Followup on the excitement of rocket piloting

[Yup, still at the airport]

To follow up on a posting from during the Space Access ’08 conference, I have an article in this week’s issue of The Space Review examining what it will take to become a “rocket pilot”, and just how interesting an occupation that will be. As many of the speakers noted, there’s little to go on in terms of official guidance or experience in training for flying rocket-powered suborbital or orbital vehicles, so people are building up their flying credentials, gaining experience and certifications in various aircraft.

I also expand in the article John Carmack’s thoughts about how flying these vehicles will be relatively routine and even mundane, rather than glamorous. There will be interesting flying opportunities for those involved in test flights or even rocket racing, but regular commercial flights will be largely automated, so that the experience will be akin to that of an elevator operator. “[O]nce it gets to the point of lots and lots of people flying on these things—elevator,” he said at one point in the panel.

3 comments to Followup on the excitement of rocket piloting

  • Ron

    “[O]nce it gets to the point of lots and lots of people flying on these things—elevator,”

    The last time I checked 767s, business jets, and Airbuses weren’t being piloted by “elevator operators.” And guess what? They fly lots and lots of people.

  • Me

    …And those pilots LOVE to fly!

  • Oldest and safest Spaceline company in the industry, Blue Ridge Nebula Spaceline of Denver Colorado CEO Dr. Doug Haynes puts our Haynes Saucer UFO into its first free flight, gravity 1 spin-up maneuver at altitude after submitting the worlds first Spaceline operational manual, checklist and Parable Lost/ MEL/ CDl documents to the FAA-AST registration department.

    .Read more at http://www.blueridgeairlines.com or http://www.bluenebula.com.

    God Bless

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