VSS Enterprise completes first flight under its carrieraircraft

On Wed, 24 Mar 2010 16:26:09 -0400, David Spain wrote:

At $1,000 with or without a Zero-G experience, it'd be my highest ride
to date, on an aircraft with incredible views, comfortable seats and a
suborbital launch viewing stand that couldn't be beat!

This vehicle will have longer lines for paying customers than SS2
will....

Dave

Well shoot. I'll make you barf for $100. Why do you want to pay so much?

"Marvin the Martian" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 24 Mar 2010 16:26:09 -0400, David Spain wrote:

At $1,000 with or without a Zero-G experience, it'd be my highest ride
to date, on an aircraft with incredible views, comfortable seats and a
suborbital launch viewing stand that couldn't be beat!

This vehicle will have longer lines for paying customers than SS2
will....

Dave

Well shoot. I'll make you barf for $100. Why do you want to pay so much?

There are precious few ways you can safely experience high quality zero
gravity for more than say a couple of seconds at a time. Just because you
don't get it, doesn't mean that others share your feelings.

Jeff
--
"Take heart amid the deepening gloom
that your dog is finally getting enough cheese" - Deteriorata - National
Lampoon

"Jeff Findley" writes:

"Marvin the Martian" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 24 Mar 2010 16:26:09 -0400, David Spain wrote:

At $1,000 with or without a Zero-G experience, it'd be my highest ride
to date, on an aircraft with incredible views, comfortable seats and a
suborbital launch viewing stand that couldn't be beat!

This vehicle will have longer lines for paying customers than SS2
will....

Dave

Well shoot. I'll make you barf for $100. Why do you want to pay so much?

There are precious few ways you can safely experience high quality zero
gravity for more than say a couple of seconds at a time. Just because you
don't get it, doesn't mean that others share your feelings.

Jeff

And to be honest, I'd probably prefer the version of the ride w/o Zero-G.

Marvin, you have a plane that'll take me to 65K ft., with comfortable seats,
with great views of the Mohave Desert and possibly San Diego and/or LA
AND let me watch a sub-orbital spacecraft launch from a few feet away
all for $100? Or even $1000?

Not all travels are about the destination, some are about the journey...

Dave

On Mon, 29 Mar 2010 11:32:46 -0400, David Spain wrote:

"Jeff Findley" writes:

"Marvin the Martian" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 24 Mar 2010 16:26:09 -0400, David Spain wrote:

At $1,000 with or without a Zero-G experience, it'd be my highest
ride to date, on an aircraft with incredible views, comfortable seats
and a suborbital launch viewing stand that couldn't be beat!

This vehicle will have longer lines for paying customers than SS2
will....

Dave

Well shoot. I'll make you barf for $100. Why do you want to pay so
much?

There are precious few ways you can safely experience high quality zero
gravity for more than say a couple of seconds at a time. Just because
you don't get it, doesn't mean that others share your feelings.

Jeff

And to be honest, I'd probably prefer the version of the ride w/o
Zero-G.

Marvin, you have a plane that'll take me to 65K ft., with comfortable
seats, with great views of the Mohave Desert and possibly San Diego
and/or LA AND let me watch a sub-orbital spacecraft launch from a few
feet away all for $100? Or even $1000?

I did it several times and got paid for it, but not from FL 65.

All in all, you're better off spending the money on women.

Not all travels are about the destination, some are about the journey...

Dave

On 3/29/2010 6:24 AM, Jeff Findley wrote:

There are precious few ways you can safely experience high quality zero
gravity for more than say a couple of seconds at a time.

I'm still waiting for the first time one of the wings doesn't fold down
and lock after reentry.
Note that they are following the Shuttle's lead here in not having any
escape system for the passengers, even to the point of not giving them
pressure suits and parachutes to bail out the side hatch with like the
Shuttle has.

Pat

On 3/29/2010 7:32 AM, David Spain wrote:

And to be honest, I'd probably prefer the version of the ride w/o Zero-G.

Marvin, you have a plane that'll take me to 65K ft., with comfortable seats,
with great views of the Mohave Desert and possibly San Diego and/or LA
AND let me watch a sub-orbital spacecraft launch from a few feet away
all for $100? Or even $1000?

I wouldn't mind flying on one of these:
http://www.flymig.com/packages/MiG-25.flight.htm

Pat

On Mon, 29 Mar 2010 10:44:40 -0800, Pat Flannery wrote:

On 3/29/2010 6:24 AM, Jeff Findley wrote:

There are precious few ways you can safely experience high quality zero
gravity for more than say a couple of seconds at a time.

I'm still waiting for the first time one of the wings doesn't fold down
and lock after reentry.
Note that they are following the Shuttle's lead here in not having any
escape system for the passengers, even to the point of not giving them
pressure suits and parachutes to bail out the side hatch with like the
Shuttle has.

