Thread: Virgin Galactic Spaceship 2 Explodes

THE crash of the Virgin Galactic space vehicle which killed a pilot will likely set back the nascent space tourism industry by several years, experts have warned.
SpaceShipTwo crashed in Kern County, California, on its 35th test flight, with debris spread over a wide area.




The incident killed one pilot while another is being treated in hospital after ejecting from the vehicle.
While that unnamed pilot is treated, attention is turning to what the accident means for the future of private space tourism — an industry which is still very much in its infancy, despite being hyped over many years.

English billionaire Richard Branson announced the creation of his space tourism company Virgin Galactic in September 2004, with plans to commence low-orbital flights next year.
The accident occurred just as it seemed commercial space flights were near, after a period of development that lasted far longer than hundreds of prospective passengers had expected.
When Virgin Group licensed the technology from Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, who put $26 million into SpaceShipOne, Branson envisioned operating flights by 2007. In interviews last month, he talked about the first flight being next spring with his son.
The flamboyant businessman tweeted shortly after news of the incident, saying he was flying to California immediately to join the team.
It is expected that he will give a statement to the media after being briefed on the accident.



Virgin Galactic chief executive George Whitesides summed up the mood when he told reporters after the crash: “Space is hard, and today was a tough day”.
“Our future rests on hard days like this but we believe we owe it to folks flying this vehicle ... to understand this and move forward, which is what we do,” he said.
The incident is the second disaster involving a US spacecraft this week, after an unmanned Orbital Science rocket carrying supplies to the International Space Station exploded after launch on Tuesday.

SpaceShipTwo crash: is this the end for Richard Branson?s Virgin Galactic dream?

1 bad flight out of 35, not bad odds, better than taking a tuk tuk.

Do these things get insured ?

Seemed like a ridiculous scheme pandering to the grandiose fantasies of the super rich.

Suppose but there was a time when only the rich could afford an automobile or a flight on an airplane.

Doubt this incident will slow down progress in the endeavor. Much more than just carrying rich folks to be had.

Worked with a guy who stumped up over 200 K AUD for a spot on the up coming flights.

He retired a few months ago, bet he was glad he was not on that one EH.

Originally Posted by Takeovers

They had trouble with the fuel they use for years. It already caused many delays for the first commercial flight. On every test flight they experienced instabilities that forced premature shutdown of the engine.

Their fuel is rubber and the burn is not stable. This was almost inevitable. They had tried using Nylon instead. That seemed to work better but the cost of switching was regarded too high. So they tried some modification of the rubber engine and it exploded on first try in the air.

I guess if they continue they will now switch to a liquid fuel engine. But that will take years.

It is reported that after years of delays their arab main investor got impatient and they tried to force it against better knowledge. The chief designer left the team weeks ago.

x pounds of thrust for x minutes.
I'm surprised there is a proven off the shelf engine available.

Originally Posted by Necron99

x pounds of thrust for x minutes. I'm surprised there is a proven off the shelf engine available.

I don't think there is, at least not with the right kind of fuel.

But they were able to develop new rocket engines over 50 years ago. I don't think that ability is totally lost today.

I do believe that the specs of the engine SpaceX is using on their manned Dragon Spaceship would be very much suited for the purpose. However that one is using a very poisonous fuel and that seems not acceptable for a frequently flying passenger spaceplane.

The competition of Virgin Galactic, XCOR aerospace is developing their own engine with liquid fuel, using RP-1(Kerosene) and LOX(Liquid OXygen).

Originally Posted by Takeovers

Originally Posted by Necron99

x pounds of thrust for x minutes. I'm surprised there is a proven off the shelf engine available.

I don't think there is, at least not with the right kind of fuel.

But they were able to develop new rocket engines over 50 years ago. I don't think that ability is totally lost today.

I do believe that the specs of the engine SpaceX is using on their manned Dragon Spaceship would be very much suited for the purpose. However that one is using a very poisonous fuel and that seems not acceptable for a frequently flying passenger spaceplane.

The competition of Virgin Galactic, XCOR aerospace is developing their own engine with liquid fuel, using RP-1(Kerosene) and LOX(Liquid OXygen).

Typo, I meant surprised there isn't an off the shelf option.
This report claims they were using a new 3 fuel engine .

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/cf595...44feabdc0.html

Originally Posted by terry57

Worked with a guy who stumped up over 200 K AUD for a spot on the up coming flights.

He retired a few months ago, bet he was glad he was not on that one EH.

Ticket cost is 250k and have only ever been taking deposits....

200k is a very healthy deposit.

