Chirinjeev Kathuria will
take you to space

NRI techpreneur's PlanetSpace to launch
 private space flights by 2008

BY A CORRESPONDENT
9th January 2005

Sky is the not the limit, space is. If you have any doubts, look to Chirinjeev Kathuria, NRI entrepreneur based in the US. His company PlanetSpace, in association with Ontario-based Candian Arrow, is working on the design of a private spacecraft which will take you to space and back. The tickets won't be cheap: get your check books out for $2,50,000 per head.

Chirinjeevi's PlanetSpace has zoomed in on the design of a hypersonic glider named FDL 7 (Flight Dynamics Glider Laboratory No.7) for its private spacecraft. The spacecraft, named Silver Dart, is 45 feet long and can carry up to eight people. According to Kathuria, the spacecraft can be re-used for up to 100 times. It took the company four years of research to finalise a design prototype.

Kathuria was earlier with MirCorp, a JV with Rocket & Science Corporation Energia, a Russian company. Kathuria has also excelled in building several businesses including American Teleradiology, Nighthawks and The X-Stream Networks, Inc.

Born in India, Dr Kathuria has been in Illinois in US since early childhood. He graduated from Valedictorian of Downers Grove North School. Dr Chirinjeev Kathuria has a Bachelor of Science and a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) from Brown University. He also holds a Master's in Business Administration (M.B.A.) from Stanford University.

Dr Kathuria has also assisted the establishment of Morgan Stanley's Investment Banking operations in India and helped develop Arthur D. Little biotechnology and health care policy practice in Europe. Dr Kathuria's published papers include "Biotechnology in the Uncommon Market" and "Segmentation of aneurysms via connectivity from MRA brain data." Dr Kathuria was a US Senate Candidate in Illinois in 2004.

The US Air Force Flight Dynamic Laboratory had stated work on the project, which PlanetSpace has adapted now. According to Prof Paul Czsyz, professor emeritus of aerospace engineering at Saint Louis University in 1964, the significance of this design was lost when the military was excluded from space technology development. The model being finetuned now was developed by Czsyz. The launch rocket by Canadian Arrow makes use of V-2 rocket technology.

PlanetSpace is planning to submit the design of the FDL-7 Silver Dart to Nasa soon. Nasa had recently announced that it would subsidise commercial services to deliver cargo and people to the International Space Station. Nasa had allocated $500 million for this project.

The PlanetSpace Silver Dart can be used both for ferrying people and cargo for Nasa, and as a tourist space vehicle. The spacecraft is expected to be ready by 2008.

However, Virgin Galactic, Richard Branson's spacecraft venture s already has a running start on this. Virgin Galactic has set $2,00,000 for a trip to space. However, Kathuria justifies the higher cost on board Silver Dart: "Our flights will have more facilities and duration. So we may charge a little more."

According to Chirinjeev Kathuria, the company has plans to ferry 2000 tourists to space in five years time, and hopes to touch $500 million revenues by then.