British
Company to Unveil Manned Rocket Capsule
WHO:
Independent rocket builder Starchaser Industries Ltd
WHAT: The
unveiling their new "NOVA" rocket capsule
WHERE: STRONG ENTERPRISES
11236
SATELLITE BLVD.
ORLANDO, FL
WHEN: MONDAY
July 14, 2003.
Please
arrive 10am
sharp for the 10.30am unveiling.
Weighing in
at 440 lb and measuring 10 feet in length, the single seater Nova
II capsule is being fitted with a bespoke parachute system prior to
shipment to Arizona.
The manned capsule will then be dropped from a C-123K transport aircraft
at an altitude of 14,000 feet over the Red Lake Drop Zone, in order
to practice landing the reusable craft.
The three drop tests are scheduled to take place July 21st,
23rd and
25th
Once proven,
the capsule will be attached to the Starchaser 4 (Nova) rocket, which
was first flown from Morecambe Bay, England
in November 2001, for further unmanned tests followed by a manned
launch to an altitude of at least 30,000 feet.
NOVA II will become Britain’s first manned rocket capsule and will test
a variety of systems for use in project Thunderbird; Starchaser Industries
entry into the US $10 million X PRIZE which is on offer to the first
non-governmental organisation capable of launching three people into
space.
Starchaser Industries CEO and test pilot Steve Bennett, a veteran of over
120 high altitude skydives said “We have proved the design of the
rocket and capsule both on paper and in the air, it’s now time to
show the world that we mean business and move on to the manned phase
of our rocket programme”
Starchaser Industries chose
to partner with Florida based Strong Enterprises because
of Strong’s proven track record in manufacturing and operating large
parachute canopies for cargo drop applications. “Strong Enterprises
are the best in the business,” says Bennett “and what better place
to develop a private spaceship than the state of Florida, the world centre for human
space access”
About
Starchaser Industries Ltd:
Starchaser
Industries began life as an experimental rocket programme in 1992
and was incorporated in 1998. Starchaser is the leading British organisation
in the development of commercial space access and space tourism. The
company’s immediate goal is to win the $10 million X-PRIZE by being
the first private company to launch a reusable 3-man rocket into space,
and then go on to take the lead in the estimated $10 bn global space
tourism market. Further information can be found at www.starchaser.co.uk
Comprehensive
press packs will be available on the day. Previously filmed footage
can also be obtained from the Press area of the website by those members
of the press who have registered.
The
X PRIZE Competition
The
X PRIZE is patterned from the aviation prizes of the early 1900s,
and in particular the Orteig Prize won by Charles Lindbergh in 1927.
24 competitors are entered in the X PRIZE competition, a $10 million
purse to be awarded to the first person or team to fly a privately-funded
suborbital spaceship 100km (62 miles) to the edge of space, return
safely, and then fly again within two weeks. The spaceships must be
capable of carrying three individuals. Teams from Argentina,
Canada,
Israel,
Romania,
Russia,
UK,
and the United
States
are entered. A complete
listing and profiles of their spaceships can be found at www.xprize.org
For further
details about Starchaser Industries please email: info@starchaser.co.uk