SpaceShipOne - One step closer to the X Prize

Aviation Week and Space Technology ^ | Sept 1, 2003 | Aviation Week and Space Technology

[Young Werther]

I subscribe so I can access the magazine on line. The entire piece is included above under the fair use standards upon which FreeRepublic operates. All in all we are seeing something unlike anything since Lucky Lindy!

[Leroy S. Mort]

Odd lookin' bird(s).

[Leroy S. Mort]

Reentry configuration:

[Young Werther]

Thanks for the great pics! They add pizzaz to an otherwise pedestrian post!

[The_Victor]

Ping for your space list

[RightWhale]

With the tail raised at 100 knots, the airplane flies nearly ballistic. What about when it returns from 100 kilometers? Will it be so controllable at a much higher speed?

[Frankss]

The thing is funny looking,but an American private enterprise getting into the space travel bussiness is fantastic!

[Brett66]

Nice, I can't wait to see this thing actually reach space.

[Leroy S. Mort]

Will it be so controllable at a much higher speed?

You have my personal guarantee (laughing.....).

[Phsstpok]

Odd lookin' bird(s).

For Rutan that's par for the course. I love his work.

[KevinDavis]

Go Burt Go!

Space Ping! This is the space ping list! Let me know if you want on or off this list!

[WestPacSailor]

Will it be so controllable at a much higher speed?

Nope, drops like a rock. Same principal as the early capsule reentries. Gravity does all the work.

[WestPacSailor]

Odd lookin' bird(s).

LOL! I checked the wording on the x-prize...doesn't say nuthin' 'bout pretty.

[irv]

Will it be so controllable at a much higher speed?

From the article:

The body attitude initially pitched up steeply as the tails continued to fly straight, then slowly dropped to near horizontal as the flight path fell.

I would worry very much about stability at higher speeds. Still, it's a promising start.

[RightWhale]

drops like a rock

So they'll just ride it down until wind resistance slows it to 100 knots or whatever, then drop tail and fly it to the runway? Seems like the major danger is that it might begin to spin.

[WestPacSailor]

Although space flight seems routine to us now, it wasn't so long ago that it was the realm of the unknown and still quite dangerous. I place the test pilot, Mike Melvill, in the same category as Yeager, Shepard, Gagarin, Bob Hoover, and the rest of the Right Stuff crowd. Big brass set of cojones!

[WestPacSailor]

So they'll just ride it down until wind resistance slows it to 100 knots or whatever, then drop tail and fly it to the runway?

I think that is essentially the plan. I'm sure there are plenty of computers controlling the whole deal. It's ugly, but the Rutan bros. are known for reliable designs.

[KevinDavis]

I still have dreams of going into space. The bad part it is not going to happen :(

[Moose4]

I love this. It's great to see private enterprise unleashed on space exploration...it will fill in the gaps that NASA cannot or will not, and is much more agile technically (somebody like Rutan can bring things from design to realspace a lot faster than a bloated government agency like NASA).

}:-)4

[RightWhale]

I still have dreams of going into space.

Unfortunately it seems that earth has no intention of developing solar system resources anytime soon. For $20 million you can get a few low orbits, but that doesn't grant even celebrity status anymore. Aside from LEO, there won't be many people in space for a long time to come. A few on the moon and even fewer on Mars, but that's it. Rutans are a long way from achieving private orbit, and that is the best bet of the common man.