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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. Re-launch? by Gunfighter · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I skimmed the article and didn't catch anything about the re-launch within the given time period. Are they going to try and reuse the vehicle anytime soon? This, IMHO, is one of the most interesting requirements of winning the X-Prize.

    Anyone who's ever been on the tours at Kennedy Space Center knows that the space shuttle launches don't begin with the countdown. Rather, they begin when the space shuttle touches down and the crews start preparing the shuttle for re-launch. Given that it takes (took?) NASA a helluva long time to get the shuttles prepped for re-launch, I'm wondering how these teams in pursuit of the X-Prize are doing with their plans to quickly refuel and relaunch the craft(s) within the alloted time period.

    --
    -- Stu

    /. ID under 2,000. I feel old now.
    1. Re:Re-launch? by at_kernel_99 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The technology of WhiteKnight / SpaceshipOne is radically different from that of the shuttle. Largely due to 2 things: 1) Burt et al are only going for 100,000 meters rather than orbit. 2) Advances in technology since the 70s, when the shuttle was designed.

      Personally I expect that they'll be capable of relaunching within hours - well below the two weeks allowed by the contest organizers.