Virgin Galactic's new SpaceshipTwo (1 Viewer)

[KeithAP]

The new Spaceshiptwo has had its first flight with engine power…

The mothership took off about 8 a.m. PT and climbed to just over 46,000 flew near California's Sierra Nevada Mountains before releasing the Unity. After a brief free fall, Unity's rocket motor ignited for a 30-second burn that sent the spaceship climbing to 84,000 feet and a top speed of Mach 1.87. Virgin Galactic said the ship will eventually climb to roughly 327,000 feet above the earth’s surface at the edge of space.

-Keith

 

[Nelson Au]

Did anyone catch the flight with Branson on board today? Pretty cool he made it to the edge of space. It was really quick and I thought it was a very elegant way to go to be able to glide back to earth. It was impressive the flight went off so well.

Will be interesting if Bazos will be able to pull off his flight in the more traditional rocket with the capsule on top.

 

[Walter Kittel]

Yeah, I watched all of the coverage this morning. Just another reminder how humdrum my life is. Seriously though, I do wonder what the goal is with this platform? Haven't really researched it, but will the objective be transport and if so what will be the limits of the design / approach? Increased payload, passenger capacity, orbital insertion, supersonic intercontinental transport?

Pretty cool indeed, seeing the next wave of space technology beginning to blossom. Plan on watching Blue Origin launch on July 20th.

- Walter.

 

[Brian L]

Yeah, I watched all of the coverage this morning. Just another reminder how humdrum my life is. Seriously though, I do wonder what the goal is with this platform? Haven't really researched it, but will the objective be transport and if so what will be the limits of the design / approach? Increased payload, passenger capacity, orbital insertion, supersonic intercontinental transport?

Pretty cool indeed, seeing the next wave of space technology beginning to blossom. Plan on watching Blue Origin launch on July 20th.

- Walter.

Its just a really cool and very expensive theme park ride for the super-rich.

Being a transplant New Mexican and knowing that some of my tax dollars for 15 years went into one of the biggest boondoggles the state has ever known, I am decidedly skeptical about the whole thing, as I am of Bezos and Blue Origin. Put people in actual orbit for a few days, like Musk will be doing. Then you can say you are going to send paying customers into space.

Until then, its just a billionaire dick measuring contest. And in Bezos case, his rocket has more than a passing resemblance to the male organ. As Shrek once said, “I wonder if he is compensating for something?”

 

[B-ROLL]

Its just a really cool and very expensive theme park ride for the super-rich.

Being a transplant New Mexican and knowing that some of my tax dollars for 15 years went into one of the biggest boondoggles the state has ever known, I am decidedly skeptical about the whole thing, as I am of Bezos and Blue Origin. Put people in actual orbit for a few days, like Musk will be doing. Then you can say you are going to send paying customers into space.

Until then, its just a billionaire dick measuring contest. And in Bezos case, his rocket has more than a passing resemblance to the male organ. As Shrek once said, “I wonder if he is compensating for something?”

But New Mexico has the world's first SPACEPORT !

Arizona has empty Google Glass, Apple etc. factories for our tax dollars (technically credits).

 

[Brian L]

But New Mexico has the world's first SPACEPORT !

Arizona has empty Google Glass, Apple etc. factories for our tax dollars (technically credits).

The legacy of our former governor Bill Richardson who never met a movie star, rock star, or global celebrity who’s butt he would not kiss, and in this case, pockets he would not line with taxpayer’s money.

 

[Walter Kittel]

I am okay with the billionaires having their fun if it leads to developments in technology that benefit the whole enterprise of space travel and exploration. Trying to keep an open mind about this generation's D.D. Harrimans and where it all leads.

- Walter.

 

[Brian L]

I am okay with the billionaires having their fun if it leads to developments in technology that benefit the whole enterprise of space travel and exploration. Trying to keep an open mind about this generation's D.D. Harrimans and where it all leads.

- Walter.

Had to Google that.

Among the group of "billionaire space tycoons currently in the public eye" that would clearly be Musk, in my estimation. He is doing it NOW with SpaceX, not creating a theme park style experience that may become something else someday.

Maybe Bezos claims to have some greater altruistic goals in mind, but for him this just seems like a total ego stroke. Some of his quotes leading up to Virgin's flight were very childish and not a good look at all.

 

[Walter Kittel]

I would agree that Musk and SpaceX are the leaders in the field of space privatization (at least in the U.S.) I don't know if there are other players in the field outside the ones being discussed in this thread. (The laws of physics work for everyone.)

