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Virgin's B747-400 flight test vehicle that may have been involved in the failed rocket launch just a few days ago..(Rob Starling of Flickr fame !)... told me that this 747 flew in from LAX yesterday,,..overnighted here..
I happened to be by FLL airport today at noon time and
took a few shots of the parked plane ...through the fence...and lo and behold after 30 minutes , he was fired up ready for take off...so lucky to be there !!!
for details on the underwing launch pylon...PLEASE see it in largest size...
One of the more unusual aircraft flying...this was built as the launch vehicle for Virgin Galactic spacecraft....Seen at EAA Airventure. Oshkosh, WI July 31, 2009.
"S/N" is the aircraft's serial number. "L/N" is a Boeing code denoting what order the airframe came off the production line. "F/N" refers to an individual airline's fleet numbering system. Not all airlines use a fleet number; not all manufacturers use a line number.
Copyright
All my photographic and video images are copyrighted. All rights are reserved. Please do not use, copy or edit any of my photographs without my written permission. If you want to use my photo for commercial or private use, please contact me. Please do not re-upload my photos at any location on the internet without my written consent.
Virgin Galactic's SpaceShip2 under rocket power, its first ever since the program began in 2005. The spacecraft was dropped from its "mothership", WhiteKnight2 over the Mojave, CA area, April 29, 2013 at high altitude before firing its t hybrid power motor. Virgin Galactic hopes to become the first commercial space venture to bring multiple passengers into space on a regular basis. This photo was taken from a remote camera located at top of the ships' tail.
Mojave Air and Space Port. This 3,300-acre facility in the town of Mojave, is home to more than 60 space tech companies, including Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic.
The facility is also known as the Civilian Aerospace Test Center.
Virgin Galactic Unity22
www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-57797297
Added: SRB's tribute to his mother and her influence:
Mr. Rutan is a hero to garage aviators, developed in the late 70s and early 80s Burt Rutan introduced composite material to future design; later his vision would go on to produce Space ship one for virgin.
Something more unusual amongst my collection! This Virgin Galactic machine was seen flying from its base at Mojave Airport 03/02/16
Check out my non aviation pictures at www.flickr.com/photos/gspiccies
Poster Design. Part of a set based on the prospect of affordable space exploration by human beings.
Model: Ruth Birkett
Replaced an earlier scanned photo with a better version 18-Mar-16, plus DeNoise AI 10-Jan-23.
Named: "Cosmic Girl".
Delivered to Virgin Atlantic Airways as G-VWOW in Oct-01, the aircraft was sold on delivery to GECAS and leased back to Virgin Atlantic. It was returned to GECAS in Oct-15
It was immediately sold to JACM Holdings Inc and leased to Virgin Galactic as N744VG. It was stored at San Antonio, TX, USA, in Nov-15. It was modified for use as the launch vehicle for Virgin Galctic's 'LauncherOne' satellite.
In Jul-17 the aircraft was transferred to Virgin Orbit. The first test launch took place in the USA on 25-May-20, it failed. The second launch took place on 17-Jan-21. It was a success, as were the next three launches.
Launcher One's first launch from it's UK base at Newquay-Cornwall Airport was on 09-Jan-23. While the launch was successful, the rocket second stage malfunctioned and didn't achieve it's planned orbit to release the nine satellite's on board. Updated 10-Jan-23.
Virgin Galactic's SpaceShip2 under rocket power, its first ever since the program began in 2005. The spacecraft was dropped from its "mothership", WhiteKnight2 over the Mojave, CA area, April 29, 2013 at high altitude before firing its hybrid power motor. Virgin Galactic hopes to become the first commercial space venture to bring multiple passengers into space on a regular basis.
‘Cosmic Girl’ (G-VWOW) on short final over Myrtle Avenue at London Heathrow (LHR/EGLL) back in September 2013... Virgin Atlantic retired this frame October 2015, however, it’s now flying as N744VG for Virgin Galactic as ‘LauncherOne’!!
Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo
www.virgingalactic.com/launcherOne/performance-and-specif...
The Scaled Composites Model 339 SpaceShipTwo (SS2) is a suborbital, air-launched spaceplane designed for space tourism. It is under development as part of the Tier 1b program under contract to The Spaceship Company, a California-based company that is wholly owned by its sister company Virgin Galactic. The Spaceship Company was formerly a joint venture between Virgin Galactic and Scaled Composites, but Virgin became the company's sole owner in 2012.
