Astronaut for Hire

Your daily dose of inspiration begins here with two phenomenal videos that exemplify the human spirit for adventure and the beauty of our universe. For centuries, people have dreamed of gliding like birds. The sport of skydiving grew in part out of this desire. More than half a century ago during Project Manhigh  and Project Excelsior , humanity pushed this to an extreme with a series of jumps from the edge of space topping out at 31 kilometers altitude by  Joe Kittinger  in 1960. His record remained unchallenged until now. Sponsored by Red Bull Stratos , Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner made his historic stratospheric jump on October 14, 2012. Protected only his pressure suit made by the David Clark Company , he shattered several world records, while battling claustrophobia . Top Speed: 1,342.8 km/hr / 833.9 mi/hr (Mach 1.24 supersonic!) Jump altitude: 39.05 kilometers / 24.26 miles Vertical distance of freefall: 36.53 kilometers / 22.70 miles Total ti...

With the Olympics currently unfolding, we are reminded how athletes train very hard for their one chance at nailing a performance to achieve their long-sought goals. I have been undergoing my own intensive training regime for the past several months to earn a Private Pilot Certificate . Like those athletes, I too have been gearing up for the one performance that really counts; in my case that means passing the FAA checkride with a Designated Pilot Examiner who has the authority to grant me the pilot license. That checkride happened earlier today, and I am proud to say I am now a Private Pilot. For me, this achievement is like winning the gold medal, vindicating months of hard work and sacrifice. I am grateful to my CFI Scott and the entire staff of Galvin Flight Services Hawaii for their tutelage, but most of all, I thank my wife for her patience throughout this intense training period. Aviation goes back a few generations in my family to my great-grandfather who flew in t...

The age of commercial astronauts has arrived.  Virgin Galactic announced yesterday that it had selected former USAF test pilot Keith Colmer as its newest commercial astronaut pilot.  He was the sole person chosen from a highly competitive pool of more than 500 applicants, probably comprised mostly of test pilots and former astronauts.  The press release mentions that "additional selections will be made as the company nears commercial operations," so if you're an accomplished test pilot and want to fly in space, it's time to dust off that resume.   Colmer joins David Mackay as Virgin Galactic's second astronaut pilot. Mackay began flight training on WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo  earlier this year  and has been designated as Virgin Galactic's chief pilot.  He will pilot the  first commercial suborbital spaceflight in 2013 . He was tapped from a pool of  several Virgin Atlantic pilots  who may one day also serv...

Every since he developed his personal jet pack and made headlines crossing the English Channel , the "Jetman" Yvess Rossy has captured my attention. Over the decades, many have tried to create jet packs to fulfill our collective desire for personal flight freedom, but the Jetman has come closest to making that dream happen. Rossy made worldwide headlines again this week by successfully completing a spellbinding 8-minute flight 200 feet above the Grand Canyon at speeds up to 190 miles per hour. Check out the video courtesy the AOPA below.  You can read more about his canyon-crossing crusade from the AOPA , Popular Science and the Washington Post .

10-10-10 was a historic day for commercial human spaceflight. The VSS Enterprise (aka: "SpaceShipTwo") completed its first piloted free flight from its WhiteKnightTwo mothership ("Eve") over the Mojave Desert.  Here is an excerpt from the Virgin Galactic press release : VIRGIN GALACTIC'S SPACESHIPTWO ACHIEVES MAJOR MILESTONE IN ITS PROGRAM TO BECOME WORLD'S FIRST MANNED COMMERCIAL SPACE VEHICLE. VSS Enterprise achieves manned free flight from over 45,000 ft (13,700 metres) and successfully glides to land at Mojave Air and Spaceport . During its first flight the spaceship was piloted by Pete Siebold , assisted by Mike Alsbury as co-pilot. The two main goals of the flight were to carry out a clean release of the spaceship from its mothership and for the pilots to free fly and glide back and land at Mojave Air and Space Port in California. If you like the photo of the VSS Enterprise shown here, you can view more images and video of the flight on Virgi...

We're all faced with difficult decisions in our lives.  Sometimes the 'right' choice may not be the best one and vice versa.   I was at such a crossroads yesterday when I had to decline paying $5000 out of pocket to go on a ZERO-G flight (I tried unsuccessfully to negotiate a lower price.).  In doing so, I let an opportunity to fulfill a lifelong dream slip through my fingers. I had the honor of being invited to attend the pre-flight activities for ZERO-G's first ever flight in Honolulu.  Watching the pre-flight safety video, listening to the pre-flight briefings, observing the FAA at work, and talking with ZERO-G coaches, I learned a great deal about the process of going on a flight aboard the G-FORCE-ONE 727 aircraft.  The day was also valuable for me because it was an opportunity to speak in person with company representatives about future relations between ZERO-G and Astronauts4Hire .  The attention to detail in ZERO-G's operation really impresse...

Growing up, I had the privilege of having a father who was a private pilot.  This meant I was surrounded by aviation from a young age.  I spent many weekends at the local airport with my dad helping him wash his planes, hanging out with the local AOPA club, and flying around the county where we lived in northeast Arkansas.  My family took very few road trips; instead we traveled to most of our vacation destinations in our plane.  One summer when I was about 12, my dad and I flew across the country in his Aeronica Champ to the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh show in Wisconsin.  Camping out at night under the wing of the fabric-covered, 2-seater plane with a hand-cranked wooden propeller and no modern avionics, we were flying in a barebones style reminiscent of the barnstorming days of aviation early in the 20th century.  I'll never forget it. I was my dad's co-pilot long before I could drive a car, and if I have one regret in life it's that I wasn't able to fini...

