Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo First "Feathered" Flight

Courtesy: Virgin Galactic.

Early on Wednesday 4th May 2011, in the skies above Mojave Air and Spaceport CA, SpaceShipTwo, the world's first commercial spaceship, demonstrated its unique reentry 'feather' configuration for the first time. This test flight, the third in less than two weeks, marks another major milestone on the path to powered test flights and commercial operations.

SpaceShipTwo (SS2), named VSS Enterprise, has now flown solo seven times since its public roll-out in December 2009 and since the completion of its ground and captive -carry test program.

This latest flight saw a 6:43AM (local) runway take off for VSS Enterprise, attached to its WhiteKnightTwo (WK2) carrier aircraft, VMS Eve. At the controls of the of the spaceship were Scaled Composites' test pilots Pete Siebold and Clint Nichols whilst Mark Stucky, Brian Maisler and Brandon Inks crewed the purpose built, all composite, twin fuselage WK2.

After a 45 minute climb to the desired altitude of 51,500 feet, SS2 was released cleanly from VMS Eve and established a stable glide profile before deploying, for the first time, its re-entry or "feathered" configuration by rotating the tail section of the vehicle upwards to a 65 degree angle to the fuselage. It remained in this configuration with the vehicle's body at a level pitch for approximately 1 minute and 15 seconds whilst descending, almost vertically, at around 15,500 feet per minute, slowed by the powerful shuttlecock-like drag created by the raised tail section. At around 33,500 feet the pilots reconfigured the spaceship to its normal glide mode and executed a smooth runway touch down, approximately 11 minutes and 5 seconds after its release from VMS Eve.

Category:

Science & Technology

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• yt:quality=high

[DaveOfTheDead94]

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

[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.

[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 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 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 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.

[Racecarlock]

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

[iiKaden]

Reminds me of one of those WW2 bombers

[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.

[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.