SpaceShipTwo is carried to its launch altitude by a jet-powered mothership, the Scaled Composites White Knight Two, before being released to fly on into the upper atmosphere, powered by a rocket motor. It then glides back to Earth and performs a conventional runway landing. The spaceship was officially unveiled to the public on 7 December 2009 at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California. On 29 April 2013, after nearly three years of unpowered testing, the spacecraft successfully performed its first powered test flight.
Virgin Galactic plans to operate a fleet of five SpaceShipTwo spaceplanes in a private passenger-carrying service, starting in 2014, and have been taking bookings for some time, with a suborbital flight carrying an initial ticket price of US$200,000. The spaceplane could also be used to carry scientific payloads for NASA and other organisations.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceShipTwo
Le SpaceShipTwo (ou « Vaisseau Spatial 2 ») est un prototype d'avion spatial suborbital créé par Virgin Galactic, une coentreprise entre le constructeur aéronautique américain Scaled Composites et le conglomérat anglais Virgin Group. Il prend la suite d'un autre prototype, le SpaceShipOne dont il reprend les principales caractéristiques : ailes en cantilever et moteur-fusée à propulsion hybride lancé en altitude par un avion porteur.
Six véhicules de ce type doivent être construits pour transporter des passagers fortunés (le prix de la place est de 200 000 $) dans un bref vol suborbital (deux heures). L'avion spatial peut amener six passagers et deux pilotes à une altitude de 110 kilomètres environ. Les touristes spatiaux passeront 5 minutes en impesanteur.
[...] Lorsque l'aéronef arrive à une altitude où la densité d'air est suffisante, ses ailes sont remises en position normale et l'avion spatial achève son vol à la manière d'un planeur. L'avion spatial n'est pas un vaisseau spatial : il atteint bien l'altitude des vaisseaux spatiaux, mais sa vitesse nulle ne peut pas lui permettre de se maintenir en orbite. Il faudrait pour cela que sa vitesse horizontale soit d'environ 7,7 km/s (soit 27 720 km/h).
Les essais en vol de l'avion porteur ont débuté en 2008. SpaceShipTwo a été présenté en décembre 2009 et a effectué son premier vol en mars 2010. Les tests sont toujours en cours, l'avion ayant mené 22 vols planés réussis en août 2012. La compagnie Virgin Galactic prévoit d'opérer une flotte de cinq avions SpaceShipTwo en vol commercial, à partir de fin 2013 et prend déjà des réservations, pour le prix de 200 000 dollars. La société Virgin Galactic annonce avoir déjà recueilli 300 réservations et 40 millions de dollars d'avances.
His launch webcast today: www.VirginGalactic.com Success! Safe landing and epic flight today.
I am reminded of Sir Arthur Clarke's prescient passage in the Virgin Galactic book SpaceShipOne:
“Enter Citizen Astronauts. Escaping from Earth will not always be astronomically expensive; the energy needed to reach space is remarkably small.
‘We have to get away, as quickly as possible, from today’s missile-oriented philosophy of rocket launchers which are discarded after a single flight.’
When I wrote these words in July 1969, the Apollo 11 astronauts were on their way to the moon.
I envisaged that the true Space Age would dawn ‘…and projects which today are barely feasible will become not only relatively easy but economically self-supporting. The closing years of this century should see the beginnings of commercial space flight, which will be directed first toward giant manned satellites or space platforms within a thousand miles above the Earth’s surface.’ [think ISS]
Well in those heady days of Apollo, I couldn’t have anticipated all the detours and distractions of the 1970s that delayed our optimistic projections.
Commercial space flight is now beginning to be technologically feasible and soon will become economically viable. The rise of citizen astronauts has already begun — this time, I doubt if politics can hold up progress because it is no longer so closely tied to the fluctuating interests and resources of national governments.
Fortunately, we need not rely solely on governments for expanding humanity’s presence beyond the Earth.
In that sense, space travel is returning to where it started: with maverick pioneers dreaming of journeys to orbit and beyond”
Go Dreamers, go, go, go!
