Private Space Plane Flies Again

Space.com ^ | 3/18/04 | Leonard David

[Brett66]

Private Space Plane Flies Again
By Leonard David
Senior Space Writer
posted: 04:30 pm ET
18 April 2004

SpaceShipOne, a privately-built, passenger-carrying suborbital space vehicle, has undergone another test flight.

On March 11, high over the Mojave Desert in California, the craft was released from the White Knight mothership, and then glided to a runway landing.

SpaceShipOne’s pilot was Pete Siebold. Objectives of the unpowered glide test included a check of pilot proficiency, as well as verifying the vehicle’s reaction control system. A key aspect of the glide flight was to assess handling of the rocket plane now outfitted with a thermal protection system.

According to Scaled Composites: "All systems performed as expected and the vehicle landed successfully while demonstrating the maximum cross wind landing capability."

Upcoming powered flight

The glide test -- involving a shakeout of thermal protection on the ship’s airframe -- appears to be a prelude to the second powered flight of SpaceShipOne.

SpaceShipOne’s first powered flight, making use of a hybrid rocket motor, took place on Dec. 17, 2003. In that test flight, the piloted rocket plane broke through the sound barrier on the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers historic flight over Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

The rocket plane’s motor is called a "hybrid" because it is has characteristics that utilize features from both solid and liquid rocket motors.

Privately built by Scaled Composites of Mojave, California, the SpaceShipOne project is being led by aircraft designer Burt Rutan, who heads the company.

Vying for X Prize

Rutan and Scaled Composites engineers are in hot pursuit of the $10 million X Prize, a competition dedicated to accelerate suborbital passenger flight, as well as spur orbital voyages of private citizens in the future.

The company does not pre-announce flights or overtly publicize what next steps are slated in flying SpaceShipOne.

Last December it was revealed that multi-billionaire Paul Allen -- the co-founder of Microsoft -- is bankrolling the SpaceShipOne project.

Teams from around the world are vying for the X Prize. It will be awarded to the first team that privately finances, builds and launches a spaceship able to carry three people to 62.5 miles (100 kilometers) altitude, return safely to Earth, then repeat the feat within two weeks.

[Brett66]

I was wondering what happened to Rutan's ship. It's been 3 months since it made a flight. It probably required a bit more repair than expected after it veered off of the runway and crashed after making it's last flight.

[ChuckShick]

I thought Andy Griffith did this 20 years ago:

[glasseye]

Last December it was revealed that multi-billionaire Paul Allen -- the co-founder of Microsoft -- is bankrolling the SpaceShipOne project

Thank goodness for people with money.....part of what makes America great!!!

[MonroeDNA]

Private enterprise, for profit, will always out perform government agencies.

[In_25_words_or_less]

Teams from around the world are vying for the X Prize. It will be awarded to the first team that privately finances, builds and launches a spaceship able to carry three people to 62.5 miles (100 kilometers) altitude, return safely to Earth, then repeat the feat within two weeks.

It pays to finally read a whole article on this. All this time I assumed the plane had to achieve orbit. And it doesn't.

[RightWhale]

Thermal protection? Maybe they are looking beyond suborbital flight further down the road; it would be surprising if they weren't.

[Monty22]

Scaled has the worst website grr. They need to update that or redesign.

[Monty22]

"It pays to finally read a whole article on this. All this time I assumed the plane had to achieve orbit. And it doesn't."

They'll basically remake the first Alan Shepard Mercury launch.

Private stuff is great and all, but this is about 40 years behind what government can do with research.

Sorry libertarians.

[Southack]

"Private stuff is great and all, but this is about 40 years behind what government can do with research."

Not really. Rutan's SpaceShipOne has been built for less than $10 Million, and it can do something that our $1.1 Billion F-22 Raptor fighter aircraft can't: it can go into space.

With 3 people. Or with 1 person and an air to air or air to ground missile or 2 (with only minor modifications).

Such Sub-Orbital fighters are the next wave in the aviation arms race.

Oh, it's also *faster* than our faster jet fighter...and it obviously flies higher than our highest fighter aircraft.

So civilians like Rutan can scream over and past the best of our fighters...in $10 Million vehicles...versus the $26 Billion that we've paid so far for our 23 F-22 Raptor fighter aircraft (the world's most advanced air supremacy fighter up to this point in time).

[DentsRun]

Private stuff is great and all, but this is about 40 years behind what government can do with research.

Sorry libertarians.

If the government were building computers they'd all be as big as as two car garage, have 16K memory and cost five million bucks.

[KevinDavis]

[NormsRevenge]

SpaceShipOne



Slung below its equally innovative mothership dubbed White Knight, SpaceShipOne rides above planet Earth, photographed during a recent flight test. SpaceShipOne was designed and built by cutting-edge aeronautical engineer Burt Rutan and his company Scaled Composites to compete for the X Prize. The 10 million dollar X prize is open to private companies and requires the successful launch of a spaceship which carries three people on short sub-orbital flights to an altitude of 100 kilometers -- a scenario similar to the early manned spaceflights of NASA's Mercury Program. Unlike more conventional rocket flights to space, SpaceShipOne will first be carried to an altitude of 50,000 feet by the twin turbojet White Knight and then released before igniting its own hybrid solid fuel rocket engine. After the climb to space, the craft will convert to a stable high drag configuration for re-entry, ultimately landing like a conventional glider at light plane speeds. Photo Credit: Scaled Composites

[NormsRevenge]

Did you get to this link? ... some good shots...

[ovrtaxt]

That's a beautiful aircraft. Rutan is the man.

[ovrtaxt]

I thought this was a nice view of the two aircraft apart.

[norton]

"Private stuff is great and all, but this is about 40 years behind what government can do with research."

Someone has to prove that it can be done, maybe badly and maybe barely. But once it is shown to be possible, private enterprise will outstrip government formalities quick time....and it ain't like Rutan learned his craft building bicycles.

[norton]

"If the government were building computers they'd all be as big as as two car garage, have 16K memory and cost five million bucks."

Yeah,
We're hoping to upgrade in a year or so....
and we are only on government contract.

[couldn't pass that one up]

[jpsb]

From 1959 through 1968 a decade-long research program employed the North American Aviation X-15 to explore hypersonic flight and technologies needed for space flight. The X-15's pioneering flights set records that still have not been broken four decades later, including a top speed of Mach 6.7 (4,520 mph) and a peak altitude of 354,200 feet (67 miles). While doing this it gathered engineering and scientific data needed to develop new families of aircraft and spacecraft, including the Space Shuttle.

Google X-15

[GeronL]

Rutan can do it on a fraction of the cost of government doing the same thing