SpaceShipOne completes second drop test
Posted: Mon, Sep 8, 2003, 8:42 AM ET (1242 GMT)
SpaceShipOne, the suborbital RLV being developed for the X Prize, completed its second successful drop test late last month. The spacecraft was dropped from its carrier aircraft, White Knight, on August 27 while flying 13,000 meters above the Mojave Desert. SpaceShipOne glided to a runway landing ten and a half minutes after deployment. The drop test was the first test of the vehicle's unique ability to feather, or raise, its tail section. This maneuver will be performed by the spacecraft during its initial descent on suborbital flights, allowing the vehicle to maintain a stable configuration during descent with little need for active guidance. During this test flight SpaceShipOne flew in the fully-feathered configuration for about 70 seconds.
SpaceShipOne, the suborbital RLV being developed for the X Prize, completed its second successful drop test late last month. The spacecraft was dropped from its carrier aircraft, White Knight, on August 27 while flying 13,000 meters above the Mojave Desert. SpaceShipOne glided to a runway landing ten and a half minutes after deployment. The drop test was the first test of the vehicle's unique ability to feather, or raise, its tail section. This maneuver will be performed by the spacecraft during its initial descent on suborbital flights, allowing the vehicle to maintain a stable configuration during descent with little need for active guidance. During this test flight SpaceShipOne flew in the fully-feathered configuration for about 70 seconds.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
Apex becomes billion-dollar company with $200 million Series D round
Posted: Sun, Sep 14 4:09 AM ET (0809 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Monday, September 15
Elon Musk's Starlink reports service outage, thousands of users affected
Reuters — 1:23 am ET (0523 GMT) What does the loss of U.S. Space Command mean to Colorado Springs?
Denver Post — 1:21 am ET (0521 GMT) SpaceX Launches Northrop Grumman Cargo Ship To ISS
Aviation Week — 1:18 am ET (0518 GMT) SpaceX launches Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral on Sunday
WESH-TV Orlando — 1:18 am ET (0518 GMT) Apollo 13 made Jim Lovell a legend generations after the space race
The Hill — 1:09 am ET (0509 GMT) |
