Rutan hits 200k feet! Almost there!

On Thu, 13 May 2004 20:30:08 GMT, "Thomas J. Paladino Jr."
wrote:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4970837/


Exciting stuff!

Rutan's SpaceShipOne hit 200,000 feet today over their Mojave test site.

Won't be long now I guess.


Here are some pictures of todays flight on the Scaled Composites
website:


http://www.scaled.com/projects/tiero...hotos_text.htm


Image of flight 13P boost from Chase aircraft video

http://www.scaled.com/projects/tiero...oost_alpha.jpg


Image of flight 13P boost from Edwards AFB ground radar facility

http://www.scaled.com/projects/tiero.../13p_boost.jpg



SpaceShipOne at apogee Note: RCS thruster firing on left wing.
Flight 13P

http://www.scaled.com/projects/tiero...p_rcs_tail.jpg


Image of transonic descent in feather configuration from Edwards AFG
ground radar facility Flight 13P

http://www.scaled.com/projects/tiero...3p_feather.jpg


SpaceShipOne re-entry - Flight 13P

http://www.scaled.com/projects/tiero...ather_tail.jpg


- Rusty Barton

snip
Here are some pictures of todays flight on the Scaled Composites
website:

Not yet. Today was 14p, the pictures all still show last months
flight, 13P








http://www.scaled.com/projects/tiero...hotos_text.htm


Image of flight 13P boost from Chase aircraft video

http://www.scaled.com/projects/tiero...oost_alpha.jpg


Image of flight 13P boost from Edwards AFB ground radar facility

http://www.scaled.com/projects/tiero.../13p_boost.jpg



SpaceShipOne at apogee Note: RCS thruster firing on left wing.
Flight 13P

http://www.scaled.com/projects/tiero...p_rcs_tail.jpg


Image of transonic descent in feather configuration from Edwards AFG
ground radar facility Flight 13P

http://www.scaled.com/projects/tiero...3p_feather.jpg


SpaceShipOne re-entry - Flight 13P

http://www.scaled.com/projects/tiero...ather_tail.jpg


- Rusty Barton

Rusty Barton wrote in message . ..
On Thu, 13 May 2004 20:30:08 GMT, "Thomas J. Paladino Jr."
wrote:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4970837/



SpaceShipOne re-entry - Flight 13P



Speaking of Re-entry ain't the front of the craft a bit unprrotected
in that department?

"Prowlus" wrote in message
om...
Rusty Barton wrote in message
. ..
On Thu, 13 May 2004 20:30:08 GMT, "Thomas J. Paladino Jr."
wrote:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4970837/



SpaceShipOne re-entry - Flight 13P



Speaking of Re-entry ain't the front of the craft a bit unprrotected
in that department?

Its only doing about 2500 mph

Keith

"Keith Willshaw" wrote in message
...

"Prowlus" wrote in message
om...
Rusty Barton wrote in message
. ..
On Thu, 13 May 2004 20:30:08 GMT, "Thomas J. Paladino Jr."
wrote:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4970837/



SpaceShipOne re-entry - Flight 13P



Speaking of Re-entry ain't the front of the craft a bit unprrotected
in that department?

Its only doing about 2500 mph

During this last flight it only reached Mach 2.5, and that was at 150,000
feet on the way up. Maximum speed on re-entry was only Mach 1.9. It looks
like Spaceship One goes through a lot more stress going up than it takes
coming back down.

In article ,
(Prowlus) writes:
Rusty Barton wrote in message . ..
On Thu, 13 May 2004 20:30:08 GMT, "Thomas J. Paladino Jr."
wrote:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4970837/



SpaceShipOne re-entry - Flight 13P



Speaking of Re-entry ain't the front of the craft a bit unprrotected
in that department?

Reentry isn't really that big a deal for an X-prize contender.
depending on the flight profile used, Maximum Mach Number would be in
teh region of Mach 5. Not an everysay occurance, but also a much mre
pleasant environment than, say, a reentry from orbit.

Think X-15 (Which was flying the same profile in 1963) rather than
Space Shuttle. There's a big difference between the two.

This is not a slap at Rutan or Scaled Composites - They're doing a
damned good job, running an extremenly professional program, and
theu're my favorites for the X-Prize - or whatever the new name is,
nad it'll be a real landmark. But it's not going to be performing
anything at all like a system that will be going into orbit, or doing
anything other than carrying a couple of people to 100 Km & back.

The jump from X-Prize to Space Travel is like the Ortieg Prize
(Lindberg) to the Pan Am Clippers. (And the relationship of the
X-Prize to the Orteig Prize is not a coincidence) The one-time
expedition (It was too involved to call it a stunt) was do-able in
1927. The useful stuff didn't happen until 1939.

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

On Fri, 14 May 2004 12:24:26 -0400, Peter Stickney wrote:

In article ,
(Prowlus) writes:
Rusty Barton wrote in message . ..
On Thu, 13 May 2004 20:30:08 GMT, "Thomas J. Paladino Jr."
wrote:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4970837/



SpaceShipOne re-entry - Flight 13P



Speaking of Re-entry ain't the front of the craft a bit unprrotected
in that department?

Reentry isn't really that big a deal for an X-prize contender.
depending on the flight profile used, Maximum Mach Number would be in
teh region of Mach 5. Not an everysay occurance, but also a much mre
pleasant environment than, say, a reentry from orbit.

Think X-15 (Which was flying the same profile in 1963) rather than
Space Shuttle. There's a big difference between the two.


Agreed. A shuttle is coming in at Mach 25+ from a much higher altitude.
It basically free falls, using gravity as it's engine, not to mention its
base speed of Mach 25+ before it even starts to "fall" back towards Earth.
The frictional forces at those speeds compared to the speed that
SpaceShipOne will be flying is night and day. No comparison.