Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo First "Feathered" Flight

[DaveOfTheDead94]

I just want a reason to make a "Space" playlist on my Ipod.

[iiKaden]

Reminds me of one of those WW2 bombers

[slash181]

So what happens when it does go upside down? Any measures that have been taken to prevent this? I know statistics say it shouldn't or it won't but the wrong amount of pressure could be a disaster.

[lucasclay69]

What happens to the other part?

[Dweebezel]

Feathering reentry...this is too cool!

[unifiedreality]

I really love the feather design. What a stroke of genius. Such an elegant way to re-enter the atmosphere.

[Nibinaear]

This thing looks completely drunk when in flight.

[ReneeNme]

I was drunk when I posted that. Seriously, I was : D

[TheSavageMusicGroup]

@ReneeNme lol it happens to the best of us :)

[austingost505]

just a skid in the frount? to keep it light i assume?

[CatIcarus]

so...is it like a dolphin, pop up out of earth for like 4 minutes and comes back down, or it it like the space shuttle in that it could orbit for a couple of times?

[LegosPL0X]

@CatIcarus It's suborbital, so it's more like a dolphin (good analogy, btw.) Hopefully, in the next few decades we'll have a package this small that can reach orbit.

[CatIcarus]

@LegosPL0X Thx



[ReneeNme]

The funny bit is that NASA is tipping their hat's to Branson and his winning team of technological wizard's. What the hell is NASA's problem that they hadn't devoloped this idea then ? Not for tourist dollar's, but for space exploration purposes. Slap some boosters on the puppy and ther you have it .... a mini space shuttle.

[mankyman6]

@ReneeNme

Well, the Space Shuttle is also used for gathering scientific data. There obviously isn't enough room in this craft for those machines.

Also, I doubt this thing could re-enter orbit at the heights that a space shuttle does.

[Knepperify1]

@mankyman6

It won't have most of the capabilities of the Shuttle or Apollo or an F-1. A huge step backwards for US technology, hitching rides on Russian rockets. No capability to go to the moon, sub-orbital. I don't even think SS2 could launch Sputnik into orbit.

If they get SS3 up with its long distance sub-orbital skips as a long range plane, 2 hours London-Sydney, that would be cool, but it still isn't an orbital vehicle.

[groov539]

@Knepperify1 0bama has his jack boot of suppression on NASA just as he does the private sector in general, medicine, agriculture, real estate, you name it.. This is all part of 0bama's grand plan to keep America down while the rest of the world surpasses us. He is doing everything "wrong" on purpose. This is no accident. George Soros needs to kill America's superpower status in order to link all of the countries into one giant world government.

[Racecarlock]

@groov539 You've been watching way too much glen beck.

[CroceMalo1]

@groov539 Obama dropped NASA because we don't have money to pay for the fucking thing and assholes like you didn't want to pay taxes. Get off the pipe dude.

[groov539]

@CroceMalo1 0bama dropped NASA because he WANTS China and Russia to dominate America in space because 0BAMA HATES AMERICA JUST LIKE YOU DO. Let's take the $1 BILLION 0bama has awarded to California for it's 'bullet train to nowhere', along with the COUNTLESS other totally meaningless programs and redirect that money back to NASA! Ahhhhh, where did that SOLYNDRA money go, 0bama? Huh? We could've used that to NASA but you decided to launder money to your campaign thru Solyndra & Corzine too!

[CroceMalo1]

@groov539 There are so many factual errors in your reply, but I won't bother contesting you. However, it is overwhelmingly humorous to listen to idiots like you. You spend all your time in hate and misery, and for what? Your country? Your people? NOPE. You do it because you are an idiot and whats worse a puppet.

To add to your misery: I am a Muslim/Commie, so is Obama, China Russia rule, I live on stamps and government checks, I pay no taxes, live long pot and abortion, CHEW ON THAT MORON.

[groov539]

@CroceMalo1 You forgot to end your hateful tirade with 'Ron Paul 2012'. You current biography shatters any credibility you might have had. If you were gay and an illegal alien, I would have thought you ARE 0bama.

[CroceMalo1]

@groov539 No, I don't like Ron Paul. Abolishing dollar and going back to gold is nonsense, much like you are! I am not gay and I am legal, but even within the gay and illegal community there are people of much higher intelligence, logic, and autonomy than you. For once, challenge your idiocy.

[DaanGFX]

@ReneeNme well, nasa will have the new vehicle coming in a few years for deep space, finnally something extremely exciting

[NATB100]

@ReneeNme The final design will have boosters, it is build to go into space. It will travel around 2500 mph and go begin orbiting Earth.

[TheSavageMusicGroup]

@NATB100 you forgot about telling him//her aout the orbit speed at which they would orbit. Which is AWESOME. Correct me if I'm wrong but its about 24,000 mph. Sweet!!!

[avohill4]

Remarkable. Impressive. Nature has so many answers. Good for Virgin Galactic and all their partners.

[BonarT]

so how did they get the camera so fixed on such a fast-moving object.?? that is cool..

[BonarT]

how did they get the camera so fixed on such a fast moving object.??

[lightsodda]

Yeah.. this is all fine and dandy but i'll wait until the test period is over and the technology has improved.

[AK4715215]

Very impressive, but when will Virgin land on the moon & return? Even Wilber & Orville Wright could take off and land in atmosphere. Plus: one bad wind shear could set this thing spinning, not tumbling (rather like a badmitten birdie).

[Gregster138]

The best analogy for the feathered re-entry is a badminten birdie. No matter how you throw it, it always falls without tumbling. SpaceShipTwo will re-enter the atmosphere without tumbling in feathered mode. It requires no input from the pilot to do this. The space shuttle requires a very complex system of computer-controlled jets and flaps combined with pilot input to accomplish this.

[IxSnortxCocaine]

oh look, its macross, they did this in the 80 /watch?v=_2Us4Dv_jXA

[StarIessNight]

someone explain this Feather concept.. makes no sense to me...

[hk45ca]

@thejascal, i agree, why was it so unstable?

[TheJascal]

What about the pitch oscillation when in feathered mode?

[hrobotstudio]

awesome ..

go siebold go !

[holokhang991]

weird :/

[hackneysaregreat]

amazing piece of design and engineering

[coro71]

Cool

[bdcp]

nice

[pianomansas]

Was that an Extra as a Chance plane?

[boeingnerd77]

what happened to the other parts either side of it?

[lyokoBSTN]

@boeingnerd77 what do you mean "other parts"?

[boeingnerd77]

@lyokoBSTN the part left and right

[lyokoBSTN]

@boeingnerd77 the parts that rotated and moved freely in the flight? or somthing that was there before that isn't there now?