A Rocket to go with the Windmills

[jeffblaylock]

Looks like one will soon be able to stand on Guadalupe Peak and watch the rockets lift off above the spinning windmills.

West Texas spaceport wants you aboard by 2010
Amazon.com founder awaiting approvals for commercial space flights.

By Michael Graczyk
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Monday, July 24, 2006

An environmental study facing scrutiny this week offers a tantalizing glimpse into the secretive West Texas private spaceport project being bankrolled and developed by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos.

Under the banner of Seattle-area company Blue Origin, a spacecraft dubbed the New Shepard Reusable Launch Vehicle would take off vertically, as NASA's space shuttle does. But unlike the shuttle, which glides to earth and lands like an airplane, the spaceship would land vertically.

The craft would hit an altitude of about 325,000 feet before descending and restarting its engine for a "precision vertical powered landing on the landing pad" in sparsely populated Culberson County about 125 miles east of El Paso.

Those were among the plans detailed in a 229-page draft of an environmental review filed with the Federal Aviation Administration, which issues the permits and licenses that Blue Origin needs to go ahead with its launch plans.

A public hearing on the environmental review was scheduled for Tuesday in Van Horn, a town of 3,000 that is the closest population center to the space base. Bezos, the 42-year-old billionaire who built Amazon into an Internet sales giant, won't be attending, Blue Origin spokesman Bruce Hicks said.

The report was assembled by Blue Origin and Tetra Tech Inc., a Pasadena, Calif.-based engineering and technical consulting firm.

The environmental assessment process is "only one of the steps prior to obtaining an experimental permit for a launch operator's license," FAA spokesman Hank Price said. "We have received permit applications from Blue Origin and are evaluating them for safety and other considerations as well."

As many as 10 flight tests lasting as long as a minute and reaching an altitude of about 2,000 feet could be launched this year from the site north of Van Horn on the 165,000-acre Corn Ranch. Over the following three years, as many as 25 launches would be made annually, growing in altitude to 325,000 feet and in duration to more than 10 minutes.

Commercial flights, a goal of the project, could begin in 2010, according to the timetable in the document, with as many as 52 a year.

"The flight rate would depend on market demand," the report said.

The launch site is about 25 miles north of Van Horn and 35 miles south of Guadalupe Mountains National Park on the Texas-New Mexico border. It sits in a vast valley, about 10 miles wide and almost 4,000 feet above sea level, that has only about a dozen homes, the nearest about seven miles from the launch site.

Construction would cover 223 acres with buildings, launch and landing pads, storage tanks and parking lots, but that's just over 1 percent of the land. New fencing would be needed to enclose the actual launch site area, defined as about 18,600 acres of desert scrubland and grassland that are now in use as a private wildlife management area.

Within that fenced area is the likely landing area if something were to go wrong with a flight.

"In some rare cases, the vehicles may land outside the fence line," the report says. "However, in nearly all cases, the vehicles will stay within the boundaries of private land controlled by Blue Origin and present no danger to the public."

Some space industry publications and Web sites have reported that the New Shepard spacecraft is named for Alan Shepard, who in 1961 became the United States' first man in space. Hicks, the Blue Origin spokesman, said he didn't think that was correct.

Bezos, who as a child spent summers on his grandfather's ranch in South Texas, has talked about building spaceships that can orbit Earth and possibly lead to colonies in space.

According to its Web site, which offers few details, Blue Origin "is developing vehicles and technologies that, over time, will help enable an enduring human presence in space."

Blue Origin has been renovating a suburban site in Kent, Wash., south of Seattle, to design and build spacecraft and engines.

According to the environmental statement, the craft to be launched from West Texas has a reusable propulsion module and a module that is "capable of carrying three or more space flight participants to space." The two would be stacked on top of each other to form a cone-shaped vehicle about 50 feet tall and 22 feet in diameter at the base.

In this area of West Texas, where the population and economy have been in decline for a decade, an average of 45 people a month would be employed during the project's construction, peaking at 70, the report said. But "virtually all the workers would have permanent residences outside of the immediate area," it said.

Once built, staffing for daily operations is expected to be about 20 to 35 people, with most of them "imported" professional staff.

"It is reasonable to assume that few workers within the two counties (Culberson and adjacent Hudspeth) have the required skills," the report said.

[presidio]

"It is reasonable to assume that few workers within the two counties (Culberson and adjacent Hudspeth) have the required skills," the report said.

a) Space flight
b) Culberson & Hudspeth counties
c) No skilled local workers

Well, DUH! I wonder what that study cost them?

[SHANEA]

http://www.mywesttexas.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16964039&BRD=2288&PAG=461&dept_id=475626&rfi=6

West Texas spaceport plans get public response
Associated Press
07/25/2006
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Plans for a secretive commercial space venture backed by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos were coming under public review Tuesday at a government hearing.

