Virgin Galactic Successfully tests 'feather' re-entry design

[ichy]

Well, that's the orbital speed required for their LEO orbit. In order to deorbit, they have to bleed that speed with a deorbit burn first in order to put them selves into a re-entry trajectory.

Not all of that speed is lost via friction in reentry.

The vast majority of it is. The delta-V from the de-orbit OMS burn is only around 250 ft/sec, and the shuttle actually accelerates and hits its top speed as it falls into the atmosphere after the OMS burn.

 

[gophins72]

Wonderful! Glad to see it and a great feeling as an American.

 

[Farmer]

The vast majority of it is. The delta-V from the de-orbit OMS burn is only around 250 ft/sec, and the shuttle actually accelerates and hits its top speed as it falls into the atmosphere after the OMS burn.

Pew pew pew!

Ok fine dammit, you win.

 

[ichy]

If you want to learn more about this I'd suggest reading "Riding Rockets" by former astronaut Mike Mullane. I learned a lot about the shuttle, and it had some very interesting insights into the less than glamorous parts of astronaut's lives as well (pissing in a diaper while they sit for hours on the launch pad strapped to their seats, the fact that everyone is terrified before liftoff, etc).

 

[Farmer]

If you want to learn more about this I'd suggest reading "Riding Rockets" by former astronaut Mike Mullane. I learned a lot about the shuttle, and it had some very interesting insights into the less than glamorous parts of astronaut's lives as well (pissing in a diaper while they sit for hours on the launch pad strapped to their seats, the fact that everyone is terrified before liftoff, etc).

No sir, I spent my undergrad years studying this stuff and I while interesting I think I have 1% chance of being astronaut.

 

[gophins72]

No sir, I spent my undergrad years studying this stuff and I while interesting I think I have 1% chance of being astronaut.

it's been outsourced!
http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-05-astronaut-corps-evolves.html

but this is cool:

For anyone who can't wait until NASA begins accepting applications again, which Ross says will happen at some point, private space company Virgin Galactic in April announced openings for pilots. They must be experienced graduates of a test-pilot school, "who are broadly experienced with both high-performance fast-jet-type airplanes and large multi-engine types. ("Prior spaceflight experience is desirable," the ad says.)

 

[ichy]

No sir, I spent my undergrad years studying this stuff and I while interesting I think I have 1% chance of being astronaut.

Sadly nobody in the US has much of a chance of becoming an astronaut anymore

The ones who began training in 2009 can probably only dream about getting a flight assignment in the foreseeable future. They're going to end up like the guys who NASA recruited towards the end of the Apollo program.

 

[JTsyo]

As happy as I am to see this kind of work being done by private companies there's a huge difference between a sub-orbital hop and actually launching a meaningful payload into orbit. Not trying to be a hater here, but this thing is more like the X-15 than the Space Shuttle.

Exactly. The point of this is to just prove out the tech, not do the actual missions. Hopefully it'll lead to the shuttle replacement.

Wonderful! Glad to see it and a great feeling as an American.

Why? the parent company is British.

 

[gophins72]

Why? the parent company is British.

in all seriousness, it is still cool to see this stuff happen whether in private industry or not.

 

[ichy]

Exactly. The point of this is to just prove out the tech, not do the actual missions. Hopefully it'll lead to the shuttle replacement.

If the SpaceX Falcon actually works for anything like the price that they've promised then that'll be the shuttle's replacement. The whole space plane concept has been a failure. As much I admire the space shuttle as an engineering achievement it was in hindsight a colossal boondoggle.

 

[Kadarin]

These guys are doing some incredibly cool shit. It's good to see someone looking to the future in space.

 

[TheTony]

Why? the parent company is British.

TSC is an American Company.

 

[TechBoyJK]

TSC is an American Company.

parent company. I think Virgin owns TSC.