Samizdata

Scaled Composites completed the fifth test flight of SpaceShipOne on November 14th at the Mojave Civilian Test Flight Facility.

Objectives: The fifth glide flight of SpaceShipOne. New pilot checkout flight. Stability and control testing with the new extended horizontal tails. Tests included stall performance at aft limit CG and evaluation of the increased pitch and roll control authority. Other objectives included additional testing of the motor controller (MCS) and handling qualities in feathered flight.

Results: Launch conditions were 47,300 feet and 115 knots. Satisfactory stability and control at aft limit CG. A notable improvement in control power, particularly in roll. Handling qualities into and out of feather remained excellent with good nose pointing ability. Adjusted landing pattern altitudes resulted in a touchdown at the targeted runway aim-point.

There is as yet no indication when they will be ready for the first in-flight engine ignition test. It is conceivable this might be carried out next month on the date of the First Flight anniversary. As for the first suborbital flight, I certainly expect to see it before next summer. I do not know the status of their launch license filing beyond the gossip of last summer when they most likely decided to start the process, and that is likely a limiting factor on the launch date.

Here is an interview of SpaceDev CEO Jim Benson. O’Brien spoke with him about the eBay satellite auction I mentioned yesterday.

SpaceDev also supplies the hybrid rocket motor for Scaled Composites’ SpaceShipOne.

Elon Musk of PayPal fame will be unveiling his spacecraft in Washington DC next month:

Smithsonian Date Confirmed
The date for unveiling Falcon in Washington DC is now confirmed and will be Dec 4th at the Smithsonian. The actual vehicle itself, along with the mobile launcher, will be available for public viewing that evening after 7pm. It was not logistically possible to fit Falcon in the Smithsonian, so it will be located nearby.

His new company, SpaceX, is planning a first launch of their re-usable launch vehicle some time early in the new year.

Elon is just one of the new breed of technology billionaires who have realized NASA is a waste of space. They have come to the not so new conclusion that: “If you want anything done right, you had better do it yourself”.

Swift Enterprises are alive and well and living in America.

Greg Nemitz has opened his case in a Reno Court. He publicly declared a claim to Eros and sent NASA a bill for parking its probe on his property. Since he has not received payment, he has taken the next logical step.

I know… it sounds crazy: but ‘crazy like a fox’ is a more accurate way of viewing it. Greg has carefully followed legal steps on claims of ownership. He can now force the issue into the court systems. It is his feeling law already on the books is a perfectly reasonable starting point for extraterrestrial land claims and property rights.

It is not that Greg wishes to be the first extraterrestrial parking magnate. He is out to force ‘the system’ to make determinations on questions it doesn’t particularly want to face. If the courts make statements about what conditions are required for such claims, he will have met his victory conditions.

I wish him luck.

I just had a long series of crackles on my speakers in time to the flickering of the overhead lights. One of the others in the flat noticed problems with his radio this morning. These all could be signs of the incoming solar storm. It is one of the three largest since records have been kept on such things. The last really big one, in 1989, took down a big chunk of the Canadian power grid.

If it hits us just right, there could be spectacular aurorae tonight. It is worth going outside tonight and looking up, just in case. There may be nothing or there may be one of the more spectacular heavenly sights you have ever seen. There is just no telling.

At the moment my upward view is rather grey and the outdoors is cold, damp and rather miserable. I doubt I will have the pleasure of seeing this natural lightshow unless the weather changes drastically.

Scaled Composites SpaceShipOne was dropped from the mothership at 46000 feet for its fourth glide flight on October 17th, after undergoing minor aerodynamic alterations to correct problems discovered during the third flight on September 23rd. The turn around was faster than I’d expected. As they are now testing the preliminaries to engine ignition, I expect the first in-air engine startup will happen within the next few flights.

According to Scaled Composites, the flight objectives were:

Fourth glide flight of SpaceShipOne. Primary purpose was to examine the effects of horizontal tail modifications at both forward and mid-range CG locations (obtained by dumping water from an aft ballast tank between test points). The tail modifications included a fixed strake bonded to the tail boom in front of the stabilator and a span-wise flow fence mounted on the leading edge of each stab at mid-span. (See the write up under the SPACESHIPONE GROUND TEST section that describes our Ford-250 wind tunnel which was used to help derive the current flight configuration). Other test objectives included a functional check of the rocket motor controller, ARM, FIRE and safing switches as well as the oxidizer dump valve. Additional planned maneuvers included full rudder pedal sideslips and more aggressive nose pointing while in the feathered configuration.

The results were quite good:

Launch conditions were 46,200 feet and 115 knots and produced a clean separation. The tail performance was examined by flying “longitudinal stability” points between stall and 130 knots and showed considerable improvement of the airfoil’s lift coefficient as well as its post stall characteristics. No vehicle pitch up tendency was noted as the main wing now stalls first. Real time video of the tufted tails fed back down to mission control helped considerably in assessing the performance of these aerodynamic improvements. More aggressive maneuvering in the feather made it evident that the pilot could readily point the vehicle’s nose where desired and all rocket motor functionality tests were satisfactory.

I expect a drop test and powered flight to occur by the Wright Brothers first flight anniversary date in mid-December. A full suborbital attempt is possible but would be pushing the envelope rather hard. How hard is impossible for anyone on the outside to estimate.

It would be a lovely Christmas present for all of us spacers though…