Space travel for a paying tourist is not new.
For Gods sake the Russians have been taking space tourists into orbit for donkey years.
Pay the Russians enough for a new Rocket, and away you go, to be returned safely to Mother Russia, and then onto your own country safe and well.
To a local heroes welcome in your own back yard.
Virgin bullshitter trying to play catch up.

Originally Posted by wasabi

Space travel for a paying tourist is not new.
For Gods sake the Russians have been taking space tourists into orbit for donkey years.
Pay the Russians enough for a new Rocket, and away you go, to be returned safely to Mother Russia, and then onto your own country safe and well.
To a local heroes welcome in your own back yard.
Virgin bullshitter trying to play catch up.

It's not the same league. The russian ticket is over 40 Million $ now. The Virgin Galactic ticket is 250.000 $ and will likely get cheaper, if they ever fly.

IMO you get your money's worth on Soyuz though compared to Virgin Galactic. ~5 minutes in space with VG (very cramped space), really. Not me even if I could afford it.

If you want to survive, you pay 40 million for your ticket.

Originally Posted by Humbert

Seemed like a ridiculous scheme pandering to the grandiose fantasies of the super rich.

Could not agree more

Total waste of time even for those with more money than sense

What will they actually achieve out of the flight apart from experiencing zero gravity which you can pay to experience on Earth.

Christ the whole idea of travel is to reach a destination,the getting there and back is what most hate.

Originally Posted by Norton

Suppose but there was a time when only the rich could afford an automobile or a flight on an airplane.

Doubt this incident will slow down progress in the endeavor. Much more than just carrying rich folks to be had.

Actually I think just carry rich folks is all to be had

Oh and Richard Bransons ego boosted somewhat more

MOJAVE, Calif.—An improper co-pilot command preceded Friday’s in-flight breakup of Virgin Galactic LLC’s rocket, according to investigators, when movable tail surfaces deployed prematurely.

Two seconds after the surfaces moved—with SpaceShip Two traveling faster than the speed of sound—“we saw disintegration” of the 60-foot-long experimental craft, according to Christopher Hart, acting chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board.

The co-pilot died in the accident, and the other pilot was severely injured.

NTSB Cites Improper Pilot Command in Virgin Galactic Disaster - WSJ - WSJ

Originally Posted by Humbert

Seemed like a ridiculous scheme pandering to the grandiose fantasies of the super rich.

So sad some of those super rich weren't on it!

Didn't Branson,s house on his own private Caribbean island burn down.
A few years ago, well with all this global climate change , you would think he would cut down on his carbon immersions.

According to the latest news from the investigation panel it was not the engine. Engine and tanks were retrieved mainly intact.

It looks like pilot error, action taken by the now dead copilot but acknowledged by the pilot according to cockpit audio. At least the mechanism that caused the breakup was unlocked at a time when it should not have been. Why or how that mechanism actually deployed is another matter still under investigation.

But seriously weird. The two are very experienced test pilots. Unlikely in the extreme they do something like this without very good reason. The surviving pilot has not yet been questioned. But he recovered enough that they will soon be able to talk to him.

Virgin Galactic pilot survived 16 kilometre fall

November 6, 2014, 8:29 am

Aircraft industry figures have spoken of their amazement that a co-pilot survived the crash of the Virgin Galactic rocket plane that tragically claimed the life of 39-year-old Michael Alsbury last week.
The Los Angeles Times reported that Peter Siebold was more than 16 kilometres above the earth when SpaceShipTwo began disintergrating, forcing him to eject.

Siebold was wearing a parachute but no spacesuit as he plummeted from nearly twice the height of Mount Everest in temperatures 70 degrees below zero.
Incredibly his most serious injury was a broken shoulder and he has already left hospital.

Exactly when Siebold pulled his rip cord is unknown. He may have fallen freely for kilometres to exit the cold as fast as possible.
Veteran test pilot Paul Tackabury told the LA Times the fact Siebold survived at all was amazing.
"You don't just jump out of aircraft at Mach 1 at over 50,000 feet without a spacesuit," he said.

92-year-old test pilot Bob Hoover survived five crashes and told the Times that at altitude the air was so thin it was almost impossible to breathe.
"At 50,000 feet, your survival time is very limited, and for him to pull the rip cord in those conditions is pretty surprising. I am so happy for him" Mr Hoover said.

Photographer and engineer Ken Brown was hired to take pictures of the doomed flight and he told the Times SpaceShipTwo was in pieces in a few moments.
"Peter is a lucky guy," he said.
"The vehicle disintegrated around him. He would have found himself falling."


https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/...ilometre-fall/