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SpaceShipTwo makes near-vertical plunge towards Earth on test flight as space tourism dream edges closer
Last updated at 4:11 PM on 5th May 2011
- Latest test saw SpaceShipTwo deploy its twin tail sections in a way to allow it to gently return to Earth's atmosphere from the vacuum of space
After plunging towards Earth at a near-vertical angle, Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo completed its latest test flight as plans to send tourists into space edged ever closer.
The 'maiden feathered flight' of SpaceShipTwo saw the rocket bend its wings into a near-right angle landing position after descending from 52,000ft.
SpaceShipTwo was lifted 6,000ft higher than during its last test flight in October, before an 11-minute descent demonstration which included 75 seconds in its 'feathered' mode.
'Near-vertical': SpaceShipTwo, captured on a camera using a high-powered telescope, plunges to Earth at 15,500ft a minute on its latest test flight. The craft deployed its twin tail sections to allow for a gentle return to Earth's atmosphere
As SpaceShipTwo descended almost vertically through the sky, it was slowed by the drag of the folded tail, similar to the way feathers slow a badminton shuttlecock.
Virgin Galactic's rocket plane deployed its twin tail sections in a position created to allow it a soft return to the Earth's atmosphere from the vacuum of space.
The craft, which was captured by ground photographers with high-powered telescopes, descends at 15,500ft per minute in its near-vertical state.
It then rotated its twin tail booms upward 65 degrees during the test flight yesterday in the Mojave Desert, California, Virgin Galactic said.
First solo glide flight: Virgin Galactic's space tourism rocket SpaceShipTwo was previously released over the Mojave Desert in California last October
Success: Manned by two pilots, the craft flew freely for 11 minutes on its second successful test flight in six months
The latest test was hailed as a success by experts, with Will Pomerantz, Virgin Galactic vice president for special projects, tweeting soon after: 'What an awesome way to start the day. SpaceShipTwo looked positively beautiful today on her maiden feathered flight!'
The reconfiguration will be a critical part of the spaceship's descent through Earth's atmosphere after suborbital trips into space.
At 34,000 feet, pilots returned SpaceShipTwo to its normal configuration and landed it like an airplane.
The demonstration from release to touchdown lasted 11 minutes, including 75 seconds in the 'feathered' mode.
'It flew stably,' said Virgin Galactic chief executive George Whitesides.
SpaceShipTwo is based on Burt Rutan's award-winning SpaceShipOne prototype, which became the first privately financed manned rocket to reach space in 2004.
Rutan retired last month from Scaled Composites, a company he founded that built and is testing SpaceShipTwo for Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic.
