Private rocket upsets prices

Press, 27 September 1988, Page 13

Private rocket upsets prices

By

ROBIN McKIE,

science correspondent for the “Observer.”

American engineers are preparing to make space history by launching a privately-financed rocket from a United States missile base. The rocket, codenamed Loft-1, is scheduled to lift off on October 6 and intended to carry a small cargo of academic experiments into the upper atmosphere. But the mission’s goals are more ambitious, for the rocket is intended to spearhead a drive to recapture the world’s commercial market for launching satellites. “This is a pathfinder launch,” says Mr James Mizell, a founding member of Loft’s developer, E’Prime Aerospace of Titusville, Florida, which was set up following President Reagan’s decision to ban government rockets from launching commercial satellites after the Challenger space shuttle tragedy. It is believed that there will also soon be a demand for Earth surveillance satellites and orbiting factories for manufacturing drugs and electronic components.

Europe’s Ariane now launches most commercial satellites but many other agencies — including those in the Soviet Union and

China — have been vying to sell launches. E’Prime was one of the first American companies to join the race and was set up by a group of entrepreneurs led by Apollo programme engineer, Robert Davis. E’Prime’s selection was unusual, however, for it picked the Peacekeeper solid-fuel rocket, used as a nuclear warhead launcher. It is manufactured by Morton ThiokOl, builder of the shuttle’s problem-plagued solidfuel boosters. The E’Prime launcher will consist of versions of Peacekeeper stacked in several stages. In this way, the company says it will be able to launch satellites for between about $5O million and about SIOOM, depending on their size. This compares with Ariane’s SISOM price tag. However, E’Prime still faces considerable problems. There is no precedent for allowing private companies to use United States Government launch pads, which are the only sites in the country for rocket blast-offs.