Time will tell whether Branson and Bezos contribute, they need bigger goals than just joyrides to space; but everyone has to start somewhere. The Harriman reference felt appropriate and is courtesy of an inordinate amount of time reading SF literature in my youth.

- Walter.

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

Billionaires once donated in the public interest. John Rockefeller bought up and donated 35,000 acres of contiguous private land to Grand Teton NP. Andrew Carnegie figured that the best way to help the poor was to build a library in every small town in America. He built over 2,500 in the US and overseas.

 

[B-ROLL]

Had to Google that.

Among the group of "billionaire space tycoons currently in the public eye" that would clearly be Musk, in my estimation. He is doing it NOW with SpaceX, not creating a theme park style experience that may become something else someday.

Maybe Bezos claims to have some greater altruistic goals in mind, but for him this just seems like a total ego stroke. Some of his quotes leading up to Virgin's flight were very childish and not a good look at all.

After having dealt with SpaceEX "engineers" on the phone - I no longer use the term "rocket scientist" to mean a person of high intelligence. The multile SpaceEX failures are IMHO due to the fact Musk and his company hired the cheapest he could get and not the best.

 

[Brian L]

After having dealt with SpaceEX "engineers" on the phone - I no longer use the term "rocket scientist" to mean a person of high intelligence. The multile SpaceEX failures are IMHO due to the fact Musk and his company hired the cheapest he could get and not the best.

Nasa had a few failures in their history too, no? As the saying goes “space is hard”.

Not knowing any SpaceX engineers, I got nuthin’ on that, but someone had to figure out to how land booster rockets at sea on an autonomous drone ship, and also land two boosters side by side on land and at the same time. There are some brains in the operation somewhere.

 

[B-ROLL]

Nasa had a few failures in their history too, no? As the saying goes “spaceis hard”.

Not knowing any SpaceX engineers, I got nuthin’ on that, but someone had to figure out how land booster rockets at sea on an autonomous drone ship, and also land two boosters side by side on land and at the sametime. There are some brains in the operation somewhere.

I'm sure they all have Engineering or similar degrees ...

 

[Nelson Au]

I rewatched the flight via the Virgin Galactic YouTube channel, what a commercial that was! I initially watched the flight live via ABC news. The woman doing the commentating was really bubbly. Too bad the live video from the ship was so pixelated when they reached the point of space and were weightless in micro gravity.

I recalled many years ago that the design and concept for the spaceshipone was by Burt Rutan who was pioneering in the composite materials for low weight and long distance flight. And Paul Allen annother billionaire funded that. I had not realized Richard Branson bought that company and the ship design and developed it further into spaceshiptwo that we saw today.

Regardless of what you think about billionaires Branson, Bezos and Musk, they are able to make their dreams come true and I think it’s cool. It very much is a contest to see who can get to space first as a privately funded effort and have the bragging rights. Branson has that honor now. what I think is really cool about this is it reminded me to the movies, Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines Or Jules Verne From The Earth to the Moon where we see these crazy people funding and building their own vehicles to do something not done before.

Musk has made it for commercial space flight. My impression for Virgin Galactic was that it is for Space Tourism, pay for a flight up to the edge of space, but I see from the Virgin channel that other astronauts going in later flights will do some pseudo science experiments. Maybe those flights will go beyond the Kármán line, but my impression is spaceshiptwo is suborbital. So the facility he built in New Mexico is his space port and I thought it was where paying passengers can go for their flight.

 

[Clinton McClure]

For some reason, I’m not nearly as excited about this as I feel I should be.

 

[Keith Cobby]

Space 'tourism' to the Karman line is fun but a dead end, only Musk has the drive and ambition to escape the Earth. Since 1972 nobody has travelled more than a few hundred kilometres from Earth. I'm sure Robert Heinlein (favourite author) would have enjoyed watching the development of SpaceX and comparison to D. D. Harriman.

 

[Edwin-S]

Elysium here we come.

 

[Johnny Angell]

I think there is a good market for these sub-orbital flights. There’s a bunch of rich folks who can drop $250K (that’s the number being thrown about) with out thinking. If one fails with loss of life...

 

[Brian L]

A Disney-esque take on Virgin Galactic. Given that VG is run but an ex-president of Disneyland, and has a recently retired, high profile Imagineer on the payroll, the comparison is some what apt.

Is Virgin Galactic the Ultimate Thrill Ride?

www.themeparkinsider.com

 

[TravisR]

Elysium here we come.

Yep. It'd be nice if this was some Star Trek-esque betterment of man or love of exploration but, at best, it's bored rich nerds trying to outdo each other or, at worst, it's the ultrarich planning ahead.