Rutan under-whelmed by NASA
May 23, 2005 13: 50 EST
Burt Rutan, the private space pioneer who’s convinced the new Space Age will be led by risk-taking adventurers, is clearly not impressed with NASA. Speaking at the National Press Club Thursday, Rutan criticized NASA for its technological complacency since its innovative Apollo years. He feels that things just haven’t changed that much in the last 40 years; we’re wasting tax dollars repeatedly testing the same ideas.
Fire in the eyes of his hires
Rutan comes from a school that doesn’t hold "book smarts" as the highest standard. In the past, he’s said that he doesn't look at classroom grades, but rather for fire in the eyes of his hires. He expects his designers to hold their own on the workshop floor, where designs become real.
Burt commented that he was “excited as hell” by the astronauts in the 60’s, and the courage that the fledgling space program showed. One of his goals is to inspire a new generation of space explorers. "The way I want to inspire kids is to fly to space and let them know that they can too," he said.
New administrator can step it up
Apparently, he doesn’t get that “fire in the belly” impression from NASA. Rutan said that NASA was not being imaginative enough, and should refocus on manned space flight. However, he suggested that the new NASA administrator, Michael Griffin, might just be the right guy to help revitalize the agency.
Burt Rutan has a dream. He believes: "Space flight is not only for governments to do. Clearly, there's an enormous pent-up hunger to fly into space and not just dream about it."
Ten million dollars was awarded to the American Mojave Aerospace Team, led by research aircraft developer Burt Rutan, and financier Paul Allen, for its successful completion of the history-making ANSARI X PRIZE. The team prevailed over 25 additional teams from across the globe in developing and flying a privately financed, manned spaceship to an altitude above 100km.
Here is Burt Rutan’s projected space flight timeline:
3-4 years: The first commercial space travel
5 years: 3,000 astronauts
15 years: 50,000 astronauts, space hotels
By 2050, spacelines so common that passengers "will be bored looking out of a suborbital space flight as we do on an airliner," said Rutan according to Chicago Tribune and several media.
Image compiled by ExWeb, courtesy airventure.org (Rutan) and aiai.ed.ac.uk (space car).
|
|
Feature Stories |
|
Latest News |
more news |
 |
ExWeb updated expeditions list - Space!
Full Story
|
 |
Titan: Rain fall, methane rivers, volcanoes spewing ice
Full Story
|
 |
Life in Space - leaving Eden in search for Paradise
Full Story
|
 |
ET coming closer: Suns like ours spotted with planetary debris dis
Full Story
|
 |
The Wow signal - listen up!
Full Story
|
 |
Mars Society: Looking for a few good Martians - that's YOU buddy!
Full Story
|
 |
The Space Frontier Foundation
Full Story
|
|
|
| Discovery Returns to the Vehicle Assembly Building May 31, 2005 | | ExplorersWeb Week in Review May 30, 2005 | | Space tourists are not rocket scientists and might be super sized May 27, 2005 | | Olsen back to Space? May 26, 2005 | | "Robonauts" to help humans in space May 25, 2005 | | Interstellar exploration: Voyager enters the solar system's final frontier May 24, 2005 | | Russia plans manned mission to Mars, but money first May 23, 2005 | | ExplorersWeb Week in Review May 22, 2005 | | Rutan under-whelmed by NASA May 20, 2005 | | Space flight price wars May 19, 2005 |
| | NASA launches new explorer schools May 18, 2005 |
|
|
