News Sir Richard Branson gains licence for commercial spaceflights.

[GLS]

T-4 minutes.

 

[GLS]

T-1 minute

 

[GLS]

Drop and ignition!

 

[GLS]

Shutdown!

 

[GLS]

Apogee 282kft... "space"

 

[Urwumpe]

Apogee 282kft... "space"

Well, in the USA, space is closer to the ground, that is why there are so many commercial spaceflight companies in the USA and so few in Europe....

 

[GLS]

They need to invest less in PR and more on communications... very onboard weak video.

 

[Urwumpe]

They need to invest less in PR and more on communications... very onboard weak video.

The timeline below also seems to be off. It didn't show reentry until subsonic....

 

[GLS]

Feather closed, now gliding towards the runway.

 

[GLS]

The timeline below also seems to be off. It didn't show reentry until subsonic....

The data on the side also needs a font with more contrast, as it is unreadable most of the time.

 

[GLS]

"the transmission has a long way to travel"
Altitude = 23kft

 

[GLS]

For a person who is used to Space Shuttle landings, that thing has very, very low drag.

 

[GLS]

Touchdown and wheels stop!

 

[GLS]

Now outside of the vehicle, and it looks like they carried parachutes.

 

[N_Molson]

For a person who is used to Space Shuttle landings, that thing has very, very low drag.

Makes sense, the Shuttle was quite a bulky spacecraft and this (suborbital) one is much more optimized for aerodynamics and gliding. But again, both serve(d) completely different purposes, actually this spaceplane has no other purpose than lofting some tourists into space for a few minutes ; the "frail" and light design is incompatible with an orbital re-entry.

 

[GLS]

jeffbezos @richardbranson and crew, congratulations on the flight. Can’t wait to join the club!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CRMbI07HmxB/

 

[Kyle]

After watching this, I think I'll wait ~20 years or so until orbital spaceflight becomes more routine. Seems a far better way to spend $200k.

 

[GLS]

Almost didn't end well...


The Red Warning Light on Richard Branson’s Space Flight
https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-red-warning-light-on-richard-bransons-space-flight


On July 11th, nearly a minute into the rocket trip carrying Richard Branson, the British billionaire, to space, a yellow caution light appeared on the ship’s console. The craft was about twenty miles in the air above the White Sands Missile Range, in New Mexico, and climbing, travelling more than twice the speed of sound. But it was veering off course, and the light was a warning to the pilots that their flight path was too shallow and the nose of the ship was insufficiently vertical. If they didn’t fix it, they risked a perilous emergency landing in the desert on their descent.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1433549820195655680

 

[Notebook]

Virgin Galactic cleared to resume space flights

Sir Richard Branson can launch his rocket plane again after making changes to flight procedures.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Urwumpe]

The craft reached a speed of Mach 3, or 2300 mhp, and a maximum altitude of 53.5 miles above the Earth.

Yes - about 1800 m/s is required for this apogee. (Can be calculated as student exercise using the Vis-viva equation)