Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Space tourism draws ever closer


Here's a great video of SpaceShipTwo's latest test flight over New Mexico.  It's scheduled to carry its first paying passengers later this year.  I recommend watching it in full-screen mode.





Wish I could afford to take a trip aboard her . . .

Peter

5 comments:

  1. Cool. What's the sparks / lightning / string or whatever shipping around the nozzle around 1:20 or so, and a little later when viewed straight back from the fuselage around 1:50?

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  2. Those are some interesting little gyrations both in pitch and roll during the pitch up... Makes me wonder about control authority...

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  3. That looks like fun. Given the ability & $$$ to do so, I'd go in a New York minute.

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  4. Pretty bird. Looks like a good ride, but I do not need to be one of the first, but maybe some day.

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  5. Rolf: at a good guess, this thing's basically a glider on re-entry. Gliders tend to have a string (or several) that tell the pilot which way the airflow is going over the nose, to they can correct for being the tiniest bit askew. (Instant response, too - no instrument lag to string in the airflow.) Therefore, I'd hazard it's a string, for the same purpose.

    OldNFO - makes me wonder how much air they've actually got going over the surfaces - and when do they pass through mach 1 on the way down? The very concept of a supersonic glider stretches my brain.

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