Space flight has been something that humanity has been longing for even before we left our atmosphere. So far there have only been three examples of reusable spacecraft that have successfully flown, none of which were built for commercial uses. Washington-based aerospace company Radian has hopes of breaking those molds of noncommercial flights, raising 27.5 million to fund their “Radian One” project. 

In the past, no one has built such a type of spacecraft before, and if Radian can pull it off, it would likely cut the cost of current spaceflight. This could encourage new opportunities for off-world research, manufacturing, exploration, and other ventures.

Richard Humphrey, CEO of Raidan, believes that “widespread access to space means limitless opportunities for humankind,” and that, “Over time, we intend to make space travel nearly as simple and convenient as airliner travel.” 

“A long time has passed since the last true attempt at this,” he said. “The technology has moved forward, and people are willing to fund projects like this.”

Large markets are anticipated to open if Radian can achieve their goals. A ship like the Radian One would be ideal for transporting humans to private space stations in low Earth orbit, which NASA hopes to promote by 2030. These planes may also observe Earth and can assist in the return of space-manufactured products. 

Even on Earth, there would be many doors opened concerning point-to-point travel being possible, for example, being able to travel from Seattle to London in just half an hour. Space travel has the potential to revolutionize the flight industry.

Much has changed in the past two decades to allow private development of such a vehicle. Lightweight aircraft composites were primarily experimental at the time, but today they are described as well-understood technology. Space launch corporations also frequently supercool their liquid propellants to get additional performance during flight. Radian intends to accomplish this to help with their Radian One campaign.

It has been speculated that the Radian One can travel at speeds around 2,000 miles per hour, which will enable it to travel around half the globe in 30 minutes. For commercial viability, the space plane will be launched horizontally on top of a rocket-powered sled, according to Radian’s concept. Before the craft detaches and takes flight, the sled will accelerate down a runway, which should help it gather up speed without using any of the fuel stored aboard.

As no scheduled debut date has been set for the Radian One, it is still too soon to visualize the optics. According to Humphrey, the business has already made considerable headway on its spaceplane, even creating and testing a full-size engine for it.

With development in progress, the company said that, “Over time, we intend to make space travel nearly as simple and convenient as airliner travel,” and that they are “not focused on tourism; we are dedicated to missions that make life better on our own planet, like research, in-space manufacturing and terrestrial observation, as well as critical new missions like rapid global delivery right here on Earth.” 

In the next decade, this form of space travel could easily be normal, and we all will take a flight on the Radian One.