The third supersonic test flight of SpaceShipTwo occurred this month as Virgin Galactic continues to progress toward being able to take
Photo: MarsScientific.com/Clay Center Observatory
paying passengers on flights to space later in 2014.
Virgin Galactic’s SS2 soars
during supersonic test flight
Virgin Galactic, the world’s first
commercial spaceline, successfully
completed on January 11 the third
rocket-powered supersonic flight
of its passenger carrying reusable
space vehicle, SpaceShipTwo (SS2).
In command on the flight deck of
SS2 for the first time under rocket
power was Virgin Galactic’s Chief
Pilot Dave Mackay. Mackay, along
with Scaled Composites’ (Scaled)
Test Pilot Mark Stucky, tested the
spaceship’s Reaction Control Sys-
tem (RCS) and the newly installed
thermal protection coating on the
vehicle’s tail booms. All of the test
objectives were successfully completed.
The flight departed Mojave Air
and Space Port at 7:22 a.m. PST
with the first stage consisting of
the WhiteKnightTwo (WK2) carrier aircraft lifting SS2 to an altitude
around 46,000 ft. At the controls of
WK2 were Virgin Galactic Pilot Mike
Masucci and Scaled Test Pilot Mike
Editor’s note: A more in-depth feature on Virgin Galactic
will appear in an issue of RocketSTEM later this year.
34
34
Alsbury. On release, SS2’s rocket
motor was ignited, powering the
spaceship to a planned altitude of
71,000 ft. – SS2’s highest altitude to
date – and a maximum speed of
Mach 1.4. SS2’s unique feather reentry system was also tested during
the flight.
Two important SS2 systems, the
RCS and thermal protection coating, were tested during the flight
in preparation for upcoming full
space flights. The spaceship’s RCS
will allow its pilots to maneuver the
vehicle in space, permitting an optimal viewing experience for those
on board and aiding the positioning process for spacecraft re-entry.
www.RocketSTEM.org