posted September 29, 2004 04:30 PM               

Melvill said he would not pilot the craft next week. "I'm too old for this sort of thing," he quipped.

Did anybody pick up who flew White Knight today?

If Melvill doesn't fly next week, who next? I would venture to guess maybe Brian Binnie, but, it could be Doug Shane or Pete Siebold.

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Warm Regards

Douglas Henry

posted September 29, 2004 09:12 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by MrSpace86:
I was just wondering if SpaceShipOne has a reentry i.e. like burning through Earth's atmosphere.

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posted September 29, 2004 09:17 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by mmmoo:
I watched the live stream, the roll was pretty servere! I thought the craft was gunna break up. The commentators sounded worried too, describing the roll as an unplanned event.

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In his live interview afterwards he played it off as no big deal, I believe he even said it was pretty cool! These test pilots have ice water running in their veins!

posted September 29, 2004 09:34 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Hart Sastrowardoyo:
On a related note, where does Melvill stand in the record for shortest time between spaceflights?

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I think it's the STS-83/94 crew have this record (less 3 months). Mike Melvill have just little more 3 months, but I have not my flights records with me and some others astronauts have flew in short time several time (C. Walker, Crippen, Bobko, and recently Lockhart)

Steve ''Olivier''

posted October 01, 2004 02:21 PM               

quote:

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Second SpaceShipOne Launch is Go For October 4th

Burt Rutan's Mojave Aerospace Ventures Team successfully reached an altitude of 337,500 feet with Mike Melvill (the pilot) onboard plus ballast (approx. 180 Kg). This flight was deemed by the Judges as a successful first flight for the $10 million Ansari X PRIZE. The X PRIZE has just received official notice from Burt Rutan that SpaceShipOne's second flight (X2) will take place Monday morning, October 4th. Expected flight timeline:

• Takeoff at 7am PT
  
• Ignition at 8am PT
  
• Landing at 8:30am PT
  
• Press Conference to announce official Altitude at 10:30am PT

The entire flight and press conference can be viewed LIVE at www.xprize.org on our global webcast. Ticket are NOW available at http://www.airshownetwork.com/home.html Please spread the word to your friends. Tune in and help us celebrate the birth of the Personal Spaceflight Revolution!

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posted October 04, 2004 11:47 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
If we are to look 50 years hence, who will be celebrated as opening the next era of commercial space flight? Melvill piloting the first space launch of SS1 or Binnie piloting the (presumed and on-going) X Prize winning flight?

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The Rutans are already household names and, shame to say, I suspect only a handful of enthusiasts will remember the names of Melvill and Binnie - mainly due to the poor media coverage. For me this is as much a case of corporate achievement for Scaled, as a triumph for either pilot.

posted October 04, 2004 11:47 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
If we are to look 50 years hence, who will be celebrated as opening the next era of commercial space flight? Melvill piloting the first space launch of SS1 or Binnie piloting the (presumed and on-going) X Prize winning flight?

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I think that will be an issue with these two flights as well.

I think today's flight carries more relevance for today's world. The X2 flight wins the X Prize, and opens a new era of private spaceflight. It will have a paradigm-shifting impact (particularly in the context of the Virgin Galactic announcement) of a sort that the winning of the Orteig prize did.

Someday, however, those changes will be taken for granted. People will forget what a world was like when you couldn't buy a ticket to space on a private spaceliner; or for that matter, when you couldn't buy a ticket to orbit.

When that day comes, the first flight will be remembered as the first flight.
So, for right now, X2 is the "important" flight, but S1 was the "historic" one.

posted October 04, 2004 11:50 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
If we are to look 50 years hence, who will be celebrated as opening the next era of commercial space flight? Melvill piloting the first space launch of SS1 or Binnie piloting the (presumed and on-going) X Prize winning flight?

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If however one flight is remembered, I think it will be Melvill's first flight into space. The circumstances of the X-Prize itself will become less important over time compared to the fact of that first private spaceflight.

posted October 04, 2004 12:06 PM               

Does anybody remember Louis Bleriot was seeking a prize too? Or even who Bleriot was? (First to fly across the English Channel July 25th, 1909, and won a 1000 pound prize offered by the London Daily Mail.)

While I agree Melvill's flight is the flight to remember, I suspect that Rutan's achievement will be one for the ages.

This year we all saw Rutan and Scaled, write another glorious chapter in the Golden Age of Test Flight!

