Using a large rocket to pierce the atmosphere, a small capsule could be delivered to a low orbiting space station resort. (Photo Credit: CC BY-SA/df_btyhoo/Flickr)

Boeing has announced that it is prepared to enter into the upcoming mega-business of space tourism, reports the Houston Chronicle. Despite recently receiving $20 billion in government subsidies for transatlantic aerospace travel endeavors – a move labeled a violation of international trade law by World Trade Organization judges – Boeing is now knocking on President Obama’s door again. Now, the company wants the administration to increase funding for commercial spaceflight.

By 2015, Boeing wants space tourism to be a reality

Boeing’s expectation is that by 2015, space tourism will be possible via a NASA contract that will enable the manufacturer to send astronauts to the International Space Station via a new type of space capsule, the CST-100. The capsule would have enough seats to admit space tourists along for the ride, writes the Chronicle. Brewster Shaw, vice president and general manager of Boeing’s Space Exploration division, has affirmed Boeing’s belief that the CST-100 will make human space commerce possible. Currently, Boeing is partnered with the company Space Adventures, which brokered private flights to the International Space Station aboard Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft.

Boeing has the horses, but it hasn’t won the race yet

Globally, Boeing is the largest aircraft manufacturer in terms of revenue, orders and products delivered, indicates the Chronicle. The company is also the International Space Station’s prime contractor. But a number of hurdles must be cleared before the company comes to dominate the exciting, yet speculative, field of space tourism. It required $18 million to begin development of rockets and capsules to carry NASA astronauts to low-Earth orbit after the space shuttle program retires in 2011. However, plans for space tourism are estimated to be significantly more expensive. Other companies are competing for the business as well, which should force Boeing to push hard.

Obama wants Congress to free up money for commercial spacecraft

The numbers are flying fast and furious when it comes to just how much money the U.S. government is willing to funnel into commercial space flight. President Obama is seeking $6 billion over five years from Congress. The Senate’s latest offer is $1.3 billion over three years, while the House penned a $150 million, three-year version. Clearly there’s a large financial disconnect at work, guided by differing priorities. Without at least the amount of money the president is calling for, Boeing expects progress toward space tourism to be slow at best. If it cost Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberté $40 million last year to fly to and from the International Space Station via Soyuz, imagine what propping up and entire industry would cost.

Sources:

Houston Chronicle

Google Tech Talk on space tourism

WTO judges ruled Boeing is receiving government subsidies that give it an unfair competitive advantage over European rival Airbus. (Photo Credit: CC BY/Andrei Dimofte/Flickr)

Airline travel has taken a huge economic hit during the global recession, which in turn has decreased demand for new airliners to expand fleets. Thus, aircraft manufacturers are willing to resort to any means necessary in order to boost the bottom line, including accepting large – and perhaps questionable – government subsidies. Reuters reports that World Trade Organization (WTO) judges ruled Boeing, the storied American airline manufacturer, received government subsidies that granted the manufacturer an unfair competitive advantage over European competitor Airbus. The $20 billion in subsidies is being challenged by the European Union, according to sources.

The WTO has pointed at Boeing and Airbus

The WTO judge’s ruling against Boeing is currently confidential and will not be officially released until mid-2011. It has been released to United States and European Union officials, however. It is also known that both Boeing and Airbus have appealed various findings in the case already. Reuters indicates that if initial reports of the WTO ruling are accurate, a negotiated settlement between Boeing and Airbus may occur, as the current state of relations in transatlantic aerospace travel is cold at best. Airbus was previously condemned in June 2010 for taking a sizable cash advance in the form of a government subsidy from the EU.

Research contracts, tax breaks and sour grapes

This may be an example of one power crying foul because they were reprimanded for the very thing that the other power is currently attempting to get away with. According to European sources, Boeing took $17 billion in research contracts from NASA and the Pentagon, and enjoyed $4 billion in tax breaks from the corporation’s home state of Washington. WTO ruled that Boeing broke international trade laws by accepting the contracts and tax breaks, even though the government aid is not technically prohibited. The main point of contention on Boeing’s part is Airbus was essentially allowed to get away with a stern glance, they claim. Thus, Boeing felt their actions in accepting government subsidies were acceptable.

Calls for President Obama’s involvement

EU trade spokesman John Clancy told Reuters that “negotiations at the highest political level” will be the only action that will lead to a long term solution to the feud between Boeing and Airbus. However, U.S. officials have opposed coming to the table unless the EU stops subsidizing the production of the Airbus A350, which U.S. officials feel is very similar to support the WTO has ruled against. In a statement to the press, Boeing maintained its position that they have done nothing to distort the transatlantic aerospace market while continuing to point fingers at EU practices with Airbus.

