Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo (SS2) continues to inch toward a full suborbital test flight with its third supersonic test carried out Friday morning. The SS2 rocket engine fired for 20 seconds, pushing the suborbital spacecraft to an altitude of 71,000 ft (18 km) and a top speed over Mach 1.4, both of which were new records for SS2. The Reaction Control System, feather re-entry system, and a thermal protection coating were successfully tested during the flight.
Among other firsts, this was the first SS2 powered flight on which Virgin Galactic's Chief Pilot Dave Mackay was in command. Mackay's co-pilot was Scaled Composites' Test Pilot Mark Stucky, who had been the pilot on the first two supersonic test flights.
SS2 was lifted by the double-fuselage White Knight Two carrier airplane to a height of 46,000 feet (11.7 km). At that point, SS2 was dropped, and its hybrid rocket engine, capable of delivering a thrust of 60,000 lb (267 kN) for a period of 70 seconds, was fired for 20 seconds, for a top speed in excess of Mach 1.4 and a peak altitude of 71,000 ft (18 km).
The primary SS2 systems tested during this flight were the Reaction Control System (RCS) and a new thermal protection coating for the feathering fins. When an airplane is flying in the atmosphere, it controls its attitude using ailerons, elevators, and the rudder. Additional stability is provided by the wings and tail, which tend to keep the airplane flying in a constant direction.
When flying a vehicle into space, an altitude is reached after which the various airfoils have no effect on the direction or orientation of the vehicle. The RCS takes over this function. Attitude control is established using a system of thrusters (essentially small rocket engines) directed by an inertial stability control system. The RCS system test provided additional data for use in optimizing the system.
Source: Gizmag
Among other firsts, this was the first SS2 powered flight on which Virgin Galactic's Chief Pilot Dave Mackay was in command. Mackay's co-pilot was Scaled Composites' Test Pilot Mark Stucky, who had been the pilot on the first two supersonic test flights.
SS2 was lifted by the double-fuselage White Knight Two carrier airplane to a height of 46,000 feet (11.7 km). At that point, SS2 was dropped, and its hybrid rocket engine, capable of delivering a thrust of 60,000 lb (267 kN) for a period of 70 seconds, was fired for 20 seconds, for a top speed in excess of Mach 1.4 and a peak altitude of 71,000 ft (18 km).
The primary SS2 systems tested during this flight were the Reaction Control System (RCS) and a new thermal protection coating for the feathering fins. When an airplane is flying in the atmosphere, it controls its attitude using ailerons, elevators, and the rudder. Additional stability is provided by the wings and tail, which tend to keep the airplane flying in a constant direction.
When flying a vehicle into space, an altitude is reached after which the various airfoils have no effect on the direction or orientation of the vehicle. The RCS takes over this function. Attitude control is established using a system of thrusters (essentially small rocket engines) directed by an inertial stability control system. The RCS system test provided additional data for use in optimizing the system.
Source: Gizmag
