| Burt Rutan is known as the aviation god | | | | falls at a slow, controlled speed. The |
| responsible for creating all kinds of | | | | flight pattern of the birdie gave Rutan |
| freaky planes. He created the Voyager, | | | | a design parameter for SpaceShipOne. The |
| the first plane to fly around the world | | | | birdie enabled Rutan to not only come up |
| on a single tank of fuel, among many | | | | with a lightweight reentry system, but |
| other revolutionary and record-breaking | | | | also to design the craft as such that it |
| experimental aircrafts. | | | | dramatically simplifies the pilot's role |
| In the fall of 2004, Rutan and his team | | | | upon reentry. The craft could basically |
| won the Ansari X Prize, a $10 million | | | | navigate itself because of the |
| award to the first civilian company that | | | | aerodynamically stable design. |
| could launch the equivalent of three | | | | The SpaceShipOne technology is now |
| people into space twice within 14 days. | | | | licensed for use in a fleet of |
| Many people believe that the propulsion | | | | commercial spacecraft. The technology |
| or rocket forces would be the biggest | | | | will be utilized by Virgin Galactic, a |
| technological issue to overcome, but | | | | company that aims to be the first space |
| much of that technology was borrowed | | | | tourism company to provide sub-orbital |
| from other sources. One of the biggest | | | | flights to the public. |
| obstacles for Rutan's SpaceShipOne | | | | The Ansari X Prize competition was |
| flight was re-entry. | | | | designed to spur civilian spaceflight |
| When an object is going 20,000 to 25,000 | | | | innovation, but ten million is a measly |
| miles per hour in orbit, it will | | | | prize when you consider that NASA does |
| literally slam into the atmosphere upon | | | | not have the capabilities to complete |
| re-entry. The vehicle hits the | | | | this feat - and a NASA shuttle launch |
| atmosphere extremely hard and fast and | | | | costs something like a $ billion each! |
| slows down very quickly over a short | | | | Think about that for a moment. One of |
| amount of time, which creates a great | | | | the biggest technological |
| deal of heat. Although there were proven | | | | accomplishments of our lifetime was |
| re-entry systems that Rutan's team could | | | | solved by a fifty cent badminton birdie. |
| have utilized, the current systems were | | | | Whether Burt was consciously doing it or |
| too heavy for his aircraft. | | | | not, he was using a creative thinking |
| To solve this problem, Burt asked | | | | tool called "Random Entry." This is |
| himself, "Rather than slamming on the | | | | where you take a seemingly unrelated |
| brakes, what would happen if I tapped | | | | word or concept and study it in detail |
| them instead? What if I reenter over a | | | | to find the connections. To find the |
| much longer period of time and make | | | | similarities. Random Entry stimulus is |
| re-entry a slower process to give time | | | | every where. You are surrounded by it. |
| for the heat to bleed off?" He figured | | | | You just have to open your eyes. |
| that if he could accomplish that goal, | | | | Some of the simplest ways to get this |
| he could apply a much lighter thermal | | | | random stimulus is to pick a word, |
| protection system that would not weigh | | | | picture, or object. Randomly point to a |
| down the craft. However, no such | | | | word in a book or newspaper. Type in a |
| re-entry process existed. | | | | word in Google and click on the images |
| To solve his problem, Burt looked to the | | | | tab. Pick any picture. What does that |
| sports world. He thought about | | | | image make you think of relative to new |
| basketball, baseball, and football, but | | | | solutions to your problem? As far as |
| he really hit the gold mine when he | | | | objects; Pick anything around you. |
| considered a badminton birdie. | | | | What can you create using existing |
| When you play badminton, you hit the | | | | technologies and ideas? Do you think |
| birdie as hard as you can. The birdie | | | | that your creativity might one day |
| flies up to the top of the net and then | | | | change the world? |