Coming soon to an airshow near you: Rocket Racing League . I've always been a big fan of aviation and spent the better part of my youth immersed in it since my dad was a private pilot very active in the local AOPA club. Some of my favorite memories from those days are attending air shows with my family at a nearby Air Force base and flying to the EAA Oshkosh Show in Wisconsin. The Rocket Racing League (RRL) is a new kind of airshow, which had its debut event at the Tulsa Air Show this past weekend. Think of it as Star Wars podracing meets NASCAR.  RRL uses the latest rocket and augmented reality technologies to allow both the pilots and the spectators to feel like they're flying through a virtual racecourse in the sky.  There is even an iPhone app that allows you to join in the fun. Below is a highlight video from Miles O'Brien covering the first RRL event. Check out the RRL YouTube Channel for more.

Today Virgin Galactic unveiled SpaceShipTwo to a crowd of 800 guests at the Mojave Air and Spaceport in California.  Sir Richard Branson of Virgin Galactic and Burt Rutan of Scaled Composites named the ship "VSS Enterprise" in honor of the famous starship from Star Trek .  The world's first commercial spaceliner will undergo extensive safety testing before it offers its first flights perhaps as early as 2011.

Today is October 4. On this date back in 1957, the world changed when the USSR launched Sputnik 1 into orbit. History was made again on October 4, 2004 when SpaceShipOne won the $10 million Ansari X PRIZE by being the first private spacecraft to reach suborbital space twice in the span of a week. I was there in St. Louis in 2004 as Burt Rutan received the award, and it made an indelible impression upon me. Below is a photo of me with Rutan as well as autographs I collected from him and other members of the Mojave Aerospace Ventures team who built the spacecraft.   

The following video released by Virgin Galactic on March 27 shows a test flight of WhiteKnightTwo at Mojave Air and Space Port in California. The plane is about 70% complete, and the test flight phase is expected to last 18-24 months. I've included an excerpt from the press release below. Check out the Virgin Galactic website for photos and other videos.

I've been in my hometown enjoying some quality time with family and friends over the past week. One evening, my dad and grandmother showed me some old aviation photos taken by my great-grandfather when he was a mechanic in the Army Air Corps during the 1920s and 1930s. Several of the pictures featured Charles Lindbergh when he came through Little Rock in 1927. My grandmother's family moved all over the country when she was a girl and eventually ended up in Louisiana and later Arkansas. Her dad was named Fred McGinnis, and as a Staff Sergeant in the 154th Observation Squadron of the Arkansas Air National Guard , he served a Crew Chief on many types of aircraft (mostly open cockpit biplanes) during the aviation's barnstorming days. Below is a picture of him (front center) with his squadron in 1932.

In the latest episode of Popular Science's podcast Coctail Party Science , Eric Hagerman, author of the article "Wingman," talks about the jet man Yves Rossy and his successful crossing of the English Channel via personal jet pack in September 2008. Click on the last two links in the previous sentence to see my two former blog postings on this exciting new mode of transport. You can listen to the podcast below: Podcast Powered By Podbean

Space Shuttle Endeavour is currently on its way from Edwards Air Force Base in California to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It made a pit stop for fuel in Texas and will complete its journey to Florida tomorrow or Friday. It's relatively rare to see the Shuttle riding on top of NASA's modified 747. Ever since I received a toy Shuttle and 747 when I was about 5 years old, I've been fascinated by this feat of aviation. Below is a picture of that very toy (which I keep in my office) and Endeavour's most recent hitchhike on the 747.     

This interesting post on Project Manhigh comes courtesy of reader John C. Keel, M.D . Enjoy!

In a previous post I highlighted the exciting birdlike flight by JetMan/FusionMan Yves Rossy .    Now, the adventurer has become the first person to fly across the English Channel using a personal rocket wing. With his four kerosene-powered jets mounted on a carbon fiber wing, Rossy completed the 22-mile (35-km) trip from Calais, France to Dover, UK in less than 8 minutes (5 powered, 3 parachute to ground), which seems to be a record for personal powered trips across the channel . In Rossy's own words, I have proved it is possible to fly like a bird. My aim (was) to realize the dream. You have an idea in your head, and to actually achieve it is the most gratifying thing you can do.

Forget jet packs and their severe fuel/distance/speed limitations . Swiss pilot Yvess Rossy (aka: "fusion man" or "jet man") has developed the world's first jet turbine-powered wings that allow him to fly at speeds ranging from 130 to 300 km/h (81 to 186 mph). He controls his movement simply by shifting his body weight, similar to hang gliding. This is the ultimate in personal powered flight. You can read a press release, see a short video (no audio), and 34 great photos from his flight here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080514/ap_on_re_eu/switzerland_rocket_man

Virgin Galactic has unveiled the design of its new space launch system SpaceShipTwo, based on the 2004 X-PRIZE-winning SpaceShipOne. The new mothership called the WhiteKnightTwo is nearing completion and will undergo testing in summer 2008. Even better, both WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo are being designed to run on biofuel, making them more environmentally friendly. Here is a link to the Virgin Galactic press release (MS Word format) .