Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo Completes First Glide In Powered Flight
It's been a while we wrote about the ambitious Virgin Galactic project - that aims to make the space flight available to (wealthy) humans. The SpaceShipTwo took its 23rd glide flight in the pre-powered portion, which is a part of its incremental test flight program. The airship carried rocket motor components & tanks. Scaled Composites, the company responsible for research and development of the airship wrote that it was the first flight with thermal protection applied to spaceship's leading edges.
[caption id="attachment_44802" align="aligncenter" width="620"]![[IMG]](proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.crazyengineers.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F12%2FSpaceShipTwo.jpg&hash=fb24bb0fc7f885f8424696e97f64fea7)
SpaceShipTwo Virgin Galactic | Image: LUKE COLBY[/caption]
The flight was followed by another test flight in which the SpaceShipTwo, with the same configuration, remained attached to the WhiteKnightTwo, the carrier aircraft. The aims of the flight were successfully met. Two more such flights before the powered flight tests are done.
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[caption id="attachment_44802" align="aligncenter" width="620"]
SpaceShipTwo Virgin Galactic | Image: LUKE COLBY[/caption]The flight was followed by another test flight in which the SpaceShipTwo, with the same configuration, remained attached to the WhiteKnightTwo, the carrier aircraft. The aims of the flight were successfully met. Two more such flights before the powered flight tests are done.
Recommended Read: Our Exclusive #-Link-Snipped-#.
Via: #-Link-Snipped-#
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