Virgin Galatic Spaceship Two down in the Mojave.
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Not good. Was on a course this year with one of the test pilots that I suspect was flying the ship today. No response from him so far.
It was first in flight test of nylon-nitrous oxide rocket engine...
Details of this accident can be traced on local well informed sources:
https://twitter.com/spacecom
Parabolic Arc
AB some of us own TP IDcard for Mojave Space Port, while sitting most of the time on other WW locations
Details of this accident can be traced on local well informed sources:
https://twitter.com/spacecom
Parabolic Arc
AB some of us own TP IDcard for Mojave Space Port, while sitting most of the time on other WW locations
Last edited by 9Aplus; 31st Oct 2014 at 22:16. Reason: note to AB bellow
Yes, for composite construction, 3 major parts, possible
engine failure - explosion, less than 10 seconds after
inflight ignition/start.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwOnU6L-6sc
engine failure - explosion, less than 10 seconds after
inflight ignition/start.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwOnU6L-6sc
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Virgin Galatic Spaceship Two down in the Mojave.
They had an explosion earlier in the program. Wonder if they ever got to the bottom of that.
http://m.softpedia.com/spaceship-test-at-the-mojave-desert-test-area-kills-2-61171.html
http://m.softpedia.com/spaceship-test-at-the-mojave-desert-test-area-kills-2-61171.html
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Sadly people die going faster and higher...
Space flight, even sub-orbital is not a low risk endeavor with speeds reaching upwards of M5.0 and untested equipment you do the math.
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@radix
They had abandoned the engine mixture related to the 2007 accident. That engine had a rubber-based fuel (HTPB) and was being developed by a sub-contractor (Sierra Nevada Corp -- SNC).
That 2007 accident actually had nothing to do with the engine all. They were testing the flow of nitrous oxide between two tanks. No cause was ever released, but there is speculation that one of the nitrous oxide tanks was overheated in the desert sun, and the gas inside reached critical temperature.
The HTPB engine SNC was supplying had serious vibration issues with burns longer than 20 seconds.
So earlier this year, Scaled decided to abandon HTPB and take the engine design in-house. They switched to a fuel based on plastic (polyamide) and they subsequently completed several successful ground test firings with the new polyamide fuel.
Today was the first attempt to use the new polyamide fueled engine in a powered flight test.
They had abandoned the engine mixture related to the 2007 accident. That engine had a rubber-based fuel (HTPB) and was being developed by a sub-contractor (Sierra Nevada Corp -- SNC).
That 2007 accident actually had nothing to do with the engine all. They were testing the flow of nitrous oxide between two tanks. No cause was ever released, but there is speculation that one of the nitrous oxide tanks was overheated in the desert sun, and the gas inside reached critical temperature.
The HTPB engine SNC was supplying had serious vibration issues with burns longer than 20 seconds.
So earlier this year, Scaled decided to abandon HTPB and take the engine design in-house. They switched to a fuel based on plastic (polyamide) and they subsequently completed several successful ground test firings with the new polyamide fuel.
Today was the first attempt to use the new polyamide fueled engine in a powered flight test.
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In before someone else asks it: given this was the first actual flight with the new fuel mix, could not this have been accomplished remotely with an unmanned craft?
Isn't that the way the protocol has worked previously for "non-commercial" space flights?
Isn't that the way the protocol has worked previously for "non-commercial" space flights?
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Hybrid Rocket Engine
Regrets for the casualties, hats off to test pilots, they pay the price for progress.
Was interested in the rocket motor. It burns rubber or plastic?!! It's called a "hybrid rocket engine" as it is neither a solid nor a liquid fueled rocket. It uses a solid fuel, and a liquid or gaseous oxidizer which can be throttled. If the oxidizer is oxygen, it can't explode. However, in this case they use nitrous oxide, which has been criticized by rocket scientists as dangerous, as it can explode on its own. I'm NOT a rocket scientist, so I'm just repeating what I read. So perhaps the flame propagated backwards thru the throttle to the tank of nitrous oxide. In any case, they will figure this out and we will move forward.
Was interested in the rocket motor. It burns rubber or plastic?!! It's called a "hybrid rocket engine" as it is neither a solid nor a liquid fueled rocket. It uses a solid fuel, and a liquid or gaseous oxidizer which can be throttled. If the oxidizer is oxygen, it can't explode. However, in this case they use nitrous oxide, which has been criticized by rocket scientists as dangerous, as it can explode on its own. I'm NOT a rocket scientist, so I'm just repeating what I read. So perhaps the flame propagated backwards thru the throttle to the tank of nitrous oxide. In any case, they will figure this out and we will move forward.