SpaceShipOne Was Not Out of Control, Builder and Pilot Say

space.com ^ | 09/29/04 | Leonard David

[Cooter]

Burt Rutan said in the post-flight press confernce that he was calling for an abort but Melvill decided to keep going.

[Jaysun]

LOL. Three decades ago I was working at NASA Ames when a researcher (okay, "scientist") there made the morose pronouncement that NASA had just passed a significant milestone: They now had more than one bureaucrat for every researcher.

It would be funny if it weren't so damned sad. What are the taxpayers forced to give them now, something like 16 billion a year?

[Larry Lucido]

I think Jaysun agrees. He just didn't use his sarcasm tags.

[Wormwood]

If space flight had been privatized 40 years ago, I'm fairly certain that I'd have a summer home on Venus by now.

In 20 years, I hope NASA is folded into the FAA.

[Max Combined]

"I was afraid a wing would break off with the frequency of that roll."

In that thin of an atmosphere, there wouldn't be too much pressure on the wings, but I was worried that if the spin wobbled so that it was not around the longitudinal axis that the fragile little thing would tear itself into little chunks.

[RedwM]

They said they made up the weight of 2 people with artifacts placed on board by the people who worked on the project. I thought he was a goner.

[Jonah Hex]

Yep, I commented on that earlier today. I'm old enough (young enough?) to remember Gemini 8 when Armstrong and Scott had an uncommanded roll from a stuck-open RCS thruster. Those guys were very close to a red-out at 360 dps before they broke away from the Agena.

Oh well, any sub-orbital you can walk away from...

[hchutch]

The pilot walked away from the landing.

It was a good flight.

[Pukin Dog]

Bottom line, Melville was a lucky duck. I'm concerned that he wont be so lucky the next time. Lots of good men have died trying to get into the history books. If that roll had any yaw in it, that thing could have come apart. I don't think it would be responsible for them to continue the effort until the kinks are worked out.

[Rebelbase]

"I heard for the test they can have the pilot and the "weight" of 2 other people onboard."

Only one person if its Michael Moore.

[RightWhale]

the fragile little thing

It's fairly rugged. Carbon fiber is light and strong.

[Pukin Dog]

It's fairly rugged. Carbon fiber is light and strong.

No it isn't.

Along it's long axis, it can be stronger than steel. But, if you twist or torque it, it can delaminate, and become weak in the extreme. If G tolerances are exceeded, you can have a massive structure failure. If I were Rutan, I would not fly that craft again, and use a backup if they had one.