A project to create a passenger-carrying suborbital rocket took a major step forward August 7 -- the first glide flight of SpaceShipOne, built by Scaled Composites of Mojave, California.
The space ship was hauled skyward attached to the White Knight carrier craft, then released from altitude to glide under a pilot’s control to a desert landing.
The SpaceShipOne was launched at 47,000 feet, some 10 nautical miles east of Mojave, California.
Clean and positive
According to a flight report issued by Scaled Composites, separation between the two vehicles was clean and positive.
Handling qualities of the vehicle as it sped through the air were reportedly in close correlation with ground-based simulations. Onboard avionics and cockpit displays that gave the pilot handling information during the glide test performed flawlessly.
The vehicle made a smooth touchdown, with the entire flight – from launch to touchdown – viewable from the ground. All reports suggest that the first SpaceShipOne drop test worked well as it was put through its paces under the control of pilot Mike Melvill.
Eye on the prize
Several unpowered glide tests of the SpaceShipOne are expected in the near future.
The vehicle is ultimately to be propelled by a hybrid rocket motor, pushing the craft to the edge of space.
Burt Rutan, noted aircraft designer and head of Scaled Composites, was delighted with the successful glide test. The flight moves the company and concept closer to winning the X Prize $10 million purse – a prize dedicated to furthering suborbital passenger flight, as well as orbital treks of private citizens.
Stepping stone approach
Rutan and his Scaled Composites colleagues unveiled on April 18 the Tier One program, a stepping stone approach to validate hardware and pilots to carry out rocket-powered suborbital flight.
Rutan said that the plan involves flight in a 3-place spaceship, initially attached to a turbojet launch aircraft while climbing for an hour to 50,000 feet, above 85% of the atmosphere.
The spaceship then drops into gliding flight and fires its rocket motor while climbing steeply for more than a minute, reaching a speed of 2,500 mph. The ship coasts up to 62 miles (100 kilometers) altitude, then falls back into the atmosphere.
The coast and fall are under weightless conditions for more than three minutes. During weightless flight, the spaceship converts to a high-drag configuration to allow a safe, stable atmospheric entry. After the entry deceleration which takes more than a minute, the ship converts back to a conventional glider, allowing a leisurely 17 minute glide from 80,000 feet altitude down to a runway where a landing is made at lightplane speeds.
advertisement
,%20mastermind%20behind%20the%20effort%20to%20create%20passenger-carrying%20suborbital%20rocketry.%20CREDIT:%20Scaled%20Composites)
