SpaceShipOne Scheduled for Second Flight 10/4/2004

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sloracer

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Dear X PRIZE Members- <br /><br />As you may know, yesterday, Burt Rutan's Mojave Aerospace Ventures Team successfully reached an altitude of 337,500 feet with Mike Melvill (the pilot) onboard plus ballast (approx. 180 Kg). This flight was deemed by the Judges as a successful first flight for the $10 million Ansari X PRIZE. <br />We have just received official notice from Burt Rutan that SpaceShipOne's second flight (X2) will take place Monday morning, October 4th. Expected flight timeline: <br /><br />* Takeoff at 7am PT<br />* Ignition at 8am PT<br />* Landing at 8:30am PT<br />* Press Conference to announce official Altitude at 10:30am PT <br /><br />The entire flight can be viewed LIVE at www.xprize.org on our global webcast. <br />Please spread the word to your friends. Tune in and help us celebrate the birth of the Personal Spaceflight Revolution! <br /><br />Best,<br /><br />Peter H. Diamandis<br />Chairman & FounderX PRIZE Foundation<br /><br />--------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />The X PRIZE Foundation wishes to thank our Title Sponsor the ANSARI FAMILY and our Presenting Sponsor CHAMP CAR WORLD SERIES. You can view Champ Car's site at www.cart.com <br />--------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br /><br />...................................................................................................... DONATIONS<br />The mission of the non-profit X PRIZE Foundation is to create a future in which the general public will personally participate in space travel and its benefits. But all of this requires an investment. Be a part of history. Give to the X PRIZE.<br />CLICK HERE to Become a General Member for the low cost of $20<br />CLICK HERE to Become a Senior Associate.<br />CLICK HERE to help the X PRIZE via a secure donation to PayPal! <br />....................................................
 
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halman

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sloracer,<br /><br />Thank you for the timely information. Apparently, the control issues are not severe enough to warrant postponement. I am half-way hoping that Melvill has the flight, yet it would be nice to see one of the others who have invested so much into this effort get their chance. I suspect that Rutan wants to utilize the publicity to demonstrate how little turn-around time is required on this vehicle. I wonder if the ballast load is going to change, or if they will leave 400 pounds of knick knaks and personal items on SpaceShip One.<br /><br />Here is hoping that they break the X-15 altitude record while winning the X-Prize. Shall we call them the X-Men? X-cellent! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> The secret to peace of mind is a short attention span. </div>
 
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arobie

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Sloracer, Thank you.<br /><br />Halman, I too would like to see Mike Melvill fly again, but he will not be flying this next flight. It is another pilots turn. It would not have been Melvill flying the 9-29 flight had the original pilot been able to fly. The orginal pilot wasn't able to fly because he was ill and his wife had just given birth.
 
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mrmorris

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<font color="yellow">" It would not have been Melvill flying the 9-29 flight had the original pilot's wife been able to fly"</font><br /><br />Dang! They *must* be pretty confident about SS1's handling issues if they're letting the pilot's wives do the driving. <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" />
 
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sloracer

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I've also posted a notice from NASA in the Space and Astronomy section--they're looking for Ambassadors. It's something that many of the people who post here at Space.com would certainly qualify for. They require quite a bit of information, but it would sure be something nice to add to one's resume, plus you would be getting first hand information and a chance to plan your own programs for presentation. Check it out.
 
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sloracer

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Arobie, I saw Melvill on MSN video today and he said that he would be available and would like to make the second trip but he felt that perhaps the opportunity should go to one of the other fellows who are anxiously standing in line. You can watch that video at http://www.msn.com
 
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juwong

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Cheer on for the GREAT mission! let's do our best, just save for the newly trip to the SPACE in the near future!
 
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Leovinus

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I don't think they can jump straight from this to tours. When Boeing built the 777, I bet they didn't take it up in one or two test flights and then bless it for passenger traffic. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>
 
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najab

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Burt has said he has absolutely no interest in developing SS1 into a passenger carrier. It would take at least $100 million to gain FAA approval.
 
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kmarinas86

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A spaceliner would be long in shape, like a line - and have many passengers. It would have to be luxurious, with a first class and an economy class. It would have to have decks, an inner pool, wood trim, and a movie theather. The distance it would have to travel would aslo have to be long.
 
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bobvanx

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"Virgin Sub-Orbital" just doesn't have the ring that "Virgin Galactic" has.<br /><br />Entreprenuers have always exagerated.
 
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rocketwatcher2001

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I'm pretty sure I'll be glued to my computer/TV Monday morning. I hope Rutan is already busy designing an orbital ship.<br /><br />Is there going to be another X-Prize to orbit and back? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>
 
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radarredux

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> <i><font color="yellow"> hope Rutan is already busy designing an orbital ship.</font>/i><br /><br />Rutan is *very* busy right now. Here is a short list of activities that I have seen in the press recently.<br /><br /><ul type="square"><li> WK and SS1 for Ansari X Prize.<li> Commercialization of the suborbital industry with Virgin Galactic.<li> Virgin Atlantic Global Flyer -- a jet plane to attempt the first solo non-stop (non-refueled) flight (by jet) around the world. Essentially a jet to match their Voyager airplane.<li> NASA exploration contract -- at least one of the recently awarded "study contracts" for the new space vision had Scaled as a participant.<li> Scaled will provide the platform for the DARPA X-37 drop tests.<li> Scaled's Proteus airplane platform has been submitted by Northrup Grumman to the Air Force's new Hunter-Killer class long-endurance unmanned aircraft.<br /></li></li></li></li></li></li></ul><br /><br />I am sure they are considering orbital versions. How many person-hours are being devoted to the task is a different question.<br /><br /><br /> /> <i><font color="yellow">Is there going to be another X-Prize to orbit and back?</font>/i><br /><br />Bigelow Aerospace is planning to announce a $50 million orbital prize for a vehicle that can service the inflatable stations they are developing. They are looking for additional financial backing (Bigelow will only put up part of the money), and NASA is rumored to be one of the contributors to the prize.<br /><br />In addition to the $50 million, the winner has the first right to a contract to service Bigelow's inflatable stations.</i></i>
 
