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Rutan's SpaceshipOne Hits 200,000 Feet

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the i-can-see-my-house-from-here dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Burt Rutan's privately-built SpaceshipOne is one step closer to winning the X-Prize after zooming to what witnesses say was somewhere around 200,000 feet on only its third powered flight. (See also the partial update from Scaled Composites.)"

2 of 292 comments (clear)

  1. Photos... by arashiakari · · Score: 5, Informative

    Here are links to the photos from the flight directly off their servers. Shot of earch in background... Apogee

  2. Info from Scaled Composites by TyrelHaveman · · Score: 5, Informative

    Here is the actual information release from Scaled:
    "Launch conditions were 46,000 feet and 120 knots. Motor light off occurred 10 seconds after release and the vehicle boosted smoothly to 150,000 feet and Mach 2.5. Subsequent coast to apogee of 211,400 feet. During a portion of the boost, the flight director display was inoperative, however the pilot continued the planned trajectory referencing the external horizon. Reaction control authority was as predicted and the vehicle recovered in feather experiencing 1.9M and 3.5G's. Feather oscillations were actively damped by the pilot and the wing was de-feathered starting at 55,000 feet. The onboard avionics was re-booted and a smooth and uneventful landing made to Mojave." - Scaled Composites LLC

    So it looks like it went to 211,400 ft. Those witnesses knew what they were talking about.