Passenger spaceship hits supersonic speed
For the first time, a commercial passenger space-liner designed to carry space tourists has made its maiden rocket-powered test flight, reaching supersonic speeds, paving way for commercial flights in the near future.
The test of space vehicle, SpaceShipTwo (SS2), conducted by teams from Scaled Composites (Scaled) and Virgin Galactic, officially marks the company’s entrance into the final phase of vehicle testing prior to commercial service from Spaceport America in New Mexico.
“The first powered flight of Virgin Spaceship Enterprise was, without any doubt, our single most important flight test to date,” said Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson.
“For the first time, we were able to prove the key components of the system, fully integrated and in flight. Today’s supersonic success opens the way for a rapid expansion of the spaceship’s powered flight envelope, with a very realistic goal of full space flight by the year’s end. We saw history in the making today and I couldn’t be more proud of everyone involved,” Branson said in a statement.
The test began as SS2 took off from Mojave Air and Space Port mated to WhiteKnightTwo (WK2), Virgin Galactic’s carrier aircraft.
Upon reaching 47,000 feet altitude and approximately 45 minutes into the flight, SS2 was released from WK2.
After cross-checking data and verifying stable control, the pilots triggered ignition of the rocket motor, causing the main oxidiser valve to open and igniters to fire within the fuel case.
At this point, SS2 was propelled forward and upward to a maximum altitude of 55,000 feet. The entire engine burn lasted 16 seconds, as planned. During this time, SS2 went supersonic, achieving Mach 1.2. The entire rocket-powered flight test lasted just over 10 minutes, culminating in a smooth landing for SS2 in Mojave.
“The rocket motor ignition went as planned, with the expected burn duration, good engine performance and solid vehicle handling qualities throughout,” said Virgin Galactic president & CEO George Whitesides.
“The successful outcome of this test marks a pivotal point for our programme. We will now embark on a handful of similar powered flight tests, and then make our first test flight to space,” Whitesides said.
In the coming months, the Virgin Galactic and Scaled test team will expand the spaceship’s powered flight envelope culminating in full space flight, which the companies anticipate will take place before the end of 2013.
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