Virgin Galactic makes it a bad week for rocketeers

A Virgin Galactic spokesman said the rocket "suffered a serious anomaly" after a test flight conducted by partner business Scaled Composites.

Not as good as "We have a report from the flight dynamics officer that the vehicle has exploded"

In article ,
says...

A Virgin Galactic spokesman said the rocket "suffered a serious anomaly" after a test flight conducted by partner business Scaled Composites.

Not as good as "We have a report from the flight dynamics officer that the vehicle has exploded"

Yes, it's a say day for Virgin Galactic, especially for the pilots, one
of which is reportedly dead and the other is reportedly in the hospital.

Jeff
--
"the perennial claim that hypersonic airbreathing propulsion would
magically make space launch cheaper is nonsense -- LOX is much cheaper
than advanced airbreathing engines, and so are the tanks to put it in
and the extra thrust to carry it." - Henry Spencer

On Saturday, November 1, 2014 12:12:00 PM UTC-4, Jeff Findley wrote:
In article ,
says...

A Virgin Galactic spokesman said the rocket "suffered a serious anomaly" after a test flight conducted by partner business Scaled Composites.

Not as good as "We have a report from the flight dynamics officer that the vehicle has exploded"

Yes, it's a say day for Virgin Galactic, especially for the pilots, one
of which is reportedly dead and the other is reportedly in the hospital.

Well said. It is a terrible loss.

It seems the "feathering" wing came unlatched early in the flight. Maybe the controls for it will be redesigned slightly. Among the news, it seems then engine has been absolved as a cause in the accident.

My thoughts and prayers are with them.

David

P.S. I wonder if a drag chute has been considered, as opposed to the feathering wing for the descent phase? I wouldn't second guess a Rutan design, though.

Jeff
--
"the perennial claim that hypersonic airbreathing propulsion would
magically make space launch cheaper is nonsense -- LOX is much cheaper
than advanced airbreathing engines, and so are the tanks to put it in
and the extra thrust to carry it." - Henry Spencer

In article ,
says...

P.S. I wonder if a drag chute has been considered, as opposed
to the feathering wing for the descent phase? I wouldn't second
guess a Rutan design, though.

As someone who has B.S. in Aerospace Engineering with a major in
dynamics and control with a minor in structures, Rutan's designs tend to
strike me as right on the borderline between brilliant and insane. But,
since I did not major or minor in aerodynamics, I really can't tell
which side of the border they truly fall.

But I do remember that transonic region is always a p.i.t.a. even after
you've solved the subsonic and supersonic issues with a design.
Remember the scene from "The Right Stuff" where the X-1 goes supersonic
for the first time? It's that sort of thing that worries me a bit with
a complex Rutan design.

Jeff
--
"the perennial claim that hypersonic airbreathing propulsion would
magically make space launch cheaper is nonsense -- LOX is much cheaper
than advanced airbreathing engines, and so are the tanks to put it in
and the extra thrust to carry it." - Henry Spencer