It was morning in the U.S.A. when the Virgin Galactic’s spacecraft SpaceShipTwo, millionaire Richard Branson’s company, passed a new test after the supersonic flight taken last April. Demonstrating its ability to maneuver, it took another step towards the start of commercial suborbital flights.
In the U.S.A., it was about 8 A.M. when the SpaceShipTwo spacecraft was carried to an altitude of about 14,000 meters (about 46,000 feet) by the special White Knight Two aircraft, launched from the Mojave Air and Space Port. When the SpaceShipTwo was released, the pilot ignited the engine for 20 seconds, bringing it up to an altitude of about 21,000 meters (about 69,000 feet) at a maximum speed of Mach 1.44, meaning 1.44 times the speed of sound.
The flight lasted a total of about an hour and a half to reach an altitude higher than the April test at a higher top speed. These new records for the SpaceShipTwo spaceplane represented only a part of the test: in fact, the most important part was the test of the special system of return.
The SpaceShipTwo spacecraft is equipped with a system that turns the rudders into a similar feathered wings-like configuration which helps it to float to a safe altitude before being turned again to fly as a glider. The system worked perfectly and the pilot brought the SpaceShipTwo down to the Mojave Air and Space Port without any problem.
The final goal is to achieve an altitude of 110 km (about 65 miles) and a speed of about 4,000 km/h (about 2,500 mph), a real space flight. However, it’s necessary to go there one step after another so it will take some more test before obtaining that result. The SpaceShipTwo spacecraft can carry up to six passengers and according to the updated plans if all goes well commercial flights should begin in 2014.
Many people have already booked a ticket for a suborbital flight on the SpaceShipTwo spacecraft even if the cost is $200,000. If you have enough money it will surely be an extraordinary flight, you just have to have the patience to wait for the end of the tests and your turn.
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how are they gonna solve the problem when they reach escape velocity of the earth? won’t they fall into the sun?
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They’re flying a trajectory that will keep SpaceShipTwo under escape velocity. I mean, they’re not going vertically so the vertical component of their trajectory will be under escape velocity.