COSMOS Helps SpaceShipOne Soar

Company Scaled Composites, Inc. Industry Aerospace/Defense Location U.S.A. Product Used COSMOSM, COSMOSWorks Type of Analysis Linear Static, Frequency, Displacement Analysis More Details

On October 4, 2004, a private, manned, prototype space craft called SpaceShipOne (SS1) made its second trip into space within two weeks and won the $10 million Ansari X PRIZE.

The Challenge
Designed and built by Scaled Composites, Inc., Mojave, CA, the first private, manned, space craft doesn't resemble anything NASA has flown, and it doesn't behave like any predecessor craft. SpaceShipOne flies in three different modes, taking off like a rocket, righting itself upon re-entry into the atmosphere, and landing softly, like an airplane.

The Solution

As might be expected in such a complex structure, simulation played a big part in SS1 design. Scaled Composites uses a number of simulation tools, and has used COSMOS finite element analysis (FEA) software for composite analysis for about 15 years. In the specific case of SS1,which is built primarily of bi-directional carbon cloth, structural analyst Dan Kreigh used COSMOS to perform static, buckling and some nonlinear analyses for the fuselage, wings and tail. To protect the pilot, the SS1 cabin was designed with a safety factor of three, unlike the usual aircraft safety factor of 1.5.

SS1 was built at a cost of about $25 million, and Burt Rutan, founder and owner of Scaled Composites, believes that its success has ended the government's monopoly on space travel and opened it up to ordinary citizens.

Summary and Metrics:

• Nonlinear analyses led to the design of many small windows to avoid bulging under cabin pressure.
• Every pound of weight subtracts more than 100 feet of altitude. COSMOS reduced six to eight pounds of excess material.