Download - SXC Informatie
The ultimate boundary: space. Yuri Gagarin, John Glenn and Neil Armstrong crossed it,
with their Soyuz, Mercury, Apollo. A rare experience that, so far, nearly 500 men and
women in the world have ever had. Soon, you will be among them. As you take your
place as a co-pilot of the Lynx, a revolutionary spaceship. You will become a space
traveler too…
TheY uNLocked The door...Are You GoiNG To opeN iT?
BecoMiNG pArT of worLd hiSTorY
SXc takes it to the next level, going further,
higher and faster. And you can experience
all of this as a co-pilot, not just as a passenger.
Being a serious scientific program, SXc is
contributing to the development of outer
space travel. it is not simply a joy ride! This is
an opportunity to take part in international
scientific research and have a unique
experience at the same time.
Your venture into space will certainly be a
life-changing experience. only few have gone
before you. All of them have attempted to
capture their experience in words. None of
them really succeeded. it is too impressive,
too moving: seeing earth… from space.
Be that as it may, the scientists working on the
SXc project prefer to involve ‘common people’
in their research from day one. They are
convinced that travel through space will
ultimately become the main means of long
distance transport, providing many benefits.
Although it takes a significant amount of
energy to exit the atmosphere, travel after
that is almost completely free. Therefore, it
is faster, cleaner and quieter. it will be The
way to travel in the future.
That is also the main reason why the oldest
worldwide airline carrier, still operable, actively
takes part in this extraordinary enterprise. in
the early years of the previous century, kLM
was an absolute pioneer in the field of air travel.
Today, this proud airline carrier is at the cradle
of this form of space travel. kLM’s participation
underlines the serious character of the SXc
project. All the more reason to get involved!
without a doubt, this new way of space travel,
without any costly and complicated assisting
systems, offers enormous potential for the
future. Since there is practically no resistance
outside the atmosphere, a spacecraft retains
its speed without adding energy. Going at
thousands of kilometers per hour, it revolves
around the earth. This is four to five times
faster than the fastest conventional airplane.
Taking this into consideration, this form of
travel is considered The means of transport
for the future. frankfurt, Sydney, hong kong
and Santiago will only be a few hours apart.
Thanks to innovative developments in space
travel, to which SXc’s efforts greatly contribute.
do not hesitate, register with SXc and turn a
great experience into an even greater memory.
lack of sound. Look at the earth from
this distance, with its radiant blue colour,
that no painter has ever succeeded to
capture and no photograph from space
can ever do justice. Bluer than blue, the
earth revolves beneath you. continents,
countries, seas pass by. You simply cannot
stay in your seat, due to both excitement
and absence of gravity. how many new
impressions can a human handle in a short
period of time? You are about to find out…
remember, this is not just a joyride. it is now
time for the experiment you were set out to do.
Being a member of this expedition, you and
the pilot are gathering information on space
travel for scientific goals.
No tourist traps, no annoying fellow passengers,
no cameras flashing. Just you and the pilot,
and the overwhelming view.
contrary to all of the other spacecrafts
previously developed, including the Space
Shuttle, the Lynx is equipped with a uniquely
independent take off and land system whereby
the Lynx rocket engines can be switched off
or on at will. There are no disposable carrier
rockets, carriers and landings at sea. The Lynx
simply departs from the elongated track at hato
airport, curacao, and lands there after its flight.
You will find yourself sitting next to the pilot,
going over the take-off checklist. You are
under the large canopy, offering a spectacularly
wide view. No sitting by the window for you!
The four rocket engines are started. Your
space travel has begun.
You experience the powerful thrust that is
so familiar to jet pilots and formula 1 drivers.
Before you know it, it is over and the Lynx
is accelerating incredibly fast on the long
track. Then you go up. fast and steep. As
you speed towards the sky, the enormous
dome offers a spectacular view. within one
minute, you are breaking the sound barrier.
Take-off alone is an extremely rare experience,
the magnificent acceleration, caused by
the four rocket engines, the view of the
bright blue caribbean bay, islands the
size of the Netherlands become part of
a miniature world...
Then, you reach Mach 3. A rarity that
not even most fighter pilots experience.
in no time, you are witnessing the vastness
of the universe and its utter silence.