Better not ever got on an airliner, Pat, you don't get ejection seats or
parachutes there, either.

The FAA isn't going to certificate White Knight unless it can keep the
passengers alive and descend to a survivable level after depressurization.


--
Pete Stickney
Failure is not an option
It comes bundled with the system

On 3/29/2010 8:34 PM, Peter Stickney wrote:
On Mon, 29 Mar 2010 10:44:40 -0800, Pat Flannery wrote:

On 3/29/2010 6:24 AM, Jeff Findley wrote:

There are precious few ways you can safely experience high quality zero
gravity for more than say a couple of seconds at a time.

I'm still waiting for the first time one of the wings doesn't fold down
and lock after reentry.
Note that they are following the Shuttle's lead here in not having any
escape system for the passengers, even to the point of not giving them
pressure suits and parachutes to bail out the side hatch with like the
Shuttle has.

Better not ever got on an airliner, Pat, you don't get ejection seats or
parachutes there, either.

The FAA isn't going to certificate White Knight unless it can keep the
passengers alive and descend to a survivable level after depressurization.


Unfortunately, at the peak altitude it will reach, depressurization will
mean their blood will boil like the crew of Soyuz 11's did.
The people aboard will only be conscious for around 20 seconds, all of
that in extreme pain from having the bends.
Even Concorde kept the max altitude just under the blood-boiling flight
level so that they didn't have to put full pressure suits on their
flight crew, which they thought might be a worry to the passengers
seeing them like that.
Virgin Galactic will no doubt claim the aircraft is "as safe as an
airliner", although they have no real way of knowing that without
several hundred (or thousand) operational flights under their belt.
It certainly didn't turn out to be the case with the Shuttle, despite
early claims of the spacecraft's airliner-like safety.
The Canadian Arrow was clever in this regard, as it at least had a
crew/passenger module that could do a on-pad or ascent abort, or serve
as the second stage during a normal mission profile:
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/806430...science-space/
If anything goes wrong with Space Ship 2's wing position before or after
reentry, then it's all over for everyone on board.
You would have thought they would have installed a parachute system in
the upper fuselage, and a means of blowing the wings off if they did
screw up as far as position goes, so that the fuselage could at least
belly-flop into the atmosphere and have a chance of surviving its descent.
It's strange to see Virgin Galactic replicate a major design flaw of the
Space Shuttle concept in their own design, particularly in regards to
the pressure suits.

Pat

On 3/29/2010 8:34 PM, Peter Stickney wrote:


Better not ever got on an airliner, Pat, you don't get ejection seats or
parachutes there, either.

The FAA isn't going to certificate White Knight unless it can keep the
passengers alive and descend to a survivable level after depressurization.


Leaving aside White Knight, what about Space Ship 2?
Unfortunately, at the peak altitude it will reach, depressurization will
mean the nitrogen in the occupant's blood will turn into gas bubbles
like the crew of Soyuz 11's did.
The people aboard will only be conscious for around 20 seconds, all of
that in extreme pain from having the bends.
Even Concorde kept the max altitude just under the bends-inducing flight
level so that they didn't have to put full pressure suits on their
flight crew, which they thought might cause concern to the passengers
seeing them with pressure suits, when they themselves had none.
Concorde maxed out at 60,000 feet; White Knight 2 is going to go 5,000
feet higher, and that may put it above the bends level if the aircraft
depressurizes.
Virgin Galactic will no doubt claim Space Ship 2 is "as safe as an
airliner", although they have no real way of knowing that without
several hundred (or thousand) operational flights under their belt.
It certainly didn't turn out to be the case with the Shuttle, despite
early claims of the spacecraft's airliner-like safety.
The Canadian Arrow was clever in this regard, as it at least had a
crew/passenger module that could do a on-pad or ascent abort, or serve
as the second stage during a normal mission profile:
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/806430...science-space/
If anything goes wrong with Space Ship 2's wing position before or after
reentry, then it's all over for everyone on board.
You would have thought they would have installed a parachute system in
the upper fuselage, and a means of blowing the wings off if they did
screw up as far as position goes, so that the fuselage could at least
belly-flop into the atmosphere and have a chance of surviving its descent.
It's strange to see Virgin Galactic replicate a major design flaw of the
Space Shuttle concept in their own design, particularly in regards to
the pressure suits.

Pat

"Peter Stickney" wrote in message
...
Better not ever got on an airliner, Pat, you don't get ejection seats or
parachutes there, either.

The FAA isn't going to certificate White Knight unless it can keep the
passengers alive and descend to a survivable level after depressurization.

The FAA hasn't yet certified *any* suborbital vehicles for passenger
carrying service. What they will, or won't, do is a bit up in the air, so
to speak.

Jeff
--
"Take heart amid the deepening gloom
that your dog is finally getting enough cheese" - Deteriorata - National
Lampoon