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trailrider

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This sounds like what happened to Chuck Yeager on his NF-104 "ride". As I recall, he briefed a bunch of us AFROTC cadets at Chanute AFB Officers Club, and said that HIS problem was that the aerodynamic controls were ineffective because of the altitude (102-104,000 ft), and the RCS jets were NOT effective because there was TOO much atmosphere remaining. With the gyroscopic precesion induced by the windmilling turbojet engine, the NF-104 went into a flat spin that was unrecoverable (or in airmen's terms, the "aircraft departed" from controlled flight).<br /><br />But the Space Ship One roll had to have been induced by SOMETHING! Melville said he MIGHT have tapped the rudder, thereby inducing a rudder roll. Or, there could have been a mechanical condition or out-of-trim condition. Another possibility is that if the rocket engine nozzle ablated unevenly, IT could have induce a roll moment. (That's why most boosters that cannot be spin stabilized have some sort of roll thrust vector control.)<br /><br />Whatever the problem was, they must have figured it out, or Rutan wouldn't have scheduled the flight for Monday.<br /><br />Anyway, here's wishing whoever is flying Godspeed! Space Ship One may not be a practicable passenger vehicle, but then neither were many of the early aircraft.<br /><br />Hopefully, we are on the threashold of the one thing that is an ABSOLUTE NECESSITY if Humankind is to get beyond LEO...viable COMMERCIAL space OPERATIONS! Without profitable commercial spaceflight, capturing the imagination of the general public, there will never be enough money appropriated to get us "off the dime".<br /><br />Ad Luna! Ad Aries! Ad Astra!<br />Trailrider
 
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dreada5

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<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p>SPACE.COM: SpaceShipOne will be piloted today by 51-year-old Brian Binnie, officials said this morning. <p><hr /></p></p></blockquote><br /><br />Regarding SS1's tendency to roll and many saying its damaging to this "new space tourism industry". Rutan recently said the following, so I dunno if he has plans to try and fix it or he's saying folks better get used to it? lol!! <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /><br /><br /><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p>Rutan, meanwhile, noted that there is a “known deficiency on its flying qualities” in SpaceShipOne. The vehicle, he explained, is subject to what’s known in aerospace engineering as the “dihedral effect”: winds coming in to the side of the vehicle can create a roll. This effect had been seen in past flights, most notably the June 21 suborbital flight, when the vehicle pitched strongly from side to side as it encountered wind shear shortly after ignition. Rutan said that there was significant wind shear this time at around 60 kilometers altitude, but not strong enough to cause a roll itself.<br /><br />Both Rutan and Scaled’s pilots are familiar with vehicle’s tendency to roll, and have seen it during simulator runs. “We have never run though a full burn and flown up out of the atmosphere without rolling the airplane,” Rutan said.<p><hr /></p></p></blockquote>
 
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mrmorris

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<br />Does anyone else have problems getting the live feed from the XPrize site to work? For last week's flight -- I ended up using NASA TV to watch the flight, but they don't seem to be covering today's flight (or not yet, at any rate). <br /><br />Whenever I pick either the narrow or broadband feed from the XPrize site -- I get a short intro video -- then nothing more. My player works fine -- I can watch any of the *stored* videos. It's only the live one that gives me problems.<br /><br />Alternately -- does anyone know if NASATV will be running a live feed again?<br />
 
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scottcarlin

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This is probably obvious to most of you but.....<br /><br />Is it possible that SS1 could go so high up that it would be stuck in orbit and not be able to come back down?<br /><br />and what does RCS stand for and how does it work?
 
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elguapoguano

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<font color="yellow">Is it possible that SS1 could go so high up that it would be stuck in orbit and not be able to come back down? </font><br /><br />No, it's a suborbital Balistic trajectory. SS1 maxes out above Mach 3, but Mach 26 is needed to achieve orbit. Goes back to the old saying, what goes up must come down. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#ff0000"><u><em>Don't let your sig line incite a gay thread ;>)</em></u></font> </div>
 
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dreada5

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Yeah X-prize videostream is audio-only for me at the moment. I'm in the UK. Its not on NASA TV's schedule, so I doubt they are covering it. I watched it on NASA TV last time, and the video quality was VERY good!! Compared to the problems others were having with the Xprize/Space.com streams. Now I'm stuck with them instead...oh boy I do hope I get to see the flight this time... <img src="/images/icons/frown.gif" />
 
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marslauncher

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Watching live coverage on The Science Channel Good luck Burt and Mike!
 
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dreada5

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Ok, Xprize videostreams is working now!! <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" />
 
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mrmorris

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<font color="yellow">"Ok, Xprize videostreams is working now!! "</font><br /><br />Ayup -- s'fine for me too now.<br /><br /> <br />
 
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mrmorris

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<br />Well the talking head is prettier than last week's was. However -- I think she made a serious fashion error when she decided to drap a dead possum over her shoulders.<br />
 
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