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Photos of SpaceShipOne's Landing Mishap
space.com ^ | 18 December 2003 | Leonard David

Posted on 12/19/2003 8:34:55 AM PST by Lokibob

 
 
 
 
Exclusive: Photos of SpaceShipOne's Landing Mishap
By Leonard David
Senior Space Writer
posted: 05:20 pm ET
18 December 2003

Photos: Courtesy Alan Radecki, used with permission

After cracking through the sound barrier on Dec. 17, the privately funded SpaceShipOne's return glide to a Mojave, California landing strip ended in tense moments.


(Excerpt) Read more at space.com ...


TOPICS: Extended News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: rutan; space; spaceshipone; xprize
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More pictures on space.com.
1 posted on 12/19/2003 8:34:56 AM PST by Lokibob
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To: Lokibob
Holy Cow! What a ride! Notice how none of the important stuff was in the way of the asphalt. I bet these guys will be up an at 'em after the holidays...
2 posted on 12/19/2003 8:45:44 AM PST by no-s
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To: Lokibob
Well, that's slightly embarrassing after such a great accomplishment...
3 posted on 12/19/2003 9:00:22 AM PST by Damocles (sword of...)
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To: Lokibob
bump
4 posted on 12/19/2003 9:16:53 AM PST by Joe Boucher (G.W. Bush in 2004)
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To: Damocles
Well, that's slightly embarrassing after such a great accomplishment...

Naw. Whenever I did a good stunt on my bike, I always did a power-slide in the dust.

5 posted on 12/19/2003 9:18:34 AM PST by Shryke
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To: Damocles
Ever see the inro for the Six Million Dollar Man tv show?

This little wing scrape was NOTHING compared to past mishaps in experimental aircraft. ;-)

6 posted on 12/19/2003 9:34:52 AM PST by Dead Corpse (For an Evil Super Genius, you aren't too bright are you?)
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To: Dead Corpse
IIRC, the guy who flew that lifting body survived.

He HATED that show. Imagine having your worst professional act broadcast every week in prime time for five or six years, then daily every afternoon as it goes into syndication.

I wish they'd do a DVD collection of The Six Million Dollar Man, though...

7 posted on 12/19/2003 9:37:05 AM PST by Poohbah ("Beware the fury of a patient man" -- John Dryden)
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To: Shryke
Whenever I did a good stunt on my bike, I always did a power-slide in the dust.

I did too, only my power slides would sometimes cause me to flip over my handlebars and onto my butt... but I would then stand up and bow... thats the key...getting up faster than you fell down.

8 posted on 12/19/2003 9:37:55 AM PST by smith288 ("We're going to have the happiest Christmas since Bing Crosby tap danced with Danny F'n Kay")
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To: smith288
I did too, only my power slides would sometimes cause me to flip over my handlebars and onto my butt... but I would then stand up and bow... thats the key...getting up faster than you fell down.

And act is if you WANTED that to happen (c8

9 posted on 12/19/2003 9:40:05 AM PST by Poohbah ("Beware the fury of a patient man" -- John Dryden)
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To: Poohbah
He HATED that show. Imagine having your worst professional act broadcast every week in prime time for five or six years, then daily every afternoon as it goes into syndication.

That's like the skier who used to be on the intro to the Wide World of Sports when they got to the "Agony of Defeat" part of the spiel...

10 posted on 12/19/2003 9:40:59 AM PST by Prodigal Son
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To: Lokibob

SpaceShipOne was making one in a series of test flights in preparation for attempting a sub-orbital space flight. With pilot Brian Binnie at the rocket plane's controls, the craft's left landing gear retracted at touchdown. SpaceShipOne veered to the left, departing the runway with its left wing down.

Damage from the landing incident was minor and is easily repairable, reported Scaled Composites, designer and builder of the craft. SpaceShipOne, its builders hope, will be the first privately built, passenger-carrying sub-orbital rocket plane.

There were no injuries caused by the landing mishap, with pilot Binnie reportedly in A-OK condition and primed for a future flight.


11 posted on 12/19/2003 9:41:41 AM PST by bonesmccoy (Defeat the terrorists... Vaccinate!)
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To: Poohbah
Imagine having your worst professional act broadcast every week in prime time for five or six years

He can form a support group with the skijump dude from Wide World of Sports.

12 posted on 12/19/2003 9:42:05 AM PST by Tijeras_Slim (Saddam looked like he could use a "Baath Party".)
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To: Prodigal Son
That's like the skier who used to be on the intro to the Wide World of Sports when they got to the "Agony of Defeat" part of the spiel...

That one looked way worse than it was...I think that guy wound up getting a bronze later that day, in a different event.

13 posted on 12/19/2003 9:42:06 AM PST by Poohbah ("Beware the fury of a patient man" -- John Dryden)
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To: Prodigal Son
DANG!
14 posted on 12/19/2003 9:42:58 AM PST by Tijeras_Slim (Saddam looked like he could use a "Baath Party".)
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To: Poohbah
And act is if you WANTED that to happen (c8

You have to be proficient at roll-to-standing transition...

15 posted on 12/19/2003 9:45:16 AM PST by smith288 ("We're going to have the happiest Christmas since Bing Crosby tap danced with Danny F'n Kay")
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To: Lokibob
Not to be a scaremongerer(ererer), but I hope Burt and crew are going to subject that craft to extensive testing to make sure its OK. Composite materials don't fail like "regular" materials (of course, Burt has forgotten more than I will ever know about composites...)
16 posted on 12/19/2003 9:48:07 AM PST by Paradox (Cogito ergo boom.)
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To: Poohbah
That one looked way worse than it was...I think that guy wound up getting a bronze later that day, in a different event.

Compare that one to Ulrike Maier's accident though. Female Austrian champion. She was dead instantly and it was quite obvious. The terrible thing was, her family and children were there watching the event.

17 posted on 12/19/2003 10:01:30 AM PST by Prodigal Son
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To: Lokibob
So? It's a glider. Gliders do that all the time.
18 posted on 12/19/2003 10:02:44 AM PST by RightWhale (Close your tag lines)
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To: Shryke
Naw. Whenever I did a good stunt on my bike, I always did a power-slide in the dust.

LOL!!

19 posted on 12/19/2003 10:32:54 AM PST by randog (Everything works great 'til the current flows.)
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To: Prodigal Son

20 posted on 12/19/2003 10:38:52 AM PST by ASA Vet ("Those who know don't talk, those who talk don't know." (I'm in the 2nd group ;-)
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