The
space tourism firm Virgin Galactic has successfully test-fired the rocket motor
designed to boost a passenger spaceliner on suborbital joy rides into space.
The
hybrid
rocket motor would launch Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo
spacecraft into suborbital space at speeds of over 2,500 mph (4,000 kph) to
send ticket-carrying passengers soaring to heights of 65 miles (110 km) above
the Earth.
This
latest series of tests in the California desert follows flight tests for
SpaceShipTwo's carrier aircraft WhiteKnightTwo, dubbed "Eve." The Eve
mother ship ended up with a slight
ding on its tail in April during what was then its longest test run yet.
"SpaceShipTwo,
which will air launch from Eve, is largely constructed and awaiting the start
of its own test flight program later this year," said Sir Richard Branson,
the British billionaire founder of Virgin Galactic.
SpaceShipTwo
is designed to carry eight people — six passengers and two pilots — into
suborbital space and back for about $200,000 a ticket
Unlike
typical rockets, SpaceShipTwo would ride into the upper
atmosphere under Eve's wing before igniting its own rocket engine to make
the final ascent into space. That means the rocket motor only needs to burn for
a short time period.
"This
means much less fuel is required — fuel which provides none of the toxins that
are present in the solid rockets used by the space shuttle and satellite
launches," Branson noted.
He
added that the spaceship's carbon footprint for each of its passengers and crew
would be just a quarter of that for a return trip from London to New York.
The
hybrid nitrous oxide motor represents the largest of its kind in the world,
designed by Virgin Galactic supplier Scaled Composites and its subcontractor
SNC (Sierra Nevada Corporation). Safety features include the capability to shut
down the system at any time, and permit the spaceship to glide back down for a
conventional runway landing.
Virgin
Galactic has already lined up $40
million and 300 people on its waiting lists for space tourism flights.
They'll have to keep waiting for now, as flight testing for SpaceShipTwo is
scheduled for later this year.
SpaceShipTwo
is being built for Virgin Galactic by aerospace veteran Burt Rutan and his firm
Scaled Composites in Mojave, Calif. Rutan and his firm, with backing from
millionaire Paul Allen, designed SpaceShipOne, an air-launched spacecraft that
won the $10 million Ansari X Prize for piloted suborbital spaceflight.
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