Virgin Galactic back in the race!

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#1 Virgin Galactic back in the race!

Post by Commander »

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Virgin Galactic's second SpaceShipTwo took to the skies over Mojave, California, Monday (May 1) for the first test flight of the craft's atmospheric re-entry system, which was modified after a fatal test flight in 2014 destroyed the original ship.

The new spaceship, called VSS Unity, took off beneath the White Knight Two carrier aircraft around 10:40 a.m. local time, 1:40 p.m. EDT (1740 GMT) from the Mojave Air and Space Port for the spacecraft's fourth glide flight.

About 40 minutes later, with pilots Mark Stucky and Mike Masucci at the controls, Unity was released at an altitude of about 51,000 feet (15,550 meters) to begin its fourth unpowered glide test-flight.
:arrow: link

I see Virgin Galactic more as a people transport between a space station and Earth. The problem is that akin to Blue Origins New Shepherd, for near future, it will just be an expensive thrill ride. At $250,000 a seat just to visit it better be one hell of a ride.
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#2 Re: Virgin Galactic back in the race!

Post by Rocket Babe »

Personally, I consider them and those like them to be nothing more than very expensive HPR.

Maybe in 25 years we'll be back where we were 6 years ago.
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#3 Re: Virgin Galactic back in the race!

Post by luke strawwalker »

Rocket Babe wrote:Personally, I consider them and those like them to be nothing more than very expensive HPR.

Maybe in 25 years we'll be back where we were 6 years ago.
Exactly....

I consider this entire "space tourism" thing the proverbial river that is "a mile wide, but only an inch deep". The few of people worldwide willing to spend this kind of money on a thrill ride like this is small... And there won't likely be any​ repeats... (If they've got that kind of money you could get on Soyuz). They'll have even less when the first one pancakes in at some point...

Zipping up to 62 miles with zero velocity gets you nothing as far as space travel is concerned... It's not much of a sounding rocket! To reach orbital velocity is far beyond anything this thing could EVER be capable of... And without orbital velocity you're NOT going to the space station or anywhere else... This thing is a glorified amusement park ride, nothing more.

Now, Dreamchaser is a space station taxi... If it ever gets built...

I could one day see the benefit of something like "new Shepard" or a collaboration between SpaceX and the Dreamchaser folks to create an intercontinental airline capable of flying anywhere on the globe in 30 minutes or so, following ICBM-like trajectories but with fully reusable parts... The so-called "trans-atmospheric vehicle" (TAV, as mentioned in Whitley Striebers book). The military would love something like that and have talked about that capability) and the commercial applications are obvious...

This thing isn't​ capable of anything like that, either...

Later! OL J R
My MUNIFICENCE is BOUNDLESS, Mr. Bond...
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#4 Re: Virgin Galactic back in the race!

Post by Commander »

luke strawwalker wrote:
Rocket Babe wrote:Personally, I consider them and those like them to be nothing more than very expensive HPR.

Maybe in 25 years we'll be back where we were 6 years ago.
Exactly....

I consider this entire "space tourism" thing the proverbial river that is "a mile wide, but only an inch deep". The few of people worldwide willing to spend this kind of money on a thrill ride like this is small... And there won't likely be any​ repeats... (If they've got that kind of money you could get on Soyuz). They'll have even less when the first one pancakes in at some point...

Zipping up to 62 miles with zero velocity gets you nothing as far as space travel is concerned... It's not much of a sounding rocket! To reach orbital velocity is far beyond anything this thing could EVER be capable of... And without orbital velocity you're NOT going to the space station or anywhere else... This thing is a glorified amusement park ride, nothing more.

Now, Dreamchaser is a space station taxi... If it ever gets built...

I could one day see the benefit of something like "new Shepard" or a collaboration between SpaceX and the Dreamchaser folks to create an intercontinental airline capable of flying anywhere on the globe in 30 minutes or so, following ICBM-like trajectories but with fully reusable parts... The so-called "trans-atmospheric vehicle" (TAV, as mentioned in Whitley Striebers book). The military would love something like that and have talked about that capability) and the commercial applications are obvious...

This thing isn't​ capable of anything like that, either...

Later! OL J R
Could you imagine the outcome of something like Benghazi if we were able to drop two or three squads of United States Special Forces in within say an hour of a problem starting?
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#5 Re: Virgin Galactic back in the race!

Post by Commander »

Almost like Heinlein's Starship Troopers! :D
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#6 Re: Virgin Galactic back in the race!

Post by luke strawwalker »

Commander wrote:
luke strawwalker wrote:
Rocket Babe wrote:Personally, I consider them and those like them to be nothing more than very expensive HPR.

Maybe in 25 years we'll be back where we were 6 years ago.
Exactly....

I consider this entire "space tourism" thing the proverbial river that is "a mile wide, but only an inch deep". The few of people worldwide willing to spend this kind of money on a thrill ride like this is small... And there won't likely be any​ repeats... (If they've got that kind of money you could get on Soyuz). They'll have even less when the first one pancakes in at some point...

Zipping up to 62 miles with zero velocity gets you nothing as far as space travel is concerned... It's not much of a sounding rocket! To reach orbital velocity is far beyond anything this thing could EVER be capable of... And without orbital velocity you're NOT going to the space station or anywhere else... This thing is a glorified amusement park ride, nothing more.

Now, Dreamchaser is a space station taxi... If it ever gets built...

I could one day see the benefit of something like "new Shepard" or a collaboration between SpaceX and the Dreamchaser folks to create an intercontinental airline capable of flying anywhere on the globe in 30 minutes or so, following ICBM-like trajectories but with fully reusable parts... The so-called "trans-atmospheric vehicle" (TAV, as mentioned in Whitley Striebers book). The military would love something like that and have talked about that capability) and the commercial applications are obvious...

This thing isn't​ capable of anything like that, either...

Later! OL J R
Could you imagine the outcome of something like Benghazi if we were able to drop two or three squads of United States Special Forces in within say an hour of a problem starting?
Exactly! OL J R :)
My MUNIFICENCE is BOUNDLESS, Mr. Bond...
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