A six-passenger spaceship owned by an offshoot of Virgin Group fired its rocket engine in flight for the first time on Monday, a key step toward the start of commercial service in about a year, Virgin owner Richard Branson said.
The powered test flight over California's Mojave Desert lasted 16 seconds and broke the sound barrier.
"It was stunning," Branson told Reuters. "You could see it very, very clearly. Putting the rocket and the spaceship together and seeing it perform safely, it was a critical day."
The spaceship and its carrier aircraft, WhiteKnightTwo, took off from the Mojave Air and Space Port at 7 a.m. PDT (10.00 a.m. EDT), heading to an altitude of about 46,000 feet, where SpaceShipTwo was released.
Two pilots then ignited the ship's rocket engine and climbed another 10,000 feet, reaching Mach 1.2 in the process. Additional test flights are planned before the spaceship will fly even faster, eventually reaching altitudes that exceed 62 miles.
"Going from Mach 1 to Mach 4 is relatively easy, but obviously we've still got to do it. I think that the big, difficult milestones are all behind us," Branson said.
Virgin Galactic is selling rides aboard SpaceShipTwo for $200,000 per person. More than 500 people have put down deposits.
Branson and his grown children plan to be the first non-test pilots to ride in the spacecraft, about a year from now.
SpaceShipTwo is based on a three-person prototype called SpaceShipOne, which in October 2004 clinched the $10 million Ansari X Prize for the first privately funded human spaceflights. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen bankrolled SpaceShipOne's development, estimated at $25 million.
So far, Virgin Galactic and partner Aabar Investments PJC of Abu Dhabi have spent about $500 million developing SpaceShipTwo, and expect to sink in another $100 million before commercial service starts, Branson said.
The company plans to build four more spaceships and several WhiteKnight carrier jets, which also will be used for a satellite-launching business.
In addition to flying passengers, Virgin Galactic is marketing SpaceShipTwo to research organizations, including NASA, to fly experiments, with or without scientists.
Other companies planning to offer suborbital spaceflight service include privately owned XCOR Aerospace, which expects to begin test flights of its two-person Lynx rocket plane this year.
To the moon?
Moderator: Super Moderators
To the moon?
Still an Original Pirate since Aug 2000
Wanna ride the Zamboni?
Wanna ride the Zamboni?
Last edited by Riddick on 11-26-2015 09:01 PM, edited 1 time in total.
- Dale O Sea
- Rogue Wingnut Pirate
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Nah I don't want the moon, not yet.. when there is a luxury hotel up there then yes.
It is exciting, and Heinlein had it right. He always said government is not the right entity to "exploit" space. It had to be private, and it was a mega-rich guy in his stories as well.
Go read http://www.amazon.com/Past-Through-Tomo ... 0399106200 - it is worth it. You can probably find it in most libraries, but it is a collection of short stories you can find in many collections etc.
One of the main movers and shakers in the stories is D.D. Harriman - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delos_D._Harriman
It is exciting, and Heinlein had it right. He always said government is not the right entity to "exploit" space. It had to be private, and it was a mega-rich guy in his stories as well.
Go read http://www.amazon.com/Past-Through-Tomo ... 0399106200 - it is worth it. You can probably find it in most libraries, but it is a collection of short stories you can find in many collections etc.
One of the main movers and shakers in the stories is D.D. Harriman - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delos_D._Harriman
The heartbreaking necessity of lying about reality and the heartbreaking impossibility of lying about it.
― Kurt Vonnegut, Cat's Cradle
― Kurt Vonnegut, Cat's Cradle
- Dale O Sea
- Rogue Wingnut Pirate
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- Joined: 04-19-2003 10:10 PM
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The Vomit Comet
Dale O Sea wrote:Agree - the vomit comet would be cheaper and more fun.
A mind should not be so open that the brains fall out; however, it should not be so closed that whatever gray matter which does reside may not be reached. ART BELL
Everything Woke turns to -Donald Trump
Everything Woke turns to -Donald Trump