The engines switch off, all you have to
do is take in the view and the complete
eArTh AS oNLY 500 peopLe hAVe SeeN her
HORIZONTAL TAKEOFFFROM RUNWAY
POWERED ASCENTMAX AIRSPEED - MACH 2.9+3 MINUTES
APOGEE - 103 KM (338,000 FEET) MICROGRAVITY ENVIRONMENT
HORIZONTAL LANDINGTOTAL FLIGHT TIME 60 MINUTES
ENGINES OFF - 58,5 KM192,000 FEET
COAST UPWARDSRE-ENTRY
MAX G-FORCE AT PULLOUT: 4.5 G
GLIDE AND CIRCLE
+4,6 MINUTES
get readyfor take-offThe Lynx provides room for a pilot and a
co-pilot astronaut. within minutes, it can
achieve an altitude of 100 km., scientifically
recognized as the frontier of ‘space’.
passengers will have the unique experience
of viewing the earth while in a weightless
condition. According to all of the astronauts
that have previously witnessed this, it is nothing
short of a “life changing experience”. They
testify that the earth, with the atmosphere as
a thin blue layer surrounding it, is particularly
vulnerable and from an unparalleled beauty,
seen from this perspective.
Rick Searfoss, three-times Space Shuttle pilot:
contrary to the Virgin Galactic flights,
SXc has a so-called ‘rolling start’. Similar
to a normal jet, the Lynx takes off from
Spaceport curacao, located on curacao
international Airport. directly after take-off,
the spacecraft turns away from the island
slightly and turns its nose up virtually
straight. within one minute, the Lynx and
its pilots are breaking the sound barrier.
within three minutes, it reaches a speed of
about Mach3. There, at an altitude of nearly
60 km., the pilot switches off the engines
and the parabolic flight commences, during
which the crew experiences weightlessness
for a few minutes. eventually, the Lynx
reaches its maximum altitude of 100 km.,
the official frontier of space. A place where
it is completely black, despite the sunshine.
The full curves of the earth are clearly
visible from here. The overview stretches
from florida to Brazil, with the dazzling
caribbean as a centre piece. from 100 km.
the floating flight back to earth begins.
At an altitude of 30 kilometers the Lynx
starts reentering the atmosphere thereby
becoming more and more an airplane
in its final glide towards the runway, if
necessary thereby assisted by the unique
capability to restart the rocket engines.
That is the moment the pilots experience
a curve acceleration of almost 4-4.5G’s,
something that usually only fighter jet pilots
experience. After about 30-40 minutes of
gliding flight (often referred to as floating
‘on the wings of an angel’), the Lynx lands
at Spaceport curacao like a space shuttle.
The entire flight will have taken almost an hour.
It’s not a pIcknIck
Project SXC is the most impressive
adventure available in the realm of space
travel. That is a fact.
And, it is not for everybody. The simple
fact that only one passenger can board
per flight guarantees the uniqueness of the
experience. Other than that, anyone that is
at least 18 years of age and physically and
mentally healthy, can travel to space with
SXC. Obviously, a thorough preparation is
required. It involves an examination
of your medical condition during which
blood pressure, vision, hearing and agility
will be tested. Preparations further include
rehearsal of procedures, an elaborate
briefing on your specific mission and its
scientific goals. So you will be as ready
as you will ever be for a life-changing
experience.
What are you waiting for?
TrAiNiNG MiSSioNSin order to be completely prepared for your
space travel, you can participate in a number
of optional SXc Training Missions, in addition
to the complimentary preparatory program.
G-centrifuge
A ride in the G-centrifuge serves to
demonstrate elevated levels of G.
And, more importantly, how to be ready
for them. This is relevant because during
the re-entry into the atmosphere, the Lynx
will experience elevated levels of G, making
your head and arms feel heavier than usual.
At the end of its re-entry, the Lynx will have
to lose excess energy, and during this pull-up
manoeuvre you will experience 4.5G for a
few seconds.
during the G-centrifuge Training Mission,
you will take a seat in a small cockpit, which
flies circles at the end of a long pole. You will
experience elevated G-levels (up to 4.5G)
and our professional instructors will teach
you several simple techniques to deal with
these G-levels. And enjoy them! with these
techniques, you will be prepared to optimize
your experience in the Lynx spaceship.
Flight in the L-39 Albatross Jet
The L-39 Albatross is a single engine, tandem
seat jet trainer. This high-performance jet is
ideally suited to prepare for the spaceflight
in the Lynx Mk ii. You will fly in the backseat,
behind our professional instructor pilot, and
get used to flying in a high performance
aircraft, wearing a helmet and even pulling
some G’s. during this Training Mission,
we simulate the most important phases
of your spaceflight, so you will be ready
come the actual spaceflight. with this great
experience, you will be able to enjoy your
spaceflight to the maximum.
Altitude chamber
The Altitude chamber Training Mission is
important to get used to the environment of
the Lynx Mk ii and prepare for unexpected
circumstances. in the altitude chamber,
you will experience what the pressure at
higher altitudes does to the human body.
