Posted on 03/30/2009 12:09:30 PM PDT by BenLurkin
MOJAVE - The unique, twin-fuselage WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft continued to expand the flight envelope with its third test flight, taking it higher, faster and for longer duration than the earlier two test flights.
The aircraft is the prototype mothership for Virgin Galactic's nascent space tourism business, and will carry aloft the six-passenger SpaceShipTwo for suborbital spaceflights.
In a two-and-a-half-hour test flight from the Mojave Air and Space Port on Wednesday, WhiteKnightTwo reached a maximum speed of 140 knots (161 mph) and reached an altitude of above 18,000 feet, according to a Virgin Galactic statement.
The flight also successfully tested in-flight engine restarts and evaluation of the aircraft's handling qualities, among other tests, according to Virgin Galactic officials.
"This is a truly remarkable aviation vehicle and, although it might look unique from the ground it is not strange to fly in any way and is in fact a great piloting experience," said Scaled Composites test pilot Peter Siebold, who has piloted all three test flights.
Designed and built by Scaled Composites, the Mojave firm founded by aviation designer Burt Rutan, WhiteKnightTwo builds on the success of the Rutan-designed SpaceShipOne, the first privately funded craft to carry a man into space.
That success led to the agreement with Virgin Galactic to develop a system capable of carrying paying passengers to suborbital space, where they may experience a few minutes of weightlessness and witness the black sky of space and the curvature of the Earth below.
Much like its predecessor in that earlier program, WhiteKnightTwo will be used to bring the SpaceShipTwo spacecraft to launch altitude at approximately 50,000 feet.
Once the spacecraft is released, it will ignite its rocket engine and carry the six passengers and two crew members out of the atmosphere.
(Excerpt) Read more at avpress.com ...
Space Ping
Excellent. Thank you!
Essentially its two airplanes joined together at the wingtips, and that is the area they will hang the loaded SpaceShipTwo on?
I’m all for exploration and expanding the envelope, but in my opinion this whole project is a catastrophe waiting to happen. count me out on this one.
What am I missing here? 18,000 feet at 161 mph is not really very impressive. Many small every day single engine planes can do this.
That has got to be a trip to land. Not being centered in the fuselage has got to take some getting used to.
Great nose Art. There was a time, before everyone got so PC, that USAF, USN and USMC flyers used to have really cool things painted on the noses of the aircraft they flew. Then a bunch of sissies and SOB sisters got thier panties in a wad and told the flyers that they were all a bunch of little boys or macho creeps or looked at women as objects. Of course the pilots looked at women as objects, but they were too busy defending the country to worry about such things.And besides, I think only ugly women protested because the pilots only put beautiful women up. Maybe if they put more Helen Thomas or Rosie art up, things could have been different.
Practical experience in flight test.
I am far far removed from claiming to be an aeronautical engineer but something is totally wrong about this configuration, it looks totally stupid and inefficient.
Apparently some “Johnny Come Lately’s” haven't Googled up Burt Rutan’s long track record of success, including two aircraft hanging in the Smithsonian.
The first test flight is normally just to prove that it will get off the ground and fly in a straight line. Further tests will go higher and faster in increments to see what she can really do. Additionally, most test flights take place with the landing gear down so achieving its highest speed wouldn’t possible.
Looks can be deceiving. Form follows function.
I have to agree. Rutan’s a genius, but scaling up the earlier versions has proved difficult, and probably for good reason. I hate to say it, but I think this will prove costly.
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