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