The first drop test of – SpaceShipTwo – the suborbital spaceliner being built for Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic — appears to be near at hand.
SpaceShipTwo is undergoing testing by Scaled Composites at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California.
Taking the tourist-class spaceship to drop altitude is the multi-purpose mothership, the huge WhiteKnightTwo carrier plane. As the first glide flight of the SpaceShipTwo, the piloted vehicle will be put through its aerodynamic paces without the firing of its hybrid booster engine.
This first drop test would signal a new milestone in the development of the WhiteKnightTwo/SpaceShipTwo system – a concept to send passengers on a suborbital trek to the edge of space.
The hardware will undergo rigorous testing as engineers progress on a step-by-step flight qualification agenda prior to commercial operation.
FAA grant
In related news, Spaceport America is under active construction near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, and is expected to become fully operational in 2011.
Officials at Spaceport America have been working closely with leading aerospace firms such as Virgin Galactic, Armadillo Aerospace, Lockheed Martin, Moog-FTS, and UP Aerospace to develop commercial spaceflight at the new facility.
Virgin Galactic’s suborbital passenger flight venture will use Spaceport America as the hub of its operations.
Spaceport America has received its first federal grant from a newly funded spaceport infrastructure program at the Federal Aviation Administration.
The funding, matched with Virgin Galactic money, will allow for the acquisition of an Automated Weather Observation System III (AWOS III).
AWOS III is crucial to the safe and efficient operation of the spaceport, providing timely and accurate meteorological information — including visibility information and cloud data — relevant to aircraft and spacecraft operations at Spaceport America.
By Leonard David