Posted on 01/28/2004 11:33:58 AM PST by BenLurkin
With the first manned space program without government support, Burt Rutan once again is making history by conquering the skies. His SpaceShipOne already has set the record of the first manned supersonic flight by a privately built, nongovernment-funded aircraft, on its way to being the first privately built spacecraft to enter and return from a suborbital flight.
Rutan's Mojave-based Scaled Composites has been the subject of much attention in the aviation and space world lately, and Chief Test Pilot Mike Melvill has been in the thick of it.
Melvill was at the controls for the earliest glide flights of SpaceShipOne, and he presented film of the historic supersonic rocket flight for the first time in public on Saturday at the annual awards banquet for Chapter 49 of the Experimental Aircraft Association.
SpaceShipOne is designed to be air-launched from the White Knight carrier aircraft, then use a rocket engine to boost it to 100 kilometers - 62 miles or 328,000 feet - above the Earth. Upon completing an arc, the spacecraft is to descend to a runway landing, much like a glider.
"SpaceShipOne is going to be the first airplane to go 100 kilometers about the Earth," Melvill said. "And when we do that, we're going to win the prize. Ten million bucks - think about that."
Developed in secret for two years, SpaceShipOne and its unique carrier aircraft were unveiled to the public in April 2003. The White Knight's first flight was in August 2002, and the first unpowered glide flight of SpaceShipOne took place a year later.
"Burt had been playing around with going into space since we started working on Proteus" in 1998, Melvill said.
The project came to the forefront with the advent of the X-Prize, an international competition intended to jump-start the space tourism industry.
The competition will award $10 million to the first privately funded team to successfully build and launch a spacecraft capable of carrying three people to 100 kilometers' altitude and safely return to Earth, then turn around and duplicate the feat within two weeks.
"That's a pretty big incentive," Melvill said.
In an unusual move, Rutan took it upon himself to secure funding for the project. In December, it was revealed that Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen is the financial sponsor.
SpaceShipOne's official Scaled Composites designation is Model 316, for the 316th aircraft designed by the company. White Knight, designed later, is Model 318. Both vehicles share the same cockpit configuration and systems, so that the White Knight also serves as a simulator for the spacecraft.
"So when I went up in SpaceShipOne the first time, there wouldn't be any surprises," Melvill said.
SpaceShipOne employs an innovative solution to the extreme heat of re-entry. The craft is designed to create huge amounts of drag early on, so it lands at roughly the same speeds as a general aviation airplane.
To accomplish this, the spacecraft's twin-tail section lifts until it is virtually perpendicular to the wings and body, generating drag and slowing the spacecraft.
This feathering of the tail causes the spacecraft to right itself for landing, similar to a falling shuttlecock, Melvill said. The spacecraft then comes back down level to the Earth, with thermal protection materials preventing the underside of the craft from becoming dangerously hot.
The fact that the spacecraft is designed for brief, suborbital flight also lessens the danger of overheating, as the period of time at high speeds through the atmosphere is very brief, Melvill said.
Melvill was at the controls the first time the feathering maneuver was applied during a test flight last year.
"It was really hard reaching for that switch," he said. "My hand wouldn't go to it."
The reluctance may be understandable in hindsight, as the configuration proved to be surprisingly hard to control, gyrating through the skies before Melvill was able to bring it under control and land.
Following Melvill's exciting flight, SpaceShipOne's tail was redesigned.
"Initially, it was a squirrel to fly," he said. "Now the airplane flies very nicely."
SpaceShipOne's rocket motor was also designed by Rutan and built at Scaled Composites, with a valve designed by SpaceDev Inc. It is fueled by a combination of rubber and nitrous oxide, or laughing gas. Rubber alone burns very slowly, Melvill said, but adding nitrous oxide to the mix makes it highly combustible.
"When you open that valve and start the ignitors, all hell is going to break loose," he said. "That's a very, very serious piece of gear."
Video footage of the first rocket-powered flight, on Dec. 17, shows pilot Brian Binnie being shoved back into his seat and up in the harness straps once the rocket is ignited.
"That's got to be a heck of a kick in the butt," Melvill said.
In that test flight, the rocket motor shut down as planned after 15 seconds, with the ship climbing at a 60-degree angle and flying near 1.2 Mach (930 mph). Binnie continued climbing to 68,000 feet before the ship's momentum slowed to zero.
He then feathered the tail, falling at approximately 15,000 feet per minute before gliding in for a landing.
Only a broken main gear on landing that sent the spacecraft into the dirt alongside the runway marred the historic flight.
The 15-second rocket firing was dictated not by specific testing needs, but by Federal Aviation Administration regulations, Melvill said. The FAA allows model rockets a 15-second burn, and Scaled Composites operated under that regulation, while it continues to navigate the uncharted waters of space vehicle licensing.
For a typical spaceflight with SpaceShipOne, the spacecraft will be carried to 49,000-feet altitude by the White Knight.
Once released, the rocket engine will light and burn for about 70 seconds, taking the spacecraft straight up to from 220,000 to 230,000 feet at Mach 3.3, Melvill said. The ship's momentum will carry it to nearly 340,000 feet.
At the top, passengers will experience about three minutes of weightlessness before beginning the descent. The pilot will feather the tail to bring the ship in level.
Once back in the atmosphere and nearing landing, the tail will be returned to its original position, and SpaceShipOne will glide to a runway landing.
The innovative design of the spacecraft was first explored using models tossed off the top of the Mojave Airport control tower.
"We made about three (model) flights, and Burt said 'that will be good enough,' " Melvill said.
The only other aerodynamic testing before flight occurred in "Burt's wind tunnel that he keeps in his head," he said.
While the project "is Burt's baby, no question about it," some 40 people have enthusiastically worked on it, Melvill said.
"We're doing this because we think it's a neat thing to do," he said, not for any commercial or military application.
"Watch me," he added. "We're gonna get the $10 million."
"SEEKING X-PRIZE - SpaceShipOne sits atop White Knight, its carrier craft, at the Mojave Airport. Designed by Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites, the ship is designed to soar to 100 kilometers above the Earth and return safely. The first privately funded craft to accomplish the feat twice in two weeks while carrying three passengers will win the $10 million X-Prize, an international competition."
Did they apply for permits to the correct agencies? How would one know which agencies to apply to? FAA, but who else?
I would be worried about that. Paranoid, but in a rational way.
Anyway, the Fed agencies will probably let Rutan proceed until there is a serious problem. Sooner or later it will happen, flight being what it is. Then come regulations, bonding requirements, and great expense.
From what I've read, this is the key question. No one really knows, even the FAA. I'm waiting to see if he says "screw it" and kicks the tires and lights the fire.
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