SpaceShipOne to try 100 kilometers

[Swass]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5121072/

What do you think, will they make it? I say yes.

 

[Mogus]

If it can be done, Burt Rutan will be the first. His system looks the most promising by far.

 

[JimNtexas]

Bert has invited the public out to see the fun. I have to think that there could be a million people show up.

It's sure to be quite a zoo in any case. If I were not going to be in Orlando on June 21, I'd be there.

NASA may have lost the ablity to take risks, but I'm glad Rutan, Paul Allen, and the Scaled pilots still have the true explorer spirit.

 

[urflyingme?!]

I think NASA is screwed, they have gotten too large. Like the British army they are doomed to fall to the efforts of the smaler more agile forces. Also, if anyone dies in this daring endevour it's not on their shoulders. NASA gets ripped for not taking enough risks, then gets hammered for taking risks when they screw up.

Does anyone know how Edwards Air Force Base got its name?

 

[EagleRJ]

The future of space is commercial.

I'm sure Burt will have no problem reaching orbit- it's just a matter of a longer engine burn. It's just a matter of time before we have several commercial companies doing research and carrying space tourists on sub-orbital flights. Before long, a private company will build an orbital vehicle and begin competing with the governments for launch services.

NASA is too big and bueraucratic now. The Space Shuttle system is hopelessly complex and micromanaged, and it could never be profitable as a private launch service. NASA's primary goal was competition with the Soviets. Now that their mission is gone, they've lost their direction. President Bush's Moon and Mars inititive is an excellent start to getting NASA back on track, but it's obvious they will start to have competition from the private sector soon. That may be the change we need to begin serious exploration and commercialization of space.

Edwards AFB is named for the test pilot who was killed flying the YB-49 flying wing. It was formerly called Muroc Dry Lake. Many of the pilots who lost their lives in flight test have streets at Edwards named after them.

 

[Wiggums]

I'm sure Burt will have no problem reaching orbit- it's just a matter of a longer engine burn.

Well, and having the fuel for that longer burn, and the fuel to lift that fuel needed for the longer burn.

The hardest part of orbit is the return to Earth. It takes a huge amount of energy to reach orbit, and somehow on the way down you have to get rid on that energy. SpaceShipOne doesn't have any type of heat shield, so it can never return from orbit without burning up.

 

[EagleRJ]

Correct, although reaching "space" for SS1 will mean burning the engine for about 20 seconds longer. That's not too difficult for such a lightweight vehicle- there isn't as much of a weight spiral like in larger vehicles.

The SS1 doesn't have a heat shield, but heat is still an issue on a suborbital flight, due to the high Mach numbers reached during the ballistic descent. Rutan got around that by designing the feather position, which causes a lot of drag, and allowed him to use standard composite construction for the fuselage and plastic windows (although he did have to use polycarbonate windows instead of acrylic, because there will still be some heat).
The heat caused by a return from orbit would be another matter, since the vehicle needs to decelerate from 14,500 MPH to landing speed, and does so by converting the speed to heat. Even if it could carry the fuel, the SS1 wouldn't be a practical design for orbital flight, because the thin composite tail structure would be impossible to protect from the heat.

 

[Airpiraterob]

exactly...

it will never see anything near 14,000 mph. its design is sub-orbital...the prize says nothing about completing orbits around the planet....you simply have to go up and come down. so your speeds migh treach mach 4....but thats about it. plenty of heat that fast, but nothing like the shuttle sees at 17,000 mph on reentry....heat that turns the air into a plasma wake behind it.

 

[mattfish42]

I would kill for a chance to hitch a ride in that thing.

 

[sstearns2]

This shot will open to the public, see www.scaled.com. It's on 6/21, but don't try to fly into Mohave as the airport will be closed to transients. This is the first test with a full burn on the motor and it will be the first flight with significant aero heating.

Scott