SpaceShipWon

Scaled Composites is shifting focus to designing and building suborbital rocket gliders for the new Virgin Galactic space tourism operator, based on its SpaceShipOne design that won the Ansari X Prize last week.

Virgin Galactic, a Delaware-incorporated operation started by Virgin Atlantic founder Sir Richard Branson, is eyeing an enlarged version of the three-place SpaceShipOne that could carry about five passengers plus crew. The company hopes its $100-million investment will fly the first paying passengers in 2007 (AW&ST Oct. 4, p. 30).

"I'm going to focus my talents on it," says Scaled President Burt Rutan. "I want to carry through, not just fly SpaceShipOne and wait for someone to do something."

Mojave Aerospace Ventures (MAV) took the Ansari X Prize with its flight to 112 km. (70 mi.) from the airport here on Oct. 4, just five days after its 103-km. flight on Sept. 29 (AW&ST Oct. 4, p. 28). MAV is a joint venture between Scaled Composites and sole investor Paul G. Allen. The quick turnaround was especially impressive in light of a snap roll departure at Mach 2.7 on the first flight while under power. Scaled was able to diagnose the problem and program a revised trajectory in that short period, as well as inspect the craft and fit it with a new rocket motor. The ensuing flight by pilot Brian Binnie appeared to be the most precise to date and broke the prior altitude by 20,000 ft.

FAA Administrator Marion Blakey was on hand to present Allen and Rutan with a plaque congratulating them on the rapid pair of flights above 100 km. that won the X Prize. She said the FAA's primary concern was that space tourism not harm people on the ground. Operators will need to give passengers information about the spaceship and medical factors about spaceflight. "We recognize there is risk, but risks are worth taking," she said. No mention was made of certifying spaceships but a launch license from the agency's Office of Commercial Space Transportation is required, which is aimed at protecting uninvolved parties.

The concept is similar to that for experimental aircraft--it's OK if the aircraft crashes so long as no one on the ground is hurt and passengers are informed of the risks. The difference is that spaceships are to carry paying passengers and experimental aircraft can't, and some degree of FAA approval of the craft itself would make it easier to insure. It's not clear if Blakey's comments at the celebratory event have any connection with FAA policy.

The joined SpaceShipOne and White Knight drop aircraft took off from here at 6:49 a.m. PDT on Oct. 4. After nearly an hour climb the rocket glider was dropped from 47,000 ft., and a few seconds later Binnie flipped the switch to ignite the hybrid solid rocket. The fueled weight of SpaceShipOne is a little less than 6,800 lb., Rutan said. Rocket thrust is 15,000-18,000 lbf. As the craft rapidly accelerated Binnie pulled it up into a near-vertical climb. Partway up some moderate chugging pulsations were seen in the exhaust plume, and he reported feeling vibration at that point. Combustion instability is fairly normal for hybrids and on SpaceShipOne chugging can occur when the liquid nitrous oxide oxidizer runs out, leaving only gas.

The rocket glider flew a smooth trajectory, unlike the 29 rapid rolls that pilot Mike Melvill was hit with before and after engine shutoff on the last flight. He stopped the rolls in the vacuum of space about 2 min. after they started. Binnie entered space with almost no rotation, and activated the tailboom-raising feather mechanism as equivalent airspeed dropped to about 5 KEAS. During zero-G coast he reached an apogee of 367,463 ft. MSL, as measured by external radar, and took pictures including the one on this magazine's cover. That altitude is 13,000-ft. higher than the unofficial X-15 record of 354,200 ft. He maneuvered the craft to an accurate entry angle, as evidenced by very little hunting for stable pitch attitude once the atmosphere took hold. Prior entries had noticeable hunting.

After a brief buildup to 5g entry deceleration and slowing to subsonic speed, Binnie stowed the feather mechanism to start his glide back to Mojave and made a good landing 17 min. later a little beyond the 3,000-ft. marker on Runway 30, at 8:13 a.m.