Snow blew and biting winds caused temperatures to drop several degrees below zero as Stardust 1.0 made its debut at a former military base in Maine.
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| An innovative biofuel missile could be a "space Uber" |
Attached to a trailer and towed by a pickup along a runway used by B-52 bombers in the Cold War, it wasn't the most enchanting entrance of a missile about to make history.
And it almost didn't happen because subzero conditions wreaked havoc with electronics and clouds entering.
But after several delays and as the light faded on Sunday afternoon, Stardust finally took off, becoming the first commercial launch of a biofuel rocket.
Sasha Derry, who invented biofuels, is conservative about its ingredients, but says it can be obtained from farms around the world. He and his team, founder and CEO of bluShift Aerospace, have spent more than six years refining the formula and designing a modular hybrid drive, which is also unique.
"We want to demonstrate that biologically derived fuels can serve as well, if not better in some cases, than conventional fuels to power rockets and payloads into space," he says.
"It actually costs a kilogram less than conventional rocket fuel and is completely non-toxic. It is a carbon-neutral fuel that is inherently better for our planet and more responsible."
The Stardust is a small missile that measures 20 feet (6 meters) long and weighs 250 kilograms. But since flying is relatively cheap and does not require the high-tech infrastructure for large missiles, it will help make space research more accessible to more people. Students, researchers, and companies will be able to experiment and test products with more control and hesitation.
"There are currently cargo trains into space like SpaceX and ULA - and there are buses into space, like medium-sized rockets," says Derry. "They are transporting thousands of kilograms into space. But there is no space launch service that allows a payload or two to go into space. There is no Uber into space. We want to be an Uber space service."
For the first launch, the payload included a high school trial and tests on an alloy called nitinol made by Kellogg Research Labs in Salem, New Hampshire.
Founder Joe Kellogg says nitinol is a shape-memory material used in medical devices such as stents. It is also used to protect missile payloads from vibrations.
"We are very involved in space and are trying to engage in bigger missions such as the lunar missions and the upcoming Mars missions," he says. "Our long-term goal is to build rockets full of nitinol." "We think we can make it lighter and more energy efficient."
While Stardust flew only one mile in the sky before parachuting back to Earth, the second planned missile will be suborbital and a later version called the Red Dwarf will enter polar orbit.
Polar orbits provide more exposure to Earth than equatorial ones. Terry Shehata, executive director of the NASA-funded Maine Space Grant consortium, says Maine is geographically suited to these launches, making it attractive to the growing satellite communications industry.
By some estimates, small satellite launch services could generate $ 69 billion (£ 50 billion) within the next decade. BluShift alone expects to create 40 new jobs within five years by launching small satellites known as cubes.
Shehata says Maine already has the infrastructure to support the industry. At the height of the Cold War, Loring Air Force Base at Limestone was the nation's front line of defense.
B-52 bombers armed with nuclear warheads constantly hovered in the sky on high alert to deter any threat from Russia. The Stardust was launched from the base's three-mile runway of reinforced concrete and was temporarily housed in a hangar designed for fighter aircraft.
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