New Pictures of White Knight Two and SpaceshipTwo

soldeed writes "Over at the Virgin Galactic press site, there are new pictures of both White Knight Two and SpaceShip 2 during construction for media use. After seeing them, I can't help but wonder; Gee, what's in the box?"

Comments

Same old...

[B5_geek]

As long as we depend on cigars with wings and chemical based propellants we will only inch our way along this journey. I had higher hopes for this crew.

Re:Same old...

[Free the Cowards]

Such as what? The technology simply isn't there for anything else, especially not for the miniscule budget these guys have.

Re:Same old...

[Rocketman_Ryan]

As long as we depend on cigars with wings and chemical based propellants we will only inch our way along this journey. I had higher hopes for this crew.

You know, this is precisely the reason there are so few private companies doing this. People expect miracles, and when the miracles don't happen the public loses interest.

Yes, we need to invest more heavily in advanced propulsion concepts. However, we don't currently have any private manned platforms based on *conventional* propulsion, so how could you possibly expect this? You could never raise enough venture capital to do anything other than conventional craft, because the risks are huge enough as-is. That will hopefully change in the future, but people need to prove that this is even feasible first. The Virgin Galactic team is going a long way to demonstrating this, and they should be commended for it. And this is all you have to say? Seriously?

I shouldn't drink and post; it makes me care too much :D

Re:Offended

[Anonymous Coward]

Are you also a pilot? No? Then you shouldn't be offended.

A little messy.

[geekoid]

I've been lucky enough to see Military aircraft being put together, space ships, and big commercial craft.
By comparison, that place looks like a freaking disaster area.

Re:A little messy.

[Anonymous Coward]

You've no doubt seen metal production aircraft and over-paperworked metal and unobtanium space ships being assembled. White Knight Two and SpaceShip Two are both pre-production prototypes being built from composites, with totally different materials and techniques. You don't need a billion parts and fasteners, nor the cataloging system to track them when you build with composites. Also, trimming and fitting composites tends to be a messy business, when compared to punched and finished metal bits that only need to be riveted together. Adjust your expectations accordingly.

-- Len

Re:Seriously - the box

[Anonymous Coward]

Just a reminder about context: You're being snarky to somebody who made a joke because they didn't recognize something was part of a technique used in composite construction.

He needs to get out more? Really?

Re:Death Tube

[putaro]

Well, given that Scaled Composites is one of the most experience builders of aircraft with composite materials I would expect that they know what they're doing.

It is kind of fun that it looks like they're building a spaceship in a big garage. Factories are not always what you think they will be. I used to work for a company that built mini-supercomputers. Our factory was surprisingly modest. I used to love that we would make the official stickers (you know, don't stick your fingers in here or you'll get electrocuted) with the laser printer and cut them out with scissors.

Re:Offended

[WindBourne]

If you are really 49 y.o., then you should be past taking offense at such silly items. Get over it.
And I say this as a 49 y.o. c programmer as well.

Re:These pictures speak volumes...

[v1]

"cluttered" was exactly what I was thinking when I saw that picture. They're packed in there like sardines. Stuff's everywhere. Looks like it's hard to turn around and walk 2 feet without running into something or someone. It must take a lot of planning trying to move anything around in there, imagine someone trying to get a ladder to the middle of that room!

There's making good use of space and then there's overusing space. That room has long since crossed the line. Don't get me wrong, I wish them luck, but unless they have some genius coordination and organization skills from everyone that works there, that's gotta cause problems.

I'd hope it gets better when they have it more completed, since basically it's all torn apart right now so it's bound to take up more space. So here's hoping this the low point, as bad as it gets.

And on the next edition of 'This Old Troll'

[spun]

Thanks for watching today's troll, "Feminist-Mom." A classic but under appreciated troll, recognizable by the fact that she's been 49, a grandmother, c programmer, and feminist for the last five years.

On the next edition of 'This Old Troll' we'll be revisiting other classic trolls such as "Mare Sex" and "Consider Your Breathing." Thanks for watching!