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Vacation in Space Ahead? Virgin Galactic Rolls Out New Era Space Plane--X Series of the 2lst Century
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White Knight Rollout--Virgin Galactic
Sometime in the future, will Dad say "Honey, instead of going to Disney World this year, let's take the kids into space"? If billionaire Richard Branson and aerospace designer Bert Rutan have their way, a future generation might just choose space over Mickey Mouse
That day might be awhile in the future, but for today, Branson, Rutan and their Virgin Galactic design team celebrated as they rolled out the new White Knight Two from a hangar in California's Mojave Desert. The ungainly-looking craft looks more like it's designed to waddle rather than fly. At 140 feet, the double-fuselage jet is as large from wing tip to wing tip as the famous World War II long-range bomberBoeing B-29 Superfortress.
Unlike the fabled B-29, however, the White Knight is made of the world's most advanced all-carbon-composite aircraft. And, it's intended to be one-half of a daring commercial space venture that's paired an innotive team.
Branson's the money man. Rutan, one of the world's most talented cutting-edge independent aircraft designers, is himself part of a historic aviation team. His brother, Dick Rutan, piloted the Bert Rutan-designed Voyager, a honeycombed carbon-composite aircraft, on its record-setting around-the-world flight in 1986. That aircraft is now on display in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.
That Gemini-style team approach is making its mark in the aviation and aerospace world--and not only in the twin-fuselage design of White Knight Two. The Knight is only one-half of the flying package.
White Knight Two is designed to cradle another ship, currently called SpaceShipTwo, under its wing. After White Knight soars to 50,000 feet, it will release the smaller craft. Kicking in a hybrid rocket, the little craft will literally launch itself and climb to more than 62 miles above Earth.
If you think that concept sounds familiar: it is. Chuck Yeager first broke the sound barrier in the Bell X-1, carried aloft and launched from a modified B-29. mothership over Edwards Air Force Base in California. The X-1 began an entire series of x-series flights, piloted by some of the most reknowned--and brave--pilots taking to American skies. The x-series included pilots like my friend Scott Crossfield, who flew the Douglas D-558-II Skyrocket to Mach 2. . He played an important role in NASA's highly successful X-15 research aircraft program. ( In 2006, Scotty was killed flying his private plane at age 85.)
The concept of using multiple craft to get to Mach 1, Mach 2, and finally, into space carried over in NASA's space program, beginning back in the days of NASA's predecessor, National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) Even in today's space program, expendable rockets and a huge external tank for fuel carry the Space Shuttle skyward, until the Shuttle's in-flight engines take over.
There's a long, hard road ahead for the Virgin Galactice team. The Spaceship is only about 70 per cent completed. The White Knight will have to undergo rigorous in-flight testing. And the company is still recovering from a tragic accident last year. Three workers were killed with a nitrous oxide tank exploded during ground testing.
Venturing into space is never easy nor totally safe. In fact, it's downright risky business. Then again, it was only a century or so ago that airplanes were reserved for fearless pilots dedicated to testing, war, or barnstorming--and then, amazingly to some, an entire aircraft passenger business was born.
Today, millions of people fly daily, a fact that would astound early aviation designers and pioneers. Will it be the same way for flying into space?
Branson, Rutan, and their team think so. And, just for good luck, Branson named his new mothercraft "Eve" after his own mother. Gee, with Mom doing the flying, you've got to be in good hands!
Memo to my editor: sure thing, when space tourism gets started, I'll report for you. Just punch my ticket and off I'll go!
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