"Virgin Galactic is the largest employer at Spaceport America with around 180 employees and holds a 20-year lease agreement for the use of the Gateway to Space and the horizontal launch area. Other tenants with long-term leases at Spaceport America include AeroVironment/ HAPSMobile, UP Aerospace and SpinLaunch. Boeing, Swift Engineering, Stratodynamics, C6 Launch Systems and White Sands Research and Developers are among the many short-term customers at Spaceport America." [ From a July 11, 2021 Press Release]
WhiteKnightTwo lifting SpaceShipTwo just after takeoff from Mojave Air and Space Port for SS2s 28th glide flight (GF-28) on January 17th, 2014. Range 1.9 km (1.2 mi).
atelier ying, nyc
The ChinaDaily newspaper had an article earlier this year about Virgin Galactic offering the very first passenger space flights at $250,000 per person. The first six astronauts are to be wealthy Hong Kong citizens.
My design proposal offers a palanquin designed for six, modeled after three fantasy vehicles, the Chariot from the TV hit show, Lost in Space, the US Marine One helicopter, and the iconic Hong Kong tram (and a rickshaw).
This vehicle is a movable writer's hut/portable library for one, with a staff of five, each handsomely paid. It does have wheels too so you can travel long distances. The idea of an ancient Chinese Poet's hut melds with Marine One in this design with the addition of a manned Galley.
Like the original Chariot, there is a wide-angle film camera mounted on a tripod at the front followed by an overhead view hatch window on the roof. The show's famous force field projector is replaced by four able-bodied men.
Like the M1, there is a galley kitchen and waitress directly behind the passenger which can serve up snacks and beverages at any time. The galley person also serves as coordinator for the transport.
Like a spacecraft, a periodic 7-minute spurts without the wheel base provides an otherworldly floating sensation via bubble levels mounted into each carry handle.
You get to travel more often, in style and at a fraction of the cost of the 2.5 hour space flight.
Maybe I can win a free ticket with this proposed design. Five minutes of weightlessness will do wonders for my brain.
This design is dedicated to Billy Mumy, every boy's alter ego from the Lost in Space TV series.
Design, concepts, text and drawing are copyright 2014 by David Lo.
Virgin Galactic's passenger rocket plane VSS Unity, carrying Richard Branson and crew, begins its ascent to the edge of space above Spaceport America near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, U.S. July 11, 2021
It's easy to recognize a Rutan design. They are neat aircraft! This one is White Knight 2, aka EVE at Airventure 2009. Believe it or not, that thing is fully aerobatic. From the archives, obviously...
The Journey Upward
“The grand story of what is now Spaceport America in New Mexico began in the depths of prehistory, when the skies rained material leftover from the birth of our solar system. The impacts from this early space debris brought elements essential for life to our fledgling planet. As life evolved into creatures of all kinds in those early eons, the stars from whence it came shined bright in the sky. Now after millions of years traveling through space, that same starlight has finally reached Earth and the human beings who now inhabit it.
“Venturing forth across the planet, humans have looked ever upward to the skies. First in awe and wonder, and then later, through study and story, we sought to use the sky to identify our place among the stars. Eventually, with practicality and understanding, the nighttime sky became a map to make our way across the land and the seas. But this knowledge was not enough, as we continued looking skyward and yearned to travel among the stars. Eventually, we succeeded in breaking the bonds that had kept us firmly on this planet.
“The future of humanity is rooted in the stars. Today a new generation of explorers is advancing our understanding of who we are by breaking the boundaries of what we can do. This special place in New Mexico has been a crossroads for thousands of years of kindred souls seeking to go beyond and reach ever higher. Now, as Spaceport America helps launch the next generation of space travel and exploration, our long collective journey upward can truly aim for the stars where it all began.
“The panorama on this wall illustrates this journey – our journey upward – our journey out among the stars.”
[From the accompanying text]
New iteration for Raven SSTO, Single Stage to Orbit. This isn't the heavy, Discovery. But the smaller one. For example, SpaceX's dragon capsule is 378 Cu Ft, Payload bay of Raven is 1078 Cu Ft. www.ioaircraft.com/hypersonic/raven.php
Iteration 10, almost clean sheet. U-TBCC propulsion, 6000F thermal resistance, 3D printed graphene airframe, Note the elimination of "blunt nose". Turn around time under 24 hours total from landing to ready for next flight. No external boosters.
Forward Thruster Bay, other then conventional orbital thrusters, also includes a reverse thruster which decelerates the aircraft pre re-entry into atmosphere from 16,500+ mph ground speed to apx 12,000 mph ground speed. Engines re-ignite once in atmosphere so it can fly to it's landing destination, ie not glide.
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