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Mike Melvill Chosen To Fly SpaceShipOne

Posted by timothy on from the good-luck-up-there dept.

ansimon writes "Mike Melvill is chosen to fly SpaceShipOne to the outer limits of this rock that we call earth. Mike will be the first to earn his astronaut wings with a privately-developed aeroplane/rocket. A new era of space exploration is about to begin! Godspeed and come back safe, so the rest of us can go too..."

14 of 527 comments (clear)

  1. For the sake of argument . . . by OverlordQ · · Score: 5, Interesting

    . . . even if something does go wrong, there wouldn't be any better way to go out, especially with a flight history such as his.

    On the other hand, not much left to top this if it does go flawlessly.

    --
    Your hair look like poop, Bob! - Wanker.
  2. First since Columbia by moberry · · Score: 4, Interesting

    If I am not mistaken this will be the first vehicle launched in the USA since the Columbia accident. That alone is something to celebrate. The USA is back in busness. :p

    1. Re:First since Columbia by Peyna · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Of course, without all of NASA's developments and the tons of spent by the government in the past, would this private venture even be possible?

      --
      What?
  3. Wonderful! by RLiegh · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I'm thrilled at the strides private space exploration is making. I think it's appropriate that private companies should invest their profits into an endevour that will both profit them and humanity; leaving the government (funds, red tape) free to focus on its' proper obligations to its' citizenry.

  4. Disaster? Unlikely. by dinodrac · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Scaled Composites seems to have done their homework. The craft has a double presure hull, is relatively small, and uses a propellant that is arguably more stable than what we burn in our cars. Any failure is more likely to result in an abort than in a catastrophe. SpaceShipOne has been tested extensively, and the design, although radical, is comparitively simple when viewed alongside early government funded sub-orbital flight.

    Good luck and Godspeed to the SpaceShipOne team.

    1. Re:Disaster? Unlikely. by Keebler71 · · Score: 4, Interesting
      "the design, although radical, is comparitively simple when viewed alongside early government funded sub-orbital flight."

      I have to disagree here. This vehicle is significantly more complex than the Mercury missions. Radical - yes, in the sense of using a dual-aircraft staging ascent, but you do not get much more simple than a redstone rocket with a purely ballistic capsule for re-entry. SpaceShipOne is closer to the space shuttle than it is to a Mercury capsule, in the sense that it flys like an aircraft with all the appropriate control surfaces - not to mention the feathering wing during re-entry. Radical - yes, simple - no. Bear in mind, that this design is made possible by relatively modern composite materials, so comparing this design to a 1950's iron capsule is a bit unfair.

      Let me preface what I am about to say with the following: I think that what Scaled Composites has done is nothing short of amazing. I don't need to wish them the best, as I have been to their plant, and seen and crawled inside their vehicle. They will win the X-prize tomorrow... That said, I believe that SpaceShipOne is more of a bureocratic and idealogical achievement. First off, SC defined the process by which civilian companies are certified for space flight. Second, this event will usher in a newfound pride and enthusiasm for space exploration that has been missing for decades.

      Unfortunately, this design is not very, well, useful other than to make Scaled Composites LOTS of money from space tourists. There is not a lot of interest otherwise in sub-orbital (heck, the Soviets skipped it entirely). SpaceShipOne was point designed to win the X-prize; the approach used is not scalable to an orbital version.

      All that having been said, I am very excited for the future of space flight... I know what I will be doing tomorrow morning!

      and yes, IAARS.

      --
      "It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance." - Thomas Sowell
  5. The last great X-Plane by dev_alac · · Score: 4, Interesting
    The X-15 was the first plane to fly into space, and I'm sure much of its heritage will be carried on with SpaceShipOne. An excellent history of the program by an actual member of the program is At the Edge of Space" by Milton Thompson. It is amazing to learn about the worries about the reaction control system for out-of-atmosphere flight and how their reentry procedures and much of their data enabled the Shuttle program.

    To Mike and the rest of the SpaceShipOne crew, best of luck tomorrow.

  6. Work environment by SpectreGadget · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I loved looking at the couple of pictures on their site showing the ground crew preparing the vehicle for its next flight. Jeans in tennis shoes vs. NASA's pictures of everyone in clean-room get-up.

