Space Sports Car

Ever since the very rich have existed there have been niche markets around their desires. Some of theses desires include mansions, yachts, sports teams, sports cars and even submarines. Why not continue that market philosophy into space by creating luxury or super high quality reusable spacecraft. A space sports car.

Such craft would be very similar to ships like the Lynx or even the SpaceShips One and Two. Small, reusable, and containing proven technology. But the similarity would end there.

Any kind of spaceship that would want to tout itself as a space sports car would have to have many more high-end attributes than the private spaceships currently available.

First, it would have to be able to be crewed by someone who does not have a history of test piloting. After all, the owner would probably want to fly his ship once in awhile.

Next, the ship would likely need to have increased capacity for systems that increase the performance and experience of the flight. These would allow for more "flying" instead of just floating around. Or, maybe, a better "kick" when they launch. No doubt, once having learned to fly the thing, the owners might like to be able to really drive it for awhile if in orbit, without worrying about fuel. Feeling the g's and maybe even buzz some space stations.

Lastly, aesthetic design will have to combined with engineering. Much like the Lamborghinis or Ferraris of today. They are not only built for superior function but also superior appearance. While in aerospace, science does lend to beauty slightly, a private spaceplane intended to function as a status symbol or a high performance toy could not look like a Mercury space capsule, though such designs may be optimal. It would have to be sleek and stylish. Custom paint, larger windows, better interiors. Everything about the craft would have to portray beauty and design, not just functionality, in order to increase the value of the experience. This means a departure from only engineers designing craft to bringing in industrial designers and artists to smooth out the rough edges.

The XCOR Lynx spaceplane

Reusablility can not be stressed enough. No one will purchase a 100 million dollar craft that they can only use once or have to spend 10 million on every time it launches no matter how rich they are. Whether orbital or suborbital the craft will have to be as simple to maintain and launch as a private airplane. Multistage will likely be out of the question. Therefore, such craft will likely begin as suborbital planes until technology develops enough for a Single Stage to Orbit (SSTO) system.

This type of company could be started immediately. With the advent of commercial, suborbital spaceplanes only one or two years away, it would be possible for a talented engineer and designer to purchase a few of these planes and upgrade them for wealthy, private individuals. This direction will probably be undertaken by companies like Virgin Galactic or even XCOR Aerospace once full production is underway.

Such a company would be able to operate on little initial capitol from the founders. The space cars could follow a pre-order system with initial money down, from the customer to start building, and then the rest of it when the project is complete.

As time goes on and the company grows and technology advances, it would be possible for the company to create original or custom designs for its clients. Instead of repurposing spaceplanes they would be able to create original "Lamborginis of the Void."

Obviously this type of a business is for a niche of a niche. Millionaire or billionaire thrill-seekers. There are only a few of those. Even with his own spaceplane company, Richard Branson would likely invest in a space Lamborgini, but Bill Gates certainly wouldn't.

The primary danger with any part of this concept is the market. First, if it is too small. And second, if it has too much liability attached. After all, your craft is meant to reliably transport the wealthiest of the wealthy.

The problem of the small market can be dealt with. Governments and large companies will want ships redesigned for any number of reasons. The beginning custom spaceplane shop would be able to get all kinds of business out side of its wealthy thrill-seeker target market.

As far as the second problem. There is nothing that can be done except to do the best you can and have a good insurance policy and lawyer for when someone crashes their space Ferrari.

Overall, the idea of creating the height of style and performance for space is something that can be accomplished within the next decade without gigantic research or investment. Such an approach would be a good means for talented young engineers and entrepreneurs to get their foot in the door of the space industry in a significant way.

Mobile Space Power Plants

The Orbital Power Station (OPS) was a concept that was presented recently for providing large amounts of clean energy to Earth. However, what if it could also be used elsewhere? As colonies begin to be created on the Moon and even Mars they will need some source of power. What if a mobile power station (MPS) could be created to provide energy to these colonies.

The traditional plans for creating colonies (we'll focus on the Moon) have been to send all of the required equipment to the surface of the Moon and set it up there. But the trouble with this concept is that the location of the people is rarely the ideal location for the solar power station and vice-versa. On the Moon people will need to set up base in the walls of craters in order to be protected from meteors and radiation, but solar plants must be completely exposed. The extra labor of building an entire solar array separate from the base adds a great deal of cost and effort to a an already difficult endeavor.

Having the solar plant placed on the surface also creates the issue of night and day. Large battery banks will need to be installed to power the moon base at night. This adds weight to be shipped and more reliance on a system that can break down. The entire system of a terrestrial solar power plant is faulty and complex. The transport and the construction simply are too difficult.

But all of this can be avoided if 1-2 solar power plants were placed in orbit above the base. These plants would be able to provide continuous power to the base by beaming energy to the surface using microwaves or lasers. (All this is explained in Orbital Power Station) And since they would not have to land on the surface or even be on the same ship, landing craft would not have to carry as much fuel, reducing the cost of the mission. The only thing that would need to be installed on the surface would be a receiving array to gather the energy beamed by the power stations and this is much simpler than installing solar panels.

Power stations such as these would be relatively simple to create, especially if they are already in use around the Earth. They could simply be a rigid array of solar panels with an ion engine attached. Ion engines along the lines of VASMIR would be ideal for this application. Unlike most ships, the MPS would be able to provide the power needed for a high thrust ion engine. Making the cost of transport extremely cheap since little to no fuel is needed.

The one final advantage of an MPS is its continual mobility. If a base is finally outfitted with a reactor that provides the required power, then the MPS is able to move on to the next spot that needs it. In this sense it can have a very long operational lifetime. In addition, it wouldn't even have to move to another base. An MPS could function as a temporary power source for space stations under construction all around earth or even as a backup for faulty satellites. Keeping the lights on until their permanent power supplies come along.

The overall construction and technology of the MPS is proven already. The only development required would be in the energy beaming technology. But an early version, which simply serves as a stand-in in Earth orbit, wouldn't need that. It could be physically plugged into the customer spacecraft.

Because of its long life cycle and mobility any company to create an MPS would want to take the strategy of a standard utility. Charging by the amount of energy provided over a section of time. The return on investment would be slow, but since the MPS could move from one job to another it would almost never be out of work.

This is a very basic idea that does have a place in the future and current space industry. It may begin as a small power source for capsules on their way to the ISS and then move on to powering temporary science satellites until their orbit decays. These menial jobs will prove its viability for when the moon and Mars bases begin to be created.