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SpaceShipTwo Pilot Named; Branson Vows To 'Move Forward Together'
astroengine writes Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson has arrived in the Mojave Desert, Calif., in the wake of the tragic explosion and crash of the company's SpaceShipTwo vehicle. The rocket-propelled space plane was completely destroyed Friday morning during a test flight. One of the two test pilots, employed by SpaceShipTwo development company Scaled Composites, was killed and the second pilot was rushed to a local hospital where he is described as having "major injuries." A spokeswoman for Kern's County Coroner's Office told the Los Angeles Times that project engineer and test pilot Michael Alsbury died in the accident. Alsbury was 39-years-old and had been working with Scaled for 14 years. The second pilot, who was able to parachute to safety, has not been named.
>> Branson Vows To 'Move Forward Together'
"You know...without the guy that died...but other than THAT. (Awkward.)"
"Boom" is a result that leaves very little room for interpretation.
Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
Kern County's
Going into space is a dangerous endeavor. And there was bound to be looses. Hell they'll be MORE as time does by. Probably a LOT more. Either we can (collectively) give up now or learn from the loses and continue on.
I wish he would release a video of him speaking in the Mojave with the wind going through his hair, somber but uplifting music in the background, and kind words to those who have died for space.
Sig: I stole this sig.
They developed their own brand-new first-run of plastic solid rocket propellant and the "anomaly" happened shortly after ignition.
The other option was a rubber like solid propellant that has somewhat more comparable successes, 0 out of 1 being 0% success.
So I'd guess this decision will be scrutinized. It's one thing to be a test pilot, it's another thing to sit on a brand new rocket design - for profit.
Ground photos
There was apparently a lot of concern behind the scenes with the new fuel, causing uncontrolled vibrations when used in the existing engine. For example follow @MarkZastrow, or see https://twitter.com/spacecom/status/528278550894227457 "I had deep concerns over both the new plastic/nitrous oxide engine and so did other sources familiar with the testing".
Space tourism is still more attractive than cruise ship tourism
For all the naysayers out there we can not help the fact that if we want to progress we must take risks. The people involved in this project knew the risk and their work will further our understanding of space travel. This person died doing something he knew was dangerous and presumably enjoyed doing. To stop would be the worst thing as his death would have been in vain.
Frame 2 from the ground based photos seems to show that thrust from the engine reduced before the explosion. I wonder if something came loose and obstructed the outlet of the engine, causing an increase in pressure. Sort of a blowback situation.
http://michaelsmith.id.au
I have been reading lately that there has been serious concern about the liquid-solid hybrid engine used in Spaceship 2. In 2007 there was a nitrous oxide explosion that killed three people.
On 26 July 2007, during the early rocket testing phase, an explosion occurred during a propellant flow test at the Mojave Air and Space Port. The test included filling the oxidizer tank with 4,500 kg (10,000 pounds) of nitrous oxide, followed by a 15-second cold flow injector test. Although the tests did not ignite the gas, three employees were killed and three injured, two critically and one seriously, by flying shrapnel.[12]
parabolicarc.com is a pretty good source of information on New Space. Here are some tweets:
Parabolicarc.com @spacecom Oct 31
I had deep concerns over both the new plastic/nitrous oxide engine and so did other sources familiar with the testing. #SpaceShipTwo
The concerns were three fold. One, that it wasn't being tested sufficiently on the ground before it was flown. #SpaceShipTwo
Second: that modifications required to ship to accommodate the new engine introduced additional complexity and failure modes. #SpaceShipTwo
Third, handful of test flights they were doing with new #SpaceShipTwo engine before putting Richard and Sam Branson aboard were insufficient
Let me stress2 things: one, we don't know what happened yet, so I'm not making a snap judgment about what caused the accident #SpaceShipTwo
Second, these concerns about the new engine were not mine alone. Folks much smarter and knowledgble than me were worried. #SpaceShipTwo
I predict you will be hearing a lot more about these concerns and the problems they were having in the days and weeks ahead #SpaceShipTwo
Scaled's Kevin Mickey called the engine change "a minor nuance". He rushed out of the press conference once it was over.
Mickey claimed "minor nuance" engine change thoroughly tested on ground. Tried to ask for details, but presser ended quickly & Mickey left.
Ken Brown was taking photos through the entire incident. Tracked one large piece of debris down to the lakebed. #SpaceShipTwo
I heard Ken say, "They're in trouble." And then "They're tumbling. Ken's pictures will be very crucial to understanding it. #SpaceShipTwo
Just talked to Ken Brown. Pictures show Engine fired fine, then there's a white plume. He thinks the nitrous oxide tank blew. #SpaceShipTwo
I am a huge supporter of commercial space, most especially Space X. But I think that accidents like this give the whole sector a bad name. Virgin Galactic/SC have been building this ship for 10 years, and they still don't have a viable engine. That is not a good sign.
Contrast that with Space X, which in about the same amount of time has built the Falcon 9, which has a string of 13 straight successes (touch wood). It seems to me that not all space companies are created equal.
This and no other is the root from which a tyrant springs; when first he appears as a protector - Plato (423 to 327 BC)
You'd think that polyamides would spall in a finer grained manner than rubbers due to their greater strength so what does that leave? Something in the complex chemistry of polyamide decomposition at very high temperatures seems to be able to cause the burn rate to accelerate as if there is a point where it can spontaneously decompose. I guess we may never know because they are not likely to make the recipe for the exact mix public, and that is assuming they got the mix right and know what they were really burning on the day. One guess is that it can decompose due to IR energy levels advancing faster and deeper into the body of the material than the oxidiser does. Easy to prove, hit a sample under relevant conditions with a laser and see if you can get it to detonate.
As for the human side of things, a good man died and a family is shattered, you can't fix that.
Although half the crew died, I, for one, am astounded, that the other half survived in a crash, that "completely destroyed" the ship...
In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
Branson unzips trousers and presents to the Press his Pee Pee.
Press falls in love with Branson's Pee Pee.
"Its Not Un U Su Al to be sucked by anyone" baaa baa ba bbaa ba baaaaaa.
They had trouble of some kind, George.
Leaving aside the question about whether the design was adequately verified with on-ground experiments (including static full system tests but also validation of individual engine components), why have a design that requires a human pilot on board for flight testing?
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a rigged demo
--Andy Finkel (J. Klass?)
Large fuel chunks coming loose and obstructing the rocket nozzle is a well known failure mode. Maybe inexperience with the new fuel mixture led to structural flaws in the fuel grain.
He has too much money depending on success.
A news release that says a CEO/majority owner will carry on despite the setbacks is like a news release that says water is wet.
These comments are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of my employer or colleagues...