SpaceShipOne Racks Up Sixth Test Flight

space.com ^ | 11/29/03 | Leonard David

[KevinDavis]

The privately-built SpaceShipOne has chalked up a sixth glide test. Piloted by veteran rocketeer, Mike Melvill, the flight took place November 19 over Mojave, California desert.

Carried by the White Knight mothership to 48,300 feet, SpaceShipOne was launched on an un-powered flight to a landing strip touchdown. During the glide to terra firma, the vehicle's new enlarged tails were evaluated, as were other handling qualities of the craft.

According to Scaled Composites of Mojave, California -- builder and operator of the White Knight/SpaceShipOne -- Melvill reported improved stability of the space vehicle, as well as improved control powers and enhanced stick forces throughout the flight profile. As in several earlier flights, the vehicle's tail section was moved in and out of a "feathered" position - shifted to a 65-degree angle to the main body.

During the November 19 test, the feather was extended after a pull-up to the vertical at 30,000 feet - with Melvill and vehicle experiencing forces three times that of Earth's gravity. The vehicle recovered to a stable attitude and descent after a few mild oscillations.

The landing pattern was flown at a higher airspeed than previous flights which allowed for a more controlled flare and landing at the nominal touchdown point.

Quick turnaround

The sixth flight came only 5 days after a previous drop test - the shortest turnaround for the vehicle to date: The previous high-altitude drops of SpaceShipOne: August 7, August 27, September 23, October 17, November 14, and now the November 19 test. All flights were done in 2003.

Aerospace maverick, Burt Rutan, head of Scaled Composites, leads the pioneering SpaceShipOne work.

As for follow-on test flights, including critical in-the-air ignition of SpaceShipOne's hybrid motor, mum's the word from Scaled Composites.

A new statement from the company has been posted on its web site, clearly designed to help curb early speculation that the tests are leading to a suborbital flight timed with next month's Wright Brothers anniversary:

"Contrary to information you may have read in magazines or other websites about our schedule for the first flight of SpaceShipOne to space, Scaled Composites has never announced an advance schedule for any flight tests of SpaceShipOne and White Knight. The rumors you may have heard about when we plan significant milestones were merely a guess that was made by one magazine and then reprinted by others."

Rumors do persist, however, that a near-term objective is gunning SpaceShipOne under hybrid motor power to break the sound barrier.

The progression of SpaceShipOne test flights are meant to ultimately snag the X Prize -- a $10 million purse for the first private vehicle to propel passengers to the edge of space and meet a set of guidelines established by the X Prize Foundation of St. Louis, Missouri. Teams around the world are vying for the X Prize money, with numbers of suborbital concepts being pursued.

[KevinDavis]

As the real space race heats up!

[KevinDavis]

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

[leadpenny]

A new statement from the company has been posted on its web site, clearly designed to help curb early speculation that the tests are leading to a suborbital flight timed with next month's Wright Brothers anniversary:

They don't actually deny it in their statement. I'll be watching FR on Dec 3rd for the possible Breaking News.

[Brett66]

It seems like powered flights should be imminent. That'll be fun to see.

[Brett66]

[Willie Green]

Piloted by veteran rocketeer, Mike Melvill, the flight took place November 19 over Mojave, California desert.

What happened to Evil Kneivel?
Did he finally retire?

[bonesmccoy]

Why does this remind me of the X-1?

[SauronOfMordor]

Once the X-Prize is won, the next X-Prize should be for the first sub-orbital trans-Atlantic flight, then for the first true-orbital flight. After that, the US government should get out of the launch business and contract with private US companies

[templar]

I kinda like this thing. Wonder if it'll ever turn a profit for anyone?

[skinkinthegrass]

What happened to Evil Kneivel? Did he finally retire?

Now stop that!..Lets' reach for the stars. :)

[Pikachu_Dad]

First, lets reach for the planets... the stars will take a bit longer to get there.

[Orangedog]

I'm really surprized that one of these groups hasn't just built an X-15. The engineering has already been done and the hardware has been proven. It would just seem more efficient to start there and then work on incrimental improvements with new materials and design changes. I can't imagine that the blue prints would be classified after 40 years.

[GatekeeperBookman]

http://www.rocketguy.com PING! Whither Rocket Guy??

http://www.rocketguy.com/oldhome.html

[bonesmccoy]

The X-15 flight envelope will be matched by the X-Prize vehicle, but with more rapid turnaround.

The issue is the engine, not the airframe.

[Smokin' Joe]

I guess he flew OK, but his landing skills are probably not commercially viable...

[DoughtyOne]

Nice. Thanks for the update.

[RightWhale]

built an X-15

That's about what they did, mothership and all. Next if they hook up with a couple of former USSR titanium welders, they could build the orbital version.

[leadpenny]

Thanks to the thoughtful private message from another FReeper, I should have said I'll be watching for BN on FR on the 17th of December.

[Young Werther]

Notice the similarity between Tsiolkovsky and Rutan's rockets!!

His Classic article "Research into Interplanetary Space by Means of Rocket Power" was published in 1903, the year of the first airplane flight by the Wright Brothers. It accurately described the state of weightlessness and the theoretical function of rockets in a vacume. He demonstrated why rockets would be needed for space exploration, and also advocated the use of liquid propellants that are used today.

[Analyzing Inconsistencies]

Why doesn't NASA simply fund competitive prizes rather than throw billions of our tax dollars into centrally-planned contracts for the Orbital Spaceplane (etcétera)? Congress has basically given them the go-ahead:

http://www.spaceprojects.com/prizes

NASA's afraid of becoming even more obsolete though, and the entrenched govt. contractors don't want the competition. Our tax dollars at work, ladies & gentlemen. May China, Europe and the Russians (etc.) show how silly we have been in letting NASA squander all the money it gets. Did you know NASA's budget's larger than all the rest of the world's civilian space budgets COMBINED?