocket motor technology for Paul Allen's SpaceShipOne, the vehicle that won the $10 million Ansari X Prize in 2004. BSC is currently developing Dream Chaser spaceships, based on proven designs, which will allow BSC to offer the world's first, commercial, suborbital spaceflights. For more information visit www.bensonspace.com.


Source: Benson Space Company

CONTACT: Alfred Hopton, +1-310-248-6160, [email protected], for Benson
Space Company; or Ian Murphy, +1-310-689-6397, [email protected], for Benson
Space Company


Web site: http://www.bensonspace.com/

[marsavian]

looks nothing like the original

http://www.space.com/adastra/070524_dreamchaser.html

[JIS]

Does it land on runway or on parashutes?

[Tergenev]

Good God, has the entire space industry gone Retro?!

It's Buck Rodgers in the 21st Century. . . . with Space Ship One windows.

But my biggest confusion about the new design is what this ". . safer carefree reentry" mode might be. That, and their reference to using successful design elements from other vehicles hints that it may be the Burt Rutan 'shuttlecock' solution, but this design doesn't look like it can change it's shape to do such a thing. I await further details with fascination.

[TyMoore]

I think the new design, versus the HL-20 based lifting body design, is that the stall speed will be lower--allowing a somewhat slower approach, better glide ratio, better handling etc. That's a guess on my part. Also, the HL-20 design was for an orbital vehicle that had to survive a hypersonic MACH 20+ reentry. This suborbital vehicle will briefly make Mach 3--so a hypersonic optimized design is clearly not needed.

Just a guess on my part...

[Mogster]

For suborbital flights I suppose the HL20 design is really overkill. This new one looks strangely like Flash Gordons rocketship though.........

[JIS]

TyMoore - 25/5/2007  1:33 PM

I think the new design, versus the HL-20 based lifting body design, is that the stall speed will be lower--allowing a somewhat slower approach, better glide ratio, better handling etc. That's a guess on my part. Also, the HL-20 design was for an orbital vehicle that had to survive a hypersonic MACH 20+ reentry. This suborbital vehicle will briefly make Mach 3--so a hypersonic optimized design is clearly not needed.

Just a guess on my part...

I think that Dream Chaser is supposed to go to LEO on Atlas V.

[Skyrocket]

JIS - 25/5/2007  3:15 PM

I think that Dream Chaser is supposed to go to LEO on Atlas V.

Clearly this new concept is not capable of reentry from orbit.

[kevin-rf]

I keep seeing T-38 in the press release and really want to ask if they did not mean X-38? Though looking at the pics, wings and tail kinda have a T-38/F-5/F-20 look to them...

[PurduesUSAFguy]

Well I guess that this means the SpaceDev is giving up on developing an orbital version.

[marsavian]

which means no COTS for Spacedev.

[Jim]

Skyrocket - 25/5/2007  10:27 AM

JIS - 25/5/2007  3:15 PM

I think that Dream Chaser is supposed to go to LEO on Atlas V.

Clearly this new concept is not capable of reentry from orbit.

Why not, looks like an X-37

[coach]

Can SpaceDev do both?  They still have the deal with ULA, right?

Coach

[aero313]

Dream Chaser's new suborbital design will be based on a melding of the NASA and Air Force X-2, X-15, and T-38 vehicles

The stubby trapezoidal wings clearly invoke X-15 and T-38 planforms, but where's the X-2?  Am I missing something?  It looks more like a derivation of Orbital's X-34.

[Chris Bergin]

coach - 25/5/2007  7:45 PM

Can SpaceDev do both?  They still have the deal with ULA, right?

Coach

Yep, we're following the progress.

[Mobius Stripper]

Skyrocket - 25/5/2007  9:27 AM

Clearly this new concept is not capable of reentry from orbit.

Everything is capable of a reentry from orbit, but only some designs make it all the way to the ground in one piece.

At first glance, this one looks fine to me. The only comment would be that the windows are going to be a bugger to be a lightweight safe design if they are on the windward side or the transition to the windward side. It can be done, it's just a pain in the neck.

[Norm Hartnett]

I am rather disappointed to see this redesign. It puts paid to the Dreamchaser/Atlas V concept since I cannot imagine this design perched on top of an Atlas V. (Was there ever any discussion of putting a X-15 on top of a standard LV?)

That said the idea of suborbital tourism based on a X-15 flight profile is attractive.

[CFE]

It would appear that suborbital and orbital spaceflight require different solutions.  The SpaceDev plan in Fall '05 was to use the HL-20 for both suborbital and orbital flights.  Now it appears that SpaceDev is putting orbital on the backburner and adopting a design that's optimized for suborbital flight.

Part of me thinks that the suborbital market has already been ceded to Virgin and RpK, and that SpaceDev would be smart to make the leap directly to orbital space tourism.  But I also get squeamish about the idea that a company with no suborbital experience (aside from the SS1 engine) would attempt a manned orbital mission.

[NASA_LaRC_SP]

No. The HL-20 is the orbital version and in no way on the backburner. They are working close with ULA for the Bigelow and ISS options. The new vehicle is simple a competitor to SS2.

[Skyrocket]

So the headline "Benson Space Improves Design of Its Spaceship" is not correct, as they added a new design for suborbital flights, not improved an existing design. Glad to hear, that they are still working on the HL-20 version.