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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?"
I don't see any dated newer than February.
Is just a clamping weight. Used to hold pieces together while adhesives cure or to prevent warping. Normal technique used in composite construction.
See the other one at the other end of the wing box?
See all the other, smaller weights?
Now tell me - you really couldn't figure this out for yourself?
You need to get out more.
Senior NCO in the fight against entropy. I've seen things, man. Things no one should have to see.....
Agreed. I thought maybe these were newly published photos that had been held back from the public for a few months, but I've seen at least some of them before.
What's new here?
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.
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Obviously the cake is in the box.
Those boxes are weight... About 15 years back I helped build a very ez (Rutan's design too, btw). Construction was 'composite' materials - a bit of a radical chance from the way folks traditional built aircraft. You cut a lot of foam and put fiberglass and resin on it. The real work was making the jigs to get the right camber on the wings. You had to put weight on stuff to make sure it warped at the correct angle. With some parts, you had to do large chunks in one laying (is that even the right word?) of resin since it makes a stronger bond.
+++ UGUCAUCGUAUUUCU
Do you want to keep your space vacation or trade it for what is in the box?
God spoke to me.
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
I'm not saying you're wrong. I'm not familiar with the naval traditions of every country out there. But the US and UK, at least, (And those two have about the strongest naval triditions out there.) have no particular problem naming new ships after ones that sank.
After the first aircraft carrier iteration of the USS Yorktown (CV-5) sank after the battle of Midway, we named a new one after her just five carriers later (CV-10), and we have a guided missile cruiser in commission by the name right now. Also, the USS Indianapolis was sunk quite famously and horrifically. But we have a 688 class submarine with the name now.
Sometimes, the best way to honor a fallen vessel, is to continue its tradition.
cya,
john
Imagine all the people...
The problem isn't altitude, it's speed. The SpaceShipTwo will peak at 2600mph, which is in the same ballpark as the SR-71 but only 1/6th the velocity required to reach any sort of orbit.
It's still a neat craft, but it would need to fifty times as powerful to become a true spacecraft, capable or doing more than popping above the "space barrier" for a few minutes.
How can I believe you when you tell me what I don't want to hear?
As a 49 yo grandmother, c programmer and feminist, I find this offensive.
Oh, do you really? Just a few months ago, you told someone else to chill out when they were offended by a similar statement:
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