In article ,
Chad Irby writes:
In article .net,
"Steven P. McNicoll" wrote:

"Chad Irby" wrote in message
om...

But it also doesn't mean that it *was* possible.

Since it didn't happen, then the burden of proof is on *your* side.

I thought I had already done that.

Not even close.

The X-15 was turned in less than two
weeks and it flew above 100 km. Put those together and you've got a
spacecraft being reused in less than two weeks.

But - and we've told you this a couple of times so far - IT NEVER
HAPPENED IN THE X-15 PROGRAM.

And it also wasn't germane to the X-15 program. The X-15 was a
research program, charged with exploring flight at sppeds of over Mach
3 and Altitudes over 200,000'. It was also charged with determining
if controlled ascents adn lifting re-entries were possible.
And that's what they did. Time was taken between flights not only to
prep the Spaceplane, but to eveluate the data to determine what
direction the next set of tests should take.

However, granting that - here's the list of altitude flights by X-15
#3 66672, (Which, it should be pointed out, wasn't the ablative coated
X-15A-II 66671.

Date (1963) Elapsed since Altitude Comment
previous flight
18 June 0 Days 223,700' Pilot: Rushworth
27 June 9 Days 285,000 Rushworth, (over 50 miles)
U.S. Astronaut
qualification
19 Jul 22 Days 347,800 Pilot: Walker (Over
100 Km) Intl Atro
qualification
6 Aug 17 Days Abort Weather Abort &
Computer overheat
13 Aug 7 Days Abort APU doesn't start
15 Aug 2 Days Abort weather Abort
22 Aug 7 Days 354,200 Walker: second
Intl Astro Qual

All X-15 operations postponed due to weather for 6 weeks after this
flight.

So, we've got 2 high altitude flights separated by 9 days,
a program change (New pilot) and after fhe first 100 Km flight, the
weather turns unsuitable, (Remember, they need good weather over the
entire Wendover Range) and they're shooting through the holes in the
weather to get the next flight. One abort was due to a system
problem, which was corrected in 2 days, and the weather crudded up
enough just after to prevent further flights for 6 weeks.
I'd say that if somebody had really wanted to fly 2 over 100 Km X-15
flights somewhere around 10 days apart, they'd have certainly been
able to do it. But their job description was to prodice useful data
and perform research, not a demonstration to win a prize.


If there was something to be gained by actually flying it twice above
100 km within a two week period it would have been done.

Well, according to you, and only you.

Not at all - it was certainly possible weather willing. It's entire
possible that Spaceship One will meet similar problems as well -
Rutan's good, but he can't control the weather.

Considering how they actually ran the X-15 program, if this were true,
they would have tried it anyway. They *liked* fast turnarounds in that
program, especially at the end.

They flew useful flights as closely together as they could.
My table above only tracks one aerospacecraft - there were 3 X-15s,
and in the time period covered, X-15 #1 66670, flew 3 flights.

They didn't, therefore they couldn't.

Horse****, pure and simple.

--
Pete Stickney
A strong conviction that something must be done is the parent of many
bad measures. -- Daniel Webster