SpaceShip One imitates the Roton

Mary Shafer wrote:
 > On Wed, 29 Sep 2004 23:04:39 -0400, "David E. Powell"
 > <David_Powell3006.TakeThisOut@msn.com> wrote:
 >
 >
  >>Glad the fellow made it up and back, looked like a pinwheel going up there.
  >>It was scary when he came back into the atmosphere, because I figured that
  >>if it were an airframe problem, it would pick up again as air resistance
  >>increased and the spaceplane transitioned back into the normal flight
  >>configuration.
 >
 >
 > Either an asymmetry or a roll trim problem, I suspect. Even a ding in
 > the leading edge would do it. Maybe an RCS problem, but that seems
 > less likely.
 >
 > Mary
 >

It was still a good flight and good landing, by virtue of the fact that
the pilot walked away from the latter on his own power.

Now, to get that thing up there again and win the X-prize.

--
Strategypage.com Contributor

"There is no way I'm backing out; I'll find an angel here somehow."
Jennifer Love Hewitt, "Avenue of the Stars"

"The only person who can kill your dream is yourself."
Tom Clancy, Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, August 10, 2003<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: SpaceShip One imitates the Roton 

On Fri, 01 Oct 2004 04:56:58 GMT, Harold Hutchison
<hchutch.RemoveThis@ix.netcom.com> wrote:

 > Mary Shafer wrote:
 >
  > > Either an asymmetry or a roll trim problem, I suspect. Even a ding in
  > > the leading edge would do it. Maybe an RCS problem, but that seems
  > > less likely.
 >
 > It was still a good flight and good landing, by virtue of the fact that
 > the pilot walked away from the latter on his own power.

Good, yes, but no one likes to see control anomalies. They rarely fix
themselves and departures don't always end well.

 > Now, to get that thing up there again and win the X-prize.

And land safely. I'm not sure that a safe landing for the second
flight is required to win, now that I think about it. It probably is,
of course, considering how many lawyers were involved. I'll have to
look.

I was invited to the pre-flight reception by the X-prize folks, but
didn't go, having just driven home from Yosemite and needing to unpack
a bit. I was pretty sure the flight would succeed, having great
confidence in Burt.

Mary<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: SpaceShip One imitates the Roton 

"Mary Shafer" <miliff DeleteThis @qnet.com> wrote in message
news:3garl012aq3u270v4jtbk64dv3r4g595t9@4ax.com...
 > On Fri, 01 Oct 2004 04:56:58 GMT, Harold Hutchison
 > <hchutch DeleteThis @ix.netcom.com> wrote:
 >
  > > Mary Shafer wrote:
  > >
   > > > Either an asymmetry or a roll trim problem, I suspect. Even a ding in
   > > > the leading edge would do it. Maybe an RCS problem, but that seems
   > > > less likely.
  > >
  > > It was still a good flight and good landing, by virtue of the fact that
  > > the pilot walked away from the latter on his own power.
 >
 > Good, yes, but no one likes to see control anomalies. They rarely fix
 > themselves and departures don't always end well.

I seem to recall there was a problem on the first flight as well. Some kind
of buckling? Either way, I hope they have it settled out by the time that
they fly again.

  > > Now, to get that thing up there again and win the X-prize.
 >
 > And land safely. I'm not sure that a safe landing for the second
 > flight is required to win, now that I think about it. It probably is,
 > of course, considering how many lawyers were involved. I'll have to
 > look.

Well, I don't know. If not, it sounds like it would make a stirring Heinlein
story, but hopefully everything works out and the third time's the charm,
and it goes up and down without a (major) hitch. The X-Prize has turned out
to be quite a wonderful thing. Even the team up near British Columbia that
is nowhere near the Rutan project, but is involving the community, local
Native Americans, etc. is really doing some cool stuff with their project.
Plus there are tons of ideas that have been brainstormed through this
(Tethered planes that are towed to a certain altitude and then rocket up,
air to air refueling and spaceplanes, the Roton, the DC-X, Sea Launch
rockets, etc.) that could be useful in the future, and are keeping
designers, builders, and so on sharp. Plus giving a new generation of rocket
builders and thinkers a chance to work and flex their skills/muscles/etc.

 > I was invited to the pre-flight reception by the X-prize folks, but
 > didn't go, having just driven home from Yosemite and needing to unpack
 > a bit. I was pretty sure the flight would succeed, having great
 > confidence in Burt.

I hope you can get into the next one Could be something to talk about
for years.