    Smooth flight guys. As someone said earlier, don't forget your towel!

    --
    Jim Harry
  7. If there's any doubt about 'space' by caitsith01 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    From the various articles about the x-prize and spaceshipone one could be forgiven for wondering whether these guys are really going into 'space', because relative to NASA's exploits they aren't exactly going that high. However, pictures like this and this from earlier test flights give a practical idea of just how high they are going to get... awesome! I wish there was some sort of webcast... anyone know of anything live?

    --
    Read Pynchon.
  8. Re:Yes, but by lpret · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Actually, this is an interesting question -- I mean, the guy footing the bill is the co-founder of Microsoft. Aren't we cheering on an Evil Empire? Here's the problem with linux zealots who shun all there is about capitalism -- they fail to recognize the development that is only possible by vast amounts of money.

    --
    This is my digital signature. 10011011001
  9. Re:To save everyone some time tomorrow ... by Kiryat+Malachi · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Hey, they may have fucked up human spaceflight for the last 20 years or so, but give them credit for Spitzer, Hubble, Chandra, Spirit and Opportunity, Cassini, and all the other wonderful science they've done that I can't remember right now.

    --

    ---
    Mod me down, you fucking twits. Go ahead. I dare you.
    (I read with sigs off.)
  10. North by Northwest? by davidsyes · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Two Northwest Airlines Airbus pilots might be the next runners-up for tourist flights into outer upper/space/out-of-airspace...

    http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid= 51 4&e=13&u=/ap/20040620/ap_on_re_us/wrong_airpor t_1

    An inquiring mind (mine) wants to know a few things.

    After a Northwest Airlines Airbus passenger plane landed at Ellsworth Air Force Base, the passengers were detained for some 3 hours, interrogated, after being ordered to shut their window covers.

    So, does anyone know what is so special about Ellsworth that the windows were ordered shut? This does not seem to be the case (ordering shuttered windows) at Portland and some other bases sharing a border with commercial airports.

    Could the crew and or passengers have been interrogated as to whether they shot footage or filmed any of the base during descent? Did the military confiscate their cameras, or merely look at each frame and scan every laptop for pictures of the base (or look for quickly-hidden compact flash or other media disks), or did the military fly out with them on the short hop over the hill, ensuring that NO-ONE shot any pix or opened their window covers?

    Even more importantly, how can the pilot and first officer of a plane with probably more computing power than a space shuttle land 5 miles off course and onto a MILITARY base, unless they turned off the electronics or doubted the electronics, and landed by VFR, or Visual Flight Rules. And, even MORE telling, does this say the the FAA and the flight controllers were asleep at the controls?

    Can such a thing happen again? Will this prompt the military to "paint" commercial aircraft to sternly warn them to get back on course? Why did not the military simultaneously call the plane AND the air traffic control tower and vector the commercial plane away? Doesn't this say that even after 9/11, the military and commercial air traffic control systems, after billions of dollars in equipment and upgrades, STILL/one again let down the public?

    --
    Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
  11. SpaceShipOne - Chat available on freenode.net by pandelirium · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Just wanted to add that we have chat on the irc.freenode.net servers. The room is appropriately named #SpaceShipOne and is now open to the public without password needed.

    Since there is apearently no real-time coverage online (unless NASATV desides to cover it), this may be the next closest thing. Share your voice, express your opinion, and just hang out and listen to others.

    See you there...

    -Pandelirium - registered.freenode.net
    Moderator - #SpaceShipOne #maestro #cassini #Pandelirium MaximumPC
    http://www.pandelirium.net

  12. Clarification... by El+Camino+SS · · Score: 3, Interesting


    Look, I think you are missing the point.

    This is a private MANNED flight.

    So what if the boosters are made by private aerospace firms? All they are launching are toys. Toys that can take zero gravity, zero kelvin, and zero pressure. The big deal about this is about MANNING a capsule into space without a goverment doing anything but giving permits like a building inspector.

    You are talking about subcontractors. Look, I understand what you are saying, but to be truthful, your +4 insightful makes no sense here.

    MANNED SPACEFLIGHT. MANNED. Non-governmental pilots in space. Big deal. Real big deal considering all the cash that has washed up for NASA.