You will take a seat in a specially prepared
tank, together with our professional
instructors. You will fly to a simulated altitude
of about 10 km., where you will experience
several demonstrations of the high altitude
environment. we will also simulate a rapid
decompression. This is a great learning
experience and the ultimate preparation for
your spaceflight.
Zero-G flight
on this Training Mission, you will experience
weightlessness. Zero-G or parabolic flights
are flights on a specially equipped aircraft,
to simulate zero-G. You will be weightless for
about 50 seconds at a time, during special
manoeuvres, called parabolas. These can be
repeated 20-30 times per flight. during the
short periods of weightlessness, you will
experience the same weightlessness as in
space. You will also be able to float freely
through the cabin and will train to perform
various tasks, to prepare for your space mission.
The earth is a precious thing.
Admiring its beauty from space is a life
changing experience. Therefore, being
a space travel pioneer, we are conscious
of our responsibilities to the planet.
As the world is getting smaller and
humanity’s development is stretching
the earth’s resources both qualitatively
and quantitatively, science is getting
ready for the next step: into space.
Space travel opens up new worlds for
humanity, with regards to science, education,
economic growth, sustainability and leisure.
admiring earth
whAT You See iS whAT You GeT: curAcAo, The cAriBBeAN
Besides being the ideal strategic location,
with a well-equiped infrastructure, the
location of the SXc spaceport is a sight in
itself! The caribbean offers magically blue
waters and white sandy beaches, against
a bright green backdrop. Seen from space,
it is absolutely spectacular. Moreover,
curacao weather conditions guarantee
perfect circumstances for every mission.
Together with the many splendid hotels and
accommodations the island has to offer,
it makes for a perfect holiday spot.
for those travelling with you to curacao,
but not into space, the town of willemstad,
which is on the uNeSco world heritage list,
the deep-sea submarine, fine beaches and
great diving are a caribbean treat to make
your stay unforgettable.
MeeT The SXc TeAMThe initiators of SXc are experienced aerospace and business professionals, with a passion for space travel. They are dedicated to the
development of space travel as a commercial means of transport and excited about participating in pioneering scientific research into
space and space travel. coming from different relevant backgrounds and having gathered many years of experience in leading roles,
the men of SXc are very dependable and particularly well equipped for this ambitious space venture. in joining their forces, they have
created a strong team with extensive knowledge of both aerospace and commerce. They are ready for space. Are you?
Ben droste is an extremely experienced pilot,
having flown over 4.000 hours in different
types of military aircrafts, of which almost
1.000 hours on the f-16. he was part of the
royal Netherlands Air force from 1962 to
2000, when he retired as commander in chief.
over the years, he has been involved in
various dutch aerospace institutions and
organisations, as a chairman of the Netherlands
Agency for Aerospace programmes, dean and
professor of the Aerospace faculty of the
Technical university in delft and eSA Advisory
Board Member. currently, besides being one of
the SXc initiators, Ben droste is chairman of
the fokker – van den Berch van heemstede
Aerospace foundation and member of
the Scientific Advisory committee of the
Netherlands defence Academy.
After completing his bachelor degree in
engineering at the royal Military Academy
in Breda, harry van hulten rapidly gained a
great amount of experience as a pilot,
flying various types of airplane. To date,
he has flown over 3.000 hours, of which
2.600 in the f-16, in 42 different types of
aircrafts, including various high performance
fighters. having completed the euro NATo
Joint Jet pilot Training and the f-16 weapons
instructor course, harry van hulten went on
to become an experimental test pilot at uSAf
Test pilot School, a highly exclusive preparatory
program for NASA pilots-astronauts.
Michiel Mol is one of europe’s most
successful e-businessmen of the past
decade. having graduated from Leiden
university with a degree in computer
Science and Mathematics, he started his
own company Lost Boys international (LBi).
LBi has since grown to europe’s largest
digital agency and is listed on both the
dutch and Swedish exchange. he is still
the largest shareholder and member of
the supervisory board at LBi. in addition,
he founded Media republic and Guerilla
Games. currently, Michiel is also a co-owner
and board member of forceindia formula
one Team, co-owner of flogs.com and
member of the Advisory Board of The
communication company.
After earning his degree in Law at Leiden
university, Maarten elshove started his
career in finance. having worked at various
large corporations, such as ABN Amro and
kpMG, he developed his entrepreneurial
skills and became the director and owner
of Maxcredible, which soon grew out
to be a leading firm in customer credit
management software. currently, Maarten
elshove is the co-owner of MM Ventures.
For more information, please contact: Space Expedition Curacao
Tel. +31 (0)20 337 4505, [email protected] spacexc.com