Space Ship Two - General Thread

[mr. mark]

What is the maximum range for Spaceship 2 in it's present configuration. Say, if launched from Mojave could it land at say Palmdale airport several miles away? Maybe this could be a good test of point to point suborbital travel. How far can it fly from it's highest point?

[vt_hokie]

I imagine that SS2 goes supersonic within a few seconds of engine ignition after release at 50k ft.  At what altitude will it go subsonic on the descent, and would the sonic boom be an issue on the ground? 

[Danderman]

I imagine that SS2 goes supersonic within a few seconds of engine ignition after release at 50k ft.  At what altitude will it go subsonic on the descent, and would the sonic boom be an issue on the ground? 

I don't remember any sonic booms from SS1 on the way down, that might be a function of the altitude at which the little tiny vehicle was transitioning from supersonic, or it might be a function of the wing design.

[Alpha Control]

Some more details on the flight test program.

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story.jsp?id=news/asd/2010/10/12/05.xml&headline=Flawless%20First%20Flight%20For%20SpaceShipTwo&channel=space

[neilh]

Some more details on the flight test program.

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story.jsp?id=news/asd/2010/10/12/05.xml&headline=Flawless%20First%20Flight%20For%20SpaceShipTwo&channel=space

Interesting...

Apparently the next/fourth test phase, set to begin in early 2011, will have short mid-flight bursts from the new rocket motor.

[astrobrian]

Interesting...

Apparently the next/fourth test phase, set to begin in early 2011, will have short mid-flight bursts from the new rocket motor.

Yeah, it sounds pretty much like how they ran things up for SS1

[neilh]

There's a statement on the glide flight from Burt Rutan on Virgin Galactic's Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Virgin-Galactic/51080213587

Also, a description from the test pilot:

http://www.wired.com/autopia/2010/10/test-pilot-describes-first-glide-flight-of-spaceshiptwo/

[yg1968]

I don't think that this article has been linked before:
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1010/10ss2/

[savuporo]

Because of a recent landing gear issue with Eve that is still being resolved, the Scaled team elected to fly the mother ship with the gear down and locked throughout the entire flight. This limited the release height to 45,000 feet, the approximate ceiling of the aircraft in the gear down configuration at the weight flown on Sunday.

This is quite .. strange.

[corrodedNut]

Set your DVRs to record the National Geographic channel tonight, their documentary "Virgin Galactic: Will it Fly?" airs tonight at 10:00pm EST in the US.

[Alpha Control]

Set your DVRs to record the National Geographic channel tonight, their documentary "Virgin Galactic: Will it Fly?" airs tonight at 10:00pm EST in the US.

Thanks for the reminder!

[jabe]

mm any word on when it will be in Canada?  I don;t see it on the schedule for us great white North folks...
jb

[vt_hokie]

It's neat to see some of the production/assembly footage!  Any word on the estimated structural life of SS2's composite airframe?  I wonder how many flights it's good for. 

[R.Simko]

Saw the documentary on "Will it Fly" last night.  Very well done, gave a nice history of the making of WK2 and SS2.  They also touched on the explosion and some of the problems encountered.  WK2 had some rudder control problems on the first flight, along with vibration on landing, due to one of the wheels. 

It was interesting that they built the crafts without any wind tunnel testing.  They showed people from Scaled making small modles of SS2 and throwing them off the roof.

[vt_hokie]

It was interesting that they built the crafts without any wind tunnel testing. 

Yeah, I was surprised too.  Is wind tunnel testing really that expensive?  Or are CFD models just that good these days?

[docmordrid]

Maybe it's a combination of both CFD and the team at Scaled being that good.

[jabe]

so any predictions/guesses on when next flight will be?  Another glide test with higher "g" turns to extend flight envelop?
jb

[Celebrimbor]

SpaceShipTwo flights are really picking up a head of steam!

Flight:   WK2 Flight 44 / GF02
Date:    28 Oct 10   Flight Time:    10 min, 51 sec
WK2 Pilot:   Siebold   WK2 CoPilot:   Nichols   WK2 FTE:   Tighe
SS2 Pilot:   Stucky   SS2 CoPilot:   Alsbury
GS Crew:   Binnie, Kalogiannis, Persall, Knupp, Inks, Bassett, Cassebeer, Story, Y. Fuchs, Maisler, Verderame, Kelley

Objectives:
Clean release
Evaluate stability and control
Expand flutter envelope
Roll evaluation
Land

Results:
All objectives achieved. Flew to more aggressive stall indication. Evaluated handling and stability through several maneuvers. Expanded envelope to 230 KEAS and 3g's. Roll evaluation. Full stop landing.

I wouldn't have thought it would be long before the first powered flight now. (Of course, I have no insider knowledge and only basing that on an uptick in flight rate...)

[beancounter]

SS1 went through 7 glide flights before the first powered flight.  Now SS2 is a different bird however it seems to be performing very well even compared to SS1. 
Will the fact that this is going to be a commercial carrier change the test program?  Yes I think it will and so I think we'll see additional glide flights checking out fully all aspects of the vehicle and it's various systems.  They have to be super careful with this one and tick all the boxes.

[js117]

SpaceShipTwo designer Rutan retiring

from

http://www.space-travel.com/reports/SpaceShipTwo_designer_Rutan_retiring_999.html