The Federal Aviation Administration, which issues licenses and permits for projects like the West Texas spaceport bankrolled by the Internet billionaire, was taking comment on a 229-page draft of an environmental report filed by the Bezos firm developing the venture.

The hearing was being held in this town of about 3,000 some 120 miles east of El Paso and the nearest population center to the isolated operation.

"They're a tight-lipped group," Culberson County Judge John Conoly said Tuesday. He plans to go to find out more about the plan.

The spaceport is being built about midway between Van Horn and the Guadalupe Mountains National Park. The park, which includes some of the highest mountains in Texas, is about 50 miles to the north on the Texas-New Mexico border.

"Our purpose is to provide the public and other interested parties to review the draft documents, to ask questions, point out mistakes or omissions in our analysis of the environmental impact," said Hank Price, an FAA spokesman in Washington. The process is just one step leading to permits and licenses, he said.

Bezos was not expected at the hearing. The 42-year-old Seattle entrepreneur has talked in the past of building spaceships that can orbit the Earth and possibly lead to colonies in space.

The report provides hints to the hush-hush operation, detailing plans for what Bezos' company, Blue Origin Inc., calls its New Shepard Reusable Launch Vehicle. The spacecraft would take off vertically like NASA's space shuttle. But unlike the shuttle, which glides to earth and lands like an airplane, the New Shepard RLV also would land vertically.

The conical-shaped vehicle, about 50 feet tall and 22 feet in diameter at the base, would consist of two modules stacked on each other. One module would provide propulsion, the other would be a crew capsule "capable of carrying three or more space flight participants to space," according to the report.

As many as 10 suborbital tests could begin later this year, and incrementally grow in duration and altitude over the next three years. As many as 52 commercial flights, the goal of the project, could begin in 2010.

Blue Origin, based in the Seattle suburb of Kent, Wash., wants to construct buildings, launch and landing pads, storage tanks, parking lots and other structures on what's known locally as the Corn Ranch, 165,000 acres of desert, salt lake beds and cattle grazing land purchased by Bezos.

The economic impact of the project on the remote area of Culberson County, among the least populated counties in the nation, is expected to be minimal, according to the report. A staff of 20 to 35 people, most of them "imported" professionals, is forecast to be based at the site once construction is complete.

___

On the Net:

FAA Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation http://ast.faa.gov/

Blue Origin: http://www.blueorigin.com

[SHANEA]

From across the pond - England - UK.  The Brits are going "Van Horn - where is Van Horn?

http://www.newscientistspace.com/article/dn9626-internet-billionaire-aims-to-build-spaceport-in-texas.html

Internet billionaire aims to build spaceport in Texas
23:11 26 July 2006
NewScientist.com news service
Kelly Young
The 2200 residents of Van Horn, Texas, US, seem to be embracing the idea of having a spaceport in their backyard.

Blue Origin, a company headed by Amazon.com founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, has applied to build a launch site for its planned New Shepard space rocket about 40 kilometres (25 miles) north of Van Horn.

A prototype of the rocket could make up to 10 suborbital test flights in 2006. And the rocket – which would take off and land vertically – could be ready to take passengers to the edge of space and back by as early as 2010.

But first the US Federal Aviation Administration, which regulates commercial spaceflight, must approve a draft of an environmental impact assessment that the company recently filed.

More tourists
On Tuesday, the town of Van Horn held a hearing about the environmental impact of building the launch site on 7527 hectares (18,600 acres) of a larger piece of property owned by Bezos, which is known as "Corn Ranch".

"People are excited about it," says cattle rancher Ron Helm, who spoke at the hearing and used to raise cattle on ranches abutting the proposed spaceport. "We know a lot of the Blue Origin people. They've been honest about their dealings."

The region already sees a fair amount of tourists who visit the nearby Guadalupe Mountains National Park and Big Bend National Park. But a spaceport could bring even more tourists – and their dollars – to the area.

"Who would have thought Van Horn, Texas, would be on the cutting edge of space technology?" Helm told New Scientist.

Precision landing
Blue Origin has kept its plans for the rocket and launch site largely under wraps until the environmental assessment draft was released in June. "We're not going into any details beyond the environmental assessment," company spokesman Bruce Hicks says.

But the assessment shows that at least three tourists could fly on the rocket, which would consist of a propulsion module with a crew capsule on top.

Tourists would experience a flight lasting nearly 10 minutes. The rocket would fire its engines for two minutes, then coast to an altitude of 99,060 metres. Should something go wrong during launch, the crew capsule could detach from the propulsion module and parachute back to Earth.

But if the launch was successful, the rocket would then fall back to Earth. It would restart its engines at an altitude of several hundred metres, when it was less than 15 seconds from landing.

The company aims to have its rocket make a precision, vertical landing on a concrete pad 6.1 kilometres (3.8 miles) away from the launch pad. It also says it could make about one suborbital launch per week depending on market demand.

