 Above
and right are images of the TGV vehicle, named
"Michelle" This vehicle is a manned reusable sub-orbital rocket. The vehicle
takes off under rocket power, firing its engines for approximately 80 seconds.
During the ascent, the pilot uses varied power settings to manage dynamic
pressure loads. The vehicle cruises to a maximum altitude of 104 km and then
enters into a gravity induced descent. A flexible aero-shield is deployed to
reduce speed and moderate re-entry temperatures. At approximately 3 km, the
shield begins retracting and landing power is applied. The pilot carries
terminal manoeuvres and "manages all systems", as they say in the text. There are four named people on the
team. It does not seem that tests of hardware components have been carried out.
Pictures, like those above, seem a bit fanciful, and the absence of real photos
suggests, as it does on some other X-Prize team websites, a severe lack of
underlying substance. This team does not look like a serious contender.
If you were wondering about the
name: it's "Two Guys and a Van", from a chance remark made by one of the
company's founders, about the prospects of small companies in the space
business.

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