RichardPrice Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 Breaking across many networks atm, its reporting (with photos of wreckage) that Virgin Galactic have lost a ship on a test flight, with two pilots unaccounted for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caution Wake Turbulence Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 Some reports suggest that one crew-member has been airlifted to hospital... Hoping for the best. Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnT Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-29857182 Lets hope the guys on board managed to use their escape kit ok Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panzer Vor!!! Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 1 dead other pilot in hospital Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GordonD Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 Some ex-NASA astronauts are involved with this project... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aeronut Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 There's an ex RAF TP, who I know, involved as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Driver66 Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 Does the craft have an escape system? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Bradley Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 This is just terrible. Space flight is dangerous, but you always hope..... I feel for the family and his friends. Aircraft exploded upon rocket ignition, apparently - they'll want to be sure that is fixed before sending 'the public' up. I imagine this will delay that for a few years... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetboy Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 things not good in the virgin camp methinks.. sad, don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 Very sad news indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
little-cars Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 Sad, but steps forward in aviation have seen lot of setbacks over the last 100 years. In the 20's they tried to stop the first direct East to West Atlantic crossing after fatalities from a number of previous attempts failed or disappeared. How different the world would be if that had not been accomplished. And on a slightly different viewpoint, aircraft do crash, there was a Hawker Hunter crash in the US yesterday that killed the pilot, not really reported, but shows flying like all forms of transport will always have a risk attached. Paul 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOUSTON Posted November 2, 2014 Share Posted November 2, 2014 MY condolences and prayers go to the family of the pilot killed and lets pray and hope the other one has not gotten serious injuries but jumping out from such high altitude must have been terrifying ... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Mc Posted November 2, 2014 Share Posted November 2, 2014 (edited) My hunch is the pilot who escaped may have been THROWN out rather than jumped - and was lucky to remain conscious and pull his ripcord. The other pilot was not so lucky. I do not think that Spaceship 2 was fitted with ejection seats. Edited November 2, 2014 by Eric Mc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOUSTON Posted November 2, 2014 Share Posted November 2, 2014 (edited) I read the initial reports and watched the news and it said he jumped out at 45,000 feet. but of course there have many conflicting reports...anyway this is the latest update.. http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/11/02/injured-virgin-galactic-p_n_6089224.html Edited November 2, 2014 by HOUSTON Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Mc Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 No explosion but an aerodynamic break up caused by the feathering system activating at the wrong point in the flight plan. It seems that the lock for the feathering mechanism was disengaged at Mach 1 causing the feathering to activate.This is prohibited at Mach 1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roys Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 (edited) http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/spaceshiptwo-broke-up-after-tail-feathers-moved-405526/ Just spoken with my father, an ex designer from the same era as Burt Rutan, and his view is that the problem with this project is the idea of carrying fare paying passengers which moves it into a different league of certification. For myself a return to supersonic passenger flight across the Atlantic would be a good achievement Edited November 3, 2014 by roys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GordonD Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 No explosion but an aerodynamic break up caused by the feathering system activating at the wrong point in the flight plan. It seems that the lock for the feathering mechanism was disengaged at Mach 1 causing the feathering to activate.This is prohibited at Mach 1. Not unlike the Challenger - the Orbiter more or less survived the External Tank exploding beneath it; what caused it to break up was when it tried to fly sideways at Mach 3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Cornes Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 Amazing when you think about it, if anything extends at that speed then something catastrophic is bound to happen, so if it's the undercarriage or the airbrakes - in this case the wings are designed to tilt downwards - well you don't have to be a rocket scientist to imagine what happens. Which is why such bits and bobs should be physically locked - never mind electronics, bits of chunky metal, to prevent unintende extension - because if it can happen, it will happen. Maybe someone has forgotten the basics of test flying? Very sad but at least the powerplant is not at fault - a la Space Shuttle SRB's - and it should be relatively simple to fix but a lot of testing will be needed t make sure that Sods Law is banished. Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 It's not the speed, it's the air. The tails are designed to be feathered at a higher speed than they actually were (Mach 1.4 vs. Mach 1). When the spacecraft is at the higher speed, it's at the top of its arc into sub-orbital space, and there is considerably less atmosphere to contend with. Once feathered, and with altitude decreasing, the increased drag from the feathered tails slows the craft down and prevents undesirable thermal effects. It would appear that the tails extended (for an unknown reason at this point) at a much lower altitude while the craft was still climbing and accelerating. The tails tilt upward, by the way. Cheers, Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetboy Posted November 17, 2014 Share Posted November 17, 2014 a bit late posting but... don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Mc Posted November 17, 2014 Share Posted November 17, 2014 Good on them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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