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Warm Regards

Douglas Henry

posted October 04, 2004 05:58 PM               

HOWEVER, I suspect that the event that really will be remembered in decades to come has not taken place yet. We can have all the lectures we want about how S1 or X1 and X2 have opened up a new door, into a world that has routine, relatively safe and affordable spaceflight, but nobody has actually flown yet! Melville and Binnie, are professional test pilots, in a very specialist company,and in essence are not that different from the Mercury 7 or New 9 in so far as the opening up space to "normal" people goes. It is when they fly SpaceShipOne or whatever version follows with passengers onboard that should be the one to be really celebrated. I can understand why it was allowed in the rules, but I think a great opportunity has been missed today, there should have been passengers, normal passengers with no flight qualifications etc. That would have made it into the event it is supposed to be, but sadly is not.

posted October 05, 2004 02:27 AM               

I just got home from a very long 24 hours at the Spaceshipone launch on Monday morning. It was such a great event, all of the people there were so happy to be there watching history in the making and the entire event was great.

I drove 3 hours on Sunday afternoon to get my media pass, got the lay of the land and then staked out a killer spot as the first in line on the taxiway. A friend of mine got me a VIP pass, so I was able to attend the after flight party, the press conference after the flight and I had the opportunity to rub elbows with some incredible genius's in the space field who are working on their own designs for private space flight.

The media & VIP area's were packed with people but I have no idea how many folks werw in the general admission crowd. The group of people who organized this event were top notch, they were so nice to deal with and they really went out of their way to make sure you were taken care of.

XCor which is another company at Mojave had a party on Sunday night, they displayed their alcohol rocket which they fired up 3 times during the party. These guys were scary smart, they designed this rocket motor which had no moving parts, had no wear or breakdowns after 24 HOURS of run time at 3 minutes per run and these guys were stupendous in their efforts.

There was a small but good party Sunday night that was sponsored by Herbie Hancock, Gene Simmons & Quicy Jones were also in attendance. I met a few great people from this board, we went over to Xcor who's working on their own X prize project for a very closeup look of their workshop. What struck me in talking to all of these incredible people who are facinated with private industry in space, was that they're all down to earth, focused and driven people all reaching for the same goal, the little guy in space.

The next morning the facilities were packed as the excitement got higher. Brian was in Spaceshipone with Meville flying the White Knight for the 1st time with Spaceshipone underneath it. After wheels up, it took about an hour to get to altitude, there was all the action and replays of earlier flights on a large TV screen for all to see. During that hour wait, I had the opportunity to meet another hero of mine, Scott Crossfield, who was such a nice guy. We spoke for a few minutes, I was able to get a picture with him and he signed my VIP Badge which was just icing on the cake. I asked how he felt that Spaceshipone was trying to break the X-15 altitude and he just smiled with a wink.

On the big screen it showed what most of you saw on TV live, but when you looked to the NE at 45 degrees up, you saw the contrails separate and then Brian lit the rocket which went as straight as it could. The speed at which Spaceshipone climbed out was amazing, TV doesn't give you any idea just how fast it get's up and goes and the profile of the flight couldn't have been any better.

The crowd was going crazy clapping, whistling, yelling for Brian as he climbed to shutoff, then screamed when he had shutdown and reached a new record surpassing the X-15 old record at 367,400ft which was confirmed by Edwards AFB radar. The climb speed was 3.06 mach and the decent speed was 3.26 mach. It took about 10-15 minutes for Spaceshipone to float back to earth, the large screen showed every detail of the flight from the onboard camera to the chase planes to the long range ground cameras. Then as the 4 aircraft came over the airport at 10,000ft the excitement was building again. The touchdown was a giant release of people screaming & whooping, the realization that Burt Rutan & company had finally done what they set out for, was like a kid opening up his first bike on XMas, then finding out it was a Harley.

After the landing, the chase planes did a flyby, then 10-15 minutes Spaceshipone was towed in front of the VIP section where all the Scaled Composites employees, family memebers, friends and luminaries were waiting to greet Brian, with Burt Rutan, Richard Branson, Paul Allen and the Scaled Composites team were riding in the back of the truck towing Spaceshipone. They all said their toasts, Richard Branson told the crowd about his $25 million order for Scaled Composites tourist spacecraft and the mood was like being on nitros oxide.

Spaceshipone was then towed in front of the media stand where I was standing on the photographers platform with about 80 other TV & print photographers. We watched Burt, Richard, Paul, Brian, the Ansari family and others pop the corks on champagne, receive medals for their acheivements and speak glowingly about each other. Burt Rutan constantly struck me as being such an incredible man, he always gave credit to others for reaching this goal and he's such a down to earth guy that it's scary. Then the spacecraft was towed past the public viewing but it was too far down the flight line for me to see.

At 10:30AM the press conference started, I wasn't going to attend but at the last minute I was admitted to sit on the floor with the other photographers when room was avail in front of the podium. It was surreal listening to all of the team give their opinions of the journey that got them to winning the X Prize. There were 3 questions from the reporters allowed for each speaker, there was alot of love and respect in the room for all of the people on the podium by the press and it was being treated as the historic milestone it deserved. I sat right at the foot of Richard Branson, he was a very funny guy who was always making a joke when he was asked a question and it was nice to see that while he's worth a few BILLION dollars, he didn't act any different than any other guy who was in love with space travel.