Sources:

Airbus

Boeing

Reuters

WTO and Boeing have had better days

The Boeing 787, aka the Dreamliner. Image from Wikimedia Commons.

After years of development issues, the Boeing Dreamliner, or the Boeing 787, is starting to get in some serious time in the air. A Dreamliner just made its European debut, by flying in the Farnborough Airshow. The plane has been stuck in what a movie studio would call “development hell” for some time, suffering several setbacks. However, it is starting to show signs of life. There are already some on order, so if Boeing has hit it out of the park (which it tends to do most of the time), the Seattle based firm will get a veritable Berlin airlift of cash.

Dreamliner flies across the pond

The Boeing Dreamliner made its first appearance at an international airshow on Sunday, July 18, at the Farnborough Airshow, in Hampshire, England. The air show is held every two years, and it’s the premiere air and air trade show in Britain. The appearance of the Dreamliner, or the 787, is likely to be one of the crown jewels of this year’s event. According to The Telegraph, Boeing is expecting some more advance orders of the 787, which has had numerous setbacks due to design problems and a machinists’ strike, among other things.

Lean, mean and green

Part and parcel to the selling point of the plane is its fuel efficiency and also eco-friendly construction. Only 50 percent of the plane is actually made from metal. The fuselage of the plane is actually constructed from a composite material, all in a single piece rather than riveted sheets of aluminum. The lighter weight will increase fuel efficiency, and the plane’s engines were designed to produce up to 20 percent fewer carbon emissions. The interior is designed to be far more comfortable for passengers. The plane is intended to replace older aircraft of the same size, especially the Boeing 767.

Finally achieving takeoff

The Boeing Dreamliner was originally conceived of in the late 1990s, and after the price of fuel went drastically up in the early 2000s (or “Noughties”) the need for an airliner with greater fuel efficiency got Boeing to head to the drawing board. The first flight for the plane was supposed to be in 2007, but was postponed until 2009. There are more than 860 of the planes on order already.

Further Reading

The Telegraph

BBC

The X-51A flight test set a new record for scramjet-powered flight and further advanced launch technology considered a key to the future of space exploration. Flickr photo.

The X51A Waverider, a U.S. Air Force experimental “scramjet” aircraft, achieved a top speed of nearly five times the speed of sound in its record-breaking first test flight Thursday. The Boeing X-51A made aviation history with the longest-ever scramjet-powered hypersonic flight. Air Force officials said the X-51A scramjet propulsion record can be compared to the leap from propellers to jet engines after World War II. Aviation engineers say scramjet propulsion will eventually replace current technologies.

X-51A Waverider flight test

For the scramjet test, The X51A Waverider, about the size of a cruise missile, was strapped to the wing of a B-52 bomber. A rocket booster was attached like a cash advance to bring the aircraft up to the hypersonic speed required for the scramjet engine to function. Aviation News reports that at 50,000 feet over the Pacific Ocean, the Boeing X-51A was dropped from the mothership and the booster quickly accelerated the Waverider to Mach 4.5. The X-51A ignited and the scramjet powered the aircraft for about 200 seconds as it reached a 70,000-foot altitude and an approximate speed of Mach 5.

Scramjet propulsion

Scramjet propulsion allows the Boeing X-51A to fly without wings. The Register reports that the Waverider actually surfs on the sonic shockwaves trailing back from its nose. Normal jet engines, which force air into the combustion chamber with compressor blades, can’t run past the hypersonic barrier, which is considered 5 times the speed of sound. Ramjet engines brought to hypersonic speed by a booster simply scoop the air in. However, ramjets have to slow the flow of air to subsonic speeds to keep from blowing out the flame in the combustion chamber. The X-51A scramjet engine (short for “supersonic combustion ramjet”) has a supersonic combustion chamber.

Scramjet engines: the future of aerospace

The 200-second Boeing X-51A flight test set a duration record for an aircraft powered by a scramjet engine. CNET News reports that the air-breathing scramjet engine, when eventually perfected, promises to radically advance aeronautic technology.  Because scramjets use oxygen from the atmosphere, scramjet powered vehicles won’t need to carry huge tanks of liquid oxygen or hydrogen like rockets used today. Scramjets also use less fuel. The Boeing X-51A could usher in an era of cheaper rocket launches for the next generation of space exploration. On the dark side, scramjet engines could also propel military missiles to their targets at a speed impossible to defend against with today’s technology.