Spacefleet SF-01
Spacefleet Ltd. is a private company, which was created in
2004. The company was created for the purpose of the Spacefleet
Project. The purpose of the Spacefleet Project is to design
and construct vehicles that can be placed for sale in the
space tourism industry. The company has built quite an impressive
list of contacts in the United Kingdom, which will bring the
vehicles, such as the current Spacefleet SF-01, to life. The
cost for such a flight is expected to be in the $120,000 range.
The Spacefleet SF-01 is a project that will take part in
the sub-orbital space tourism market. The Spacefleet SF-01
will be the only space aircraft that will have no carbon dioxide
emissions at all.
This vehicle will be operated in an entirely manageable way
that uses electricity generated from sunlight or wind to electrolyze
water, in effect producing oxygen and hydrogen. This will
then be liquefied using power from the photovoltaic ray. The
fuel will then be a non-pollutant and very inexpensive since
it is being generated from renewable resources.
The Spacefleet SF-01 will be an engaging passenger vehicle
that will be capable of taking two pilots and eight passengers
to heights of 200 miles above the surface of the Earth. This
is nearly three times higher than any other spacecraft vehicle
currently being proposed by others in the sub-orbital space
tourism industry. The Spacefleet SF-01 will launch from an
inclined ramp and will land on a traditional airport runway.
The spacecraft will be usable for quick point-to-point intercontinental
travel as well as from a single site. The Spacefleet SF-01
will also have the capacity to be used as a platform for all
small orbital satellite deployment at low cost. It will also
be able to be used for scientific experiments that are currently
being used on existing rockets. The development of the SF-01
is expected to take approximately three years and will cost
approximately $260 million for three vehicles.
The operators of the Spacefleet SF-01 will be able to purchase
photovoltaic cells and wind turbines, which would be built
from standard units available commercially. Electrolysis and
liquefaction are also standard items for the Spacefleet SF-01
package. The requirement for a power storage system will be
met in the form of a "free-flow" battery. This is
technology which now coming in to use for high-power electricity
generating systems or a fuel cell.
The system for fuel synthesis, generating electricity, electrolysis,
and gas liquefaction is expected to come with a hefty price
tag. After this initial cost, the price for maintaining and
operating the Spacefleet SF-01 will be extremely low. In addition
to providing fuel for the vehicle, the energy could also be
exported to an electric supply grid.
Spacefleet also intends to be active in the acquisition and
management of intellectual property relating to space flight.
The company intends to create a program of space education
that will be linked to the Spacefleet SF-01 project. Their
hopes are that this program will inspire young people to take
up careers in science, aerospace engineering, astronomy and
of course, space tourism.
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