 > Mary

DEP<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: SpaceShip One imitates the Roton 

"Mary Shafer" <miliff.TakeThisOut@qnet.com> wrote in message
news:4hipl0t213i6ravr75gvqbgt9bsv5g1mq8@4ax.com...
 > On Wed, 29 Sep 2004 23:04:39 -0400, "David E. Powell"
 > <David_Powell3006.TakeThisOut@msn.com> wrote:
 >
  > > Glad the fellow made it up and back, looked like a pinwheel going up
there.
  > > It was scary when he came back into the atmosphere, because I figured
that
  > > if it were an airframe problem, it would pick up again as air resistance
  > > increased and the spaceplane transitioned back into the normal flight
  > > configuration.
 >
 > Either an asymmetry or a roll trim problem, I suspect. Even a ding in
 > the leading edge would do it. Maybe an RCS problem, but that seems
 > less likely.

Of course, Mike Melville said that he "might have bumped something" on the
way up. Since most of the rolling was done beyond the aerodynamic portion
of the flight it probably looked more hazardous than it was. You might even
say that the craft was spin-stabilized! .

The thought has been tossed about that the roll resulted in a lot more TV
air time for the effort than a perfect flight would have. Melville did
perform another roll at low altitude on the way down and commented over the
radio that that one was "just for fun!" In any case, the flight went well
and it looks like they have considerable confidence in the vehicle.

It was highly annoying the way that CNN kept cutting away from their
coverage to the other big story of the morning: Martha Stewart not getting
her choice of prison.

I watched the flight with a class of my physics students and it was amazing
how many of them had no concept of the implications of the event they were
viewing. I think that the continuous flow of movie special effects have
blunted their excitement. It's rather hard to get across that this was a
_real_ man in a _real_ spacecraft made by a bunch of _real_ folks 90 miles
up the road.

I saw the first flight in person last summer, and there was definitely more
to see on TV, once you tune out the talking heads. The biggest laugh was
when the CNN talking head identified the bearded man in the wheelchair as
Melville's wife.

George<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: SpaceShip One imitates the Roton 

In article <4160457f DeleteThis @news.bnb-lp.com>, <Gmlyle DeleteThis @scvnet.com> wrote:

 > "Mary Shafer" <miliff DeleteThis @qnet.com> wrote in message
 > news:4hipl0t213i6ravr75gvqbgt9bsv5g1mq8@4ax.com...
  > > On Wed, 29 Sep 2004 23:04:39 -0400, "David E. Powell"
  > > <David_Powell3006 DeleteThis @msn.com> wrote:
  > >
   > > > Glad the fellow made it up and back, looked like a pinwheel going up
 > there.
   > > > It was scary when he came back into the atmosphere, because I figured
 > that
   > > > if it were an airframe problem, it would pick up again as air
   > > > resistance
   > > > increased and the spaceplane transitioned back into the normal flight
   > > > configuration.
  > >
  > > Either an asymmetry or a roll trim problem, I suspect. Even a ding in
  > > the leading edge would do it. Maybe an RCS problem, but that seems
  > > less likely.
 >
 > Of course, Mike Melville said that he "might have bumped something" on
 > the
 > way up. Since most of the rolling was done beyond the aerodynamic
 > portion
 > of the flight it probably looked more hazardous than it was. You might
 > even
 > say that the craft was spin-stabilized! .
 >
 > The thought has been tossed about that the roll resulted in a lot more TV
 > air time for the effort than a perfect flight would have. Melville did
 > perform another roll at low altitude on the way down and commented over
 > the
 > radio that that one was "just for fun!" In any case, the flight went
 > well
 > and it looks like they have considerable confidence in the vehicle.
 >
 > It was highly annoying the way that CNN kept cutting away from their
 > coverage to the other big story of the morning: Martha Stewart not
 > getting
 > her choice of prison.

Martha Stewart's spin became unstabilized, certainly before and during
the trial. One might consider her decision to serve the sentence while
appealing a spin recovery.

 >
 > I watched the flight with a class of my physics students and it was
 > amazing
 > how many of them had no concept of the implications of the event they
 > were
 > viewing. I think that the continuous flow of movie special effects have
 > blunted their excitement. It's rather hard to get across that this was a
 > _real_ man in a _real_ spacecraft made by a bunch of _real_ folks 90
 > miles
 > up the road.
 >
fe.
 >
 > George
 >
 ><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: SpaceShip One imitates the Roton