Burt Rutan, with all of the Scaled Composites employees standing behind him, announced that he was sharing his portion of the X Prize money with his employees for all their hard work, which shows you what an incredible person he is. There were also medals handed out to Brian, Burt, Paul, Mike Melville and quite a few of Scaled Composites hard working employees and supporters for their tireless effort.

Being a few feet away from the podium, I think I got some incredible shots of all the speakers which included Rick Searfoss who's a real class act, Mike Melville with Brian, Burt, Paul and the Asani family. Mike Melville was asked to say a few words which he did so well, Brian thanked God, his family and said that this could only happen in the greatest country in the world, the USA, which really touched everyone in the room with his genuine emotion. AMEN.

After the event, most of the reporters left the room to file their story, the diehards who wanted to meet these amazing people walked up to the podium and were very respectful when asking for autographs. I was lucky to have my VIP pass signed by Brian, Rick Searfoss, Mike Melville, Burt, Richard Branson, Paul Allen, Ansari family, Scott Crossfield, Brian Feeney who's the pilot of the Da Vinci and others. I had a chance to speak to Paul Allen, I congratulated him for such a great effort and he was so genuinely nice during our conversation that I forgot just who he was. He was so excited, it was a real pleasure to see how these giants reacted to people who've been following their journey. Brian Feeney was also great to speak to, said his team was devoted to launching during later in October but wouldn't give a date.

To wrap up this long post, I was so taken by the fact that everyone at Mojave was so down to earth, so driven by the goal of being the 1st spaceport for the private sector and now their vision for the future of space has been laid out at the public's and business's feet to see just what can be done on a shoestring budget. I consider this event as important as Alan Shepard's 1961 flight in the stepping stone of history and I have a new admiration and appreciation for the people who are putting their heart, soul and money where their mouth is. It was truly a once in a lifetime event and I'll be sending Robert the photos in a day or 2 after I get them processed.

What a great day for the average guy who dreamed about being able to go into space, if only for a few minutes. Maybe all those Popular Mechanics articles I read in the 60's growing up of everyone being able to go into space, will finally come true.

Ray

posted October 05, 2004 12:04 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Alan:
...do they have to use a new engine every flight?

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posted October 05, 2004 10:04 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Alan:
...do they have to use a new engine every flight?

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I'm not sure if they reuse the casing or not.

posted October 09, 2004 10:38 AM               

SS1 Landing w/Brian Binnie after winning the X Prize

AAA Towing Service

posted October 09, 2004 10:43 AM               

Popping corks

Brian Binnie & Mike Melvill

posted October 22, 2004 06:23 PM               

I also located this great page at Scaled. This page outlines all the flight details during the tests. It also answered my question of who flew White Knight on X1. It was Binnie.

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Warm Regards

Douglas Henry

posted November 20, 2004 11:49 AM            

Thanks,

posted November 21, 2004 01:19 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by pokey:
Readdy is still considered an astronaut.

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Technically, yes. But when you haven't flown since 1996 and have been promoted as high as he has, it's unlikely you'll ever leave management and actively train again. Still, you never know... stranger things have happened at NASA.

posted July 25, 2006 02:50 PM               

quote:

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Cloning SpaceShipOne

If you're a fan of SpaceShipOne, the world's first privately developed manned spacecraft, it's pretty hard to beat last year's act at the EAA AirVenture show in Oshkosh, Wis., when the historic rocket plane was flown in for an appearance on the way to the Smithsonian. But today, AirVenture is unveiling a replica in its Oshkosh museum that can do something the original is no longer able to accomplish.

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And here is the article from the EAA Oshkosh daily newspaper:

quote:

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New exhibit makes AirVenture museum an air, space museum

SpaceShipOne was a favorite of aviation enthusiasts at last year’s fly-in convention—they got to see the world’s first successful civilian-built spacecraft, winner of the $10 million Ansari X Prize up-close and watch it fly.

While the original is now hanging in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., its sibling, SpaceShipOne, S/N #2, is in the EAA AirVenture Museum and will be officially dedicated at 9 a.m. Tuesday. It’s likely to be a favorite, too.

"Since 1962, EAA has had a museum and we’ve grown to be one of the more wonderful aviation museums in the nation," said Adam Smith, museum director. But the SpaceShipOne exhibit will put the museum into new and uncharted territory.

"SpaceShipOne is meaningful to the whole museum," Smith said. "On Tuesday we will become an air and space museum, something we’ve never been before. And it’s all because an EAA member had a vision..."

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