Virgin Galactic goes faster than speed of sound in flight test
1–10 of 43 posts
Re: Virgin Galactic goes faster than speed of sound in flight test
#2Can anyone speak to the significance of this achievement, considering that reaching low earth orbit requires something like Mach 24?
Re: Virgin Galactic goes faster than speed of sound in flight test
#3Can anyone speak to the significance of this achievement, considering that reaching low earth orbit requires something like Mach 24?
I'm also quite curious. I wasn't really aware of this project but all in all this seems a lot less interesting than what SpaceX is working on. I know the two have very different goals but this seems like the touristy equivalent of the Mercury program.
Re: Virgin Galactic goes faster than speed of sound in flight test
#4Can anyone speak to the significance of this achievement, considering that reaching low earth orbit requires something like Mach 24?
Branson is very good at 'blowing his own trumpet'.
All he seems to doing on this project is providing money and grabbing as much publicity as he can, Burt Rutan's people seem to be the ones doing the real work.
Re: Virgin Galactic goes faster than speed of sound in flight test
#5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pegasus_(rocket) This is arguably cooler.
Re: Virgin Galactic goes faster than speed of sound in flight test
#6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pegasus_(rocket) This is arguably cooler.
Not really a legitimate comparison. Pegasus is Orbital Science's unmanned cargo vehicle. Virgin Galactic is building a space tourism company. Very different.
Re: Virgin Galactic goes faster than speed of sound in flight test
#7Can anyone speak to the significance of this achievement, considering that reaching low earth orbit requires something like Mach 24?
http://www.space.com/20870-virgin-galactic-spaceshiptwo-rock...
They hit mach 1.2 and climbed about 10K feet under their own power(46 to 56 thousand feet). So yeah a little underwhelming in what was accomplished. However it was the first test flight of the whole package so it is unsurprising they kept the goals modest.
Re: Virgin Galactic goes faster than speed of sound in flight test
#8Can anyone speak to the significance of this achievement, considering that reaching low earth orbit requires something like Mach 24?
Branson is very good at 'blowing his own trumpet'. All he seems to doing on this project is providing money and grabbing as much publicity as he can, Burt Rutan's people seem to be the ones doing the real work.
To be fair, Paul Allen and Richard Branson are bankrolling Rutan's party.
Re: Virgin Galactic goes faster than speed of sound in flight test
#9Can anyone speak to the significance of this achievement, considering that reaching low earth orbit requires something like Mach 24?
I'm also quite curious. I wasn't really aware of this project but all in all this seems a lot less interesting than what SpaceX is working on. I know the two have very different goals but this seems like the touristy equivalent of the Mercury program.
FYI, "Virgin Galactic is a company within Richard Branson's Virgin Group which plans to provide sub-orbital spaceflights to space tourists, suborbital launches for space science missions and orbital launches of small satellites. Further in the future Virgin Galactic hopes to offer orbital human spaceflights as well."
So, yes, this is the touristy equivalent of the Mercury program. Then comes the touristy equivalent of the Gemini program. Then perhaps the touristy equivalent of the Apollo program.
I can see how that might not be exciting. There's plenty of people who are excited about supersonic military aircraft than 737s, even though 737s fly a lot more passengers.
As to this flight, it's an integration test. Going through the sound barrier is a crucial requirement for the overall flight mission.
Re: Virgin Galactic goes faster than speed of sound in flight test
#10Can anyone speak to the significance of this achievement, considering that reaching low earth orbit requires something like Mach 24?
The headline here is less about achieving that particular speed, and more about the ongoing process of flight testing for SpaceShipTwo:
Burt Rutan and Scaled Composites have demonstrated the ability to air-launch a manned vehicle into space (SpaceShipOne) using this airframe and engine tech. From that prototype, Virgin Galactic is developing a craft for commercial, space-tourism use--SpaceShipTwo.
This flight test demonstrates that the first SpaceShipTwo is airworthy and has engine function. The plan is that after more flight testing, that vehicle will actually carry paying passengers. More tests will need to be done, as the craft will need to fly faster and higher, and decelerate safely as well to reach its targets.
Also, it's important to note that Virgin Galactic's vehicles will not be achieving orbit in the near future. Instead they will bring tourists to the "edge of space" where they can experience zero gravity and look down at the globe.
Wired has a more detailed report that's worth peeking at if you're curious:
http://www.wired.com/autopia/2013/04/spaceshiptwo-first-rock...