We've gained NASA confirmation that the SNC Dream Chaser ETA vehicle recently completed a *second* Captive Carry test and is now preparing for the big milestone of the free flight Approach and Landing #2 (ALT-2) test in the second half of October!
Any bird can have a bad day.
Ready in case they need a pilot.
Quote from: JAFO on 10/18/2017 08:03 pmReady in case they need a pilot.Is he inflatable??
Quote from: Rocket Science on 10/19/2017 02:47 pmQuote from: JAFO on 10/18/2017 08:03 pmReady in case they need a pilot.Is he inflatable??Before and after pics from 12 years of long haul flying have proven it to be the case. (We serve excellent brownies in upper class, and sometimes the FAs make me eat the leftovers.)
Quote from: Rocket Science on 10/19/2017 02:47 pmQuote from: JAFO on 10/18/2017 08:03 pmReady in case they need a pilot.Is he inflatable?? The preferred aerospace term is expandable, not inflatable (ask Bigelow). Just like barges with thrusters are ships (ask Musk).
Quote from: JAFO on 10/18/2017 08:03 pmReady in case they need a pilot.Make sure you get plenty of practical experience in landing without engines. If anyone complains, or screams, just point out it's for science!
Quote from: rayleighscatter on 10/20/2017 11:19 pmQuote from: JAFO on 10/18/2017 08:03 pmReady in case they need a pilot.Make sure you get plenty of practical experience in landing without engines. If anyone complains, or screams, just point out it's for science!Whenever I needed a check-ride I would go up with an instructor and while in the circuit on the downwind leg he would pull the power to idle and state "engine failure"... My eyes would light-up and a smile spread across my face as I made the turn towards the runway for a gentle touch down on the mains. As we taxied back to the ramp he would call me "weird" as most other pilots would be soaked in sweat after the exercise to which I would respond "No big deal, the Shuttle lands dead-stick every time" and besides I had glider experience...
I thought cargo DC was unpiloted. Why are a bunch of pilots hanging out in this party thread? OK hotshots... I'm not a pilot but who knows what I'm sitting in?
I thought cargo DC was unpiloted. Why are a bunch of pilots hanging out in this party thread?
OK hotshots... I'm not a pilot but who knows what I'm sitting in?
Well it is my birthday today, a successful Dreamchaser ALT test would be a nice present
If the Dreamchaser ALT is scrubbed today how is tomorrow looking?
And before I die I hope to hear someone say "Eddy Tower, this is DreamChaser rollin' in on final, I'll get the gear in the flare." (You might be a Space Geek if you get the reference.)
I have a dream, that one day the skies over Edwards will once again echo with a double sonic boom announcing the arrival of a Dream Chaser cargo spacecraft.
Quote from: JAFO on 10/27/2017 04:38 amAnd before I die I hope to hear someone say "Eddy Tower, this is DreamChaser rollin' in on final, I'll get the gear in the flare." (You might be a Space Geek if you get the reference.)From "At Home in Space: The Late Seventies into the Eighties"By Ben Evans
Quote from: JAFO on 10/26/2017 07:03 amI have a dream, that one day the skies over Edwards will once again echo with a double sonic boom announcing the arrival of a Dream Chaser cargo spacecraft. Or possibly Kourou. Despite what people may think DC remains the most cutting edge current vehicle that has actually been built.
It was advanced in 1982. The state of the art in lifting bodies maybe hasn't advanced enough to make it not advanced now.
Quote from: john smith 19 on 11/06/2017 11:40 pmQuote from: JAFO on 10/26/2017 07:03 amI have a dream, that one day the skies over Edwards will once again echo with a double sonic boom announcing the arrival of a Dream Chaser cargo spacecraft. Or possibly Kourou. Despite what people may think DC remains the most cutting edge current vehicle that has actually been built. ...based on a Soviet test spacecraft that first flew in 1982. So be careful with that hyberbole, it is very selective.
It's a party thread. Party on...
Oh goodie, the return of “lifting bodies are great and capsules are dumb”. Lifting bodies aren’t inherently more advanced than capsules.
Also, docking with ISS doesn’t make something “crew rated” (an increasingly widely applied term these days).
Quote from: abaddon on 11/07/2017 12:08 pmOh goodie, the return of “lifting bodies are great and capsules are dumb”. Lifting bodies aren’t inherently more advanced than capsules.The term I used was "cutting edge," because it is using approaches that have not been very well explored up to now.
Your future posts would be improved if you read what I wrote, not what you think I wrote.
Winds are light and variable this morning with CAVU skies, according to Intellicast, sunrise at 0620 so if it's going to happen....
Quote from: JAFO on 11/08/2017 02:19 pmWinds are light and variable this morning with CAVU skies, according to Intellicast, sunrise at 0620 so if it's going to happen.... The secrecy is high with this one. I suppose we can surmise that if it doesn't happen today, it ain't due to weather and there's likely an issue causing extended delay.
Still a beautiful day in Mojave with no wind. If it's not the vehicle they're probably having trouble integrating it with Eddy flight ops. Not like they can shut down the main runway and airspace for an hour or so without much notice. Good news is that the temps are still in the 60s so density altitude is no factor.
Got a bunch of guys about to turn blue...
Quote from: JAFO on 11/11/2017 06:53 pmGot a bunch of guys about to turn blue...We're breathing again, thanks a lot...
Quote from: Rocket Science on 11/11/2017 06:54 pmQuote from: JAFO on 11/11/2017 06:53 pmGot a bunch of guys about to turn blue...We're breathing again, thanks a lot...Not until we see pics.
QuoteWings. Are. Back.https://twitter.com/sierranevcorp/status/930232118491471872
Wings. Are. Back.
Quote from: FutureSpaceTourist on 11/13/2017 11:36 pmQuoteWings. Are. Back.https://twitter.com/sierranevcorp/status/930232118491471872..with added Fluffy Dice. You want some rocket with that?!?? EDIT: (With apologies to any Asian cooks in our midst.)
Now with 33% more landing gear!!
Technically 2 main gear, one nose skid...
Quote from: Rocket Science on 11/16/2017 05:05 pmTechnically 2 main gear, one nose skid... So, what you're saying is that this was actually, Now with 33% less landing gear!!How would one describe the percentage increase in nose skids? Now with an infinite amount more nose skid?!!
Quote from: sghill on 11/12/2017 11:49 pmNow with 33% more landing gear!!3/2 = 150%, minor correction.
Quote from: wannamoonbase on 11/16/2017 04:37 pmQuote from: sghill on 11/12/2017 11:49 pmNow with 33% more landing gear!!3/2 = 150%, minor correction.3/2 is 50% more landing gear. :-)
It's not rocket science!
Quote from: Steven Pietrobon on 11/17/2017 05:00 amQuote from: wannamoonbase on 11/16/2017 04:37 pmQuote from: sghill on 11/12/2017 11:49 pmNow with 33% more landing gear!!3/2 = 150%, minor correction.3/2 is 50% more landing gear. :-)It's not rocket science!