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Weblinks
Blue Origin
http://www.blueorigin.com/
Van Horn, Texas
http://www.vanhorntexas.org/
Draft Environmental Assessment, Federal Aviation Administration (PDF)
http://ast.faa.gov/pdf/20060622_Draft_EA_As_Published.pdf

[SHANEA]

Up Up and away on my beautiful rocket ship to the moon.

http://www.vanhornadvocate.com/

Blue Origin's lanuch was a success!

 
Goddard vehicle flew.... On November 13, 2006 this Goddard vehicle was launched sucessfully from Blue Origin’s launch facility 25 miles north of town. The vehicle went up to about 285’ and then returned to earth. The vertical launch and recovery went without a hitch for the folks at Blue Origin. You can actually view the launch by going to Blue Origin’s website at www.blueorigin.com. (Blue Origin photo)  
By Larry D. Simpson
- Blue Origin, the space launch company started by Amazon.com founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, has recently upgraded their website. The website is www.blueorigin.com.
Blue Origin, you may recall has two main facilities used in the preparation and launch of their space vehicles. The primary facility is in Kent, Washington where the work is done in building and testing the launch vehicle and its systems. The other is their actual launch facility, located here in Culberson County, some 25 miles north of Van Horn, on land owned by Jeff Bezos.
On the website is a letter from Jeff Bezos himself detailing what the space launch company is doing and the types of people they are recruiting. Here is a portion of what the letter says:
“We’re working, patiently and step-by-step, to lower the cost of spaceflight so that many people can afford to go and so that we humans can better continue exploring the solar system. Accomplishing this mission will take a long time, and we’re working on it methodically. We believe in incremental improvement and in keeping investments at a pace that’s sustainable. Slow and steady is the way to achieve results, and we do not kid ourselves into thinking this will get easier as we go along. Smaller, more frequent steps drive a faster rate of learning, help us maintain focus, and give each of us an opportunity to see our latest work fly sooner.”
“Our first objective is developing New Shepard, a vertical take-off, vertical-landing vehicle designed to take a small number of astronauts on a sub-orbital journey into space.”
“On the morning of November 13, 2006, we launched and landed Goddard – a first development vehicle in the New Shepard program. The launch was both useful and fun.”
If you take the time to view the videos on their website, you will see that the Goddard vehicle was in fact launched and landed vertically and in virtually the same spot. Not bad for a first test launch!
Oh, there is no doubt that there will be disappointments along the way toward actual space launches but Blue Origin does not seem to be a company that will give up. Under the plans outlined in the Environmental Assessment for the Federal Aviation Administration, there will be more and more test launches in the next couple of years culminating in manned space launches by 2010.
While some in the fledgling space industry are saying a lot and doing little, Blue Origin has been doing a lot and saying little. Blue Origin has completed a full-fledged launch facility north of town while others are still talking about what they’re going to do.
There is no limit to what Blue Origin can accomplish in space!

[Al]

That land had been promoted for many things over the years including hazardous or radioactive waste disposal.  I'd love to be sitting in the Guadalupes and watch a space craft take off.  It would be cool!

Al

[homerboy2u2]

I hope I can get to see Presidio's home from that Launch pad...who knows :?:

[SHANEA]

From the Van Horn Advocate...  www.vanhornadvocate.com

Educational partnership formed to better understand space frontier
By Larry D. Simpson
- An educational partnership has been formed between the Marian Blakemore Planetarium, of Midland, and the Clark Hotel Historical Museum and the Van Horn Advocate.
Announcement of the formation of this partnership was made last Saturday evening at a reception held at the Marian Blakemore Planetarium in Midland.
“This is a unique educational opportunity for our respective communities,” said Frank Cahoon who made the announcement.
The aim is to bring the planetarium’s resources, along with those of McDonald Observatory, in Fort Davis, to the Van Horn community. At the same time we’ll be bringing what we know and will know in the future about the Blue Origin space launch facility and it’s efforts to launch men into space as a private venture to the Midland community.
Cahoon noted that, “The last Indian battle fought in Texas took place in Culberson County at Victoria Canyon in the last frontier of Texas. And now, Culberson County is on the cutting edge of the frontier of space with the Blue Origin facility.”
To commemorate the educational partnership, the Marian Blakemore Planetarium gave the Clark Hotel Historical Museum a blue buffalo painted in a scheme of celestial planets and stars. A time-lapse photograph of the sky as taken above the Southern African Large Telescope in Sutherland, South Africa. The buffalo symbolizing the last frontier of Texas and the frontier of space in Texas.
One interesting tidbit about “Blakemore” the buffalo. It is presented by the Blakemore Planetarium, and the family that owned the Longfellow Ranch, purchased by Jeff Bezos, were the Blakemore’s of Midland. And coincidentally, the Blue Origin launch facility is built and operating on land that was once the Longfellow Ranch.
“Blakemore” was painted by artist Karen Winkler of the Children’s Museum of the Southwest Museum of Art in Midland

[presidio]

I hope I can get to see Presidio's home from that Launch pad...who knows :?:

Got to get higher than that 285'