Virgin Galactic thread 2: powered SpaceShipTwo flights


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This begs the question of NewtonTwo replacing the hybrid on SS2.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Jan. 23, 2014

VIRGIN GALACTIC ANNOUNCES SUCCESSFUL TEST FIRINGS OF NEW LIQUID ROCKET ENGINES FOR LAUNCHERONE

Company developing rocket engines designed and built in house for its affordable, responsive small satellite launch service

MOJAVE, Calif. Virgin Galactic, the worlds first commercial spaceline, announced today that it has reached a significant milestone in the testing of a new family of liquid rocket engines for LauncherOne, the companys small satellite launch vehicle.  As part of a rapid development program, Virgin Galactic has now hot-fired both a 3,500 lbf thrust rocket engine and a 47,500 lbf thrust rocket engine, called the NewtonOne and NewtonTwo respectively.  Further, the NewtonOne engine has successfully completed a full-mission duty cycle on the test stand, firing for the five-minute duration expected of the upper stage engine on a typical flight to orbit.  These tests are being conducted on two new state-of-the-art test stands that the team designed, assembled and installed internally.

We are proud of the great progress our propulsion team has made in reaching these milestones, said Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides.  Combined with parallel progress made by the company in advanced tank and avionics technology, we are now well on our way to providing customers with the lowest cost opportunity for small satellite manufacturers and operators to buy a dedicated ride to space.

The new rocket engines were designed and assembled in-house by Virgin Galactic engineers and technicians, and mark the first firings of engines designed and built by the privately-funded company, owned by Sir Richard Bransons Virgin Group and Abu Dhabis aabar Investments PJS. 

As part of the ongoing test program, the NewtonOne engine has now been fired dozens of times, achieving the target thrust during a full-duration test. The test team has successfully completed as many as six distinct test firings in a single day, as a demonstration of the rapid test-retest capability critical to the liquid engine program. The larger NewtonTwo engine has also been fired multiple times at short duration, with longer duration firings scheduled to occur in the coming months. Additionally, Virgin Galactic engineers and technicians successfully completed a quick turnaround test in which engines were swapped out and fired within 12 hours, an important early demonstration of LauncherOnes responsive, quick call-up capability and of the versatility of both the engines and the test stand.

The unique environment in Mojave enables the team to design, manufacture, assemble and test the engines in a single location, which allows us to make progress swiftly, said Whitesides. 

Both engines were custom-designed by Virgin Galactic to serve as the propulsion system for the LauncherOne satellite launch vehicle, which uses a single NewtonOne on the upper stage and a single NewtonTwo on the main stage. Both engines are simple, pressure-fed LOX/RP-1 systems built with a low part-count design. The NewtonTwo engine is a scaled-up version of the NewtonOne, sized to serve as the first stage engine for LauncherOne, with a nozzle optimized for air-launched performance. Powered by those two engines, LauncherOne will carry small satellites to low-Earth orbit affordably and responsively, enabling a new generation of private and government missions.

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From 18 months ago in Aviation Week:

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LauncherOne will be powered by a two-stage, liquid-fueled rocket, now in initial development by Virgin Galactic. The same rocket also is intended to ultimately replace the non-reusable RM2 hybrid motor that will power the SS2 to suborbit, Virgin says?.

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But today on NBC's Cosmic Log,

http://www.nbcnews.com/science/hello-newton-virgin-galactic-unveils-its-other-rocket-engine-2D11922691

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Ringuette said components for an upgraded NewtonThree engine are already undergoing testing.

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Pomerantz said there are currently no plans to use the Newtons on SpaceShipTwo. But when it's time to think about point-to-point suborbital space travel on SpaceShipThree, more powerful versions of the Newton propulsion system could well be part of those plans.

"Those kind of future vehicles ? the SpaceShipThrees and SpaceShipFours, et cetera ? are going to require more advanced propulsion than what we need for SpaceShipTwo," Pomerantz said. "The liquid rocket engines we?re testing now will help us get into service quickly with a great product in the form of LauncherOne, while also helping us get smarter and more capable so that we are ready to power those future vehicles when the time comes."

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Images of Newton

vg_newton_engine.jpg

2D11401708-140122-coslog-rocket.blocks_d

Test site

2D11401357-140122-coslog-testsite.blocks

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  • 4 months later...

Longish Aviation Week article covers the WK2 yearly recertification including a "spar issue" ParabolicArc.com made a big deal about (VG: "extra adhesive"), the new polyamide-based fuel grain (developed by Scaled, less vibration & more power) and the tests before first flight of the new grain. Expecting 110km from it.

And in a statement a couple of weeks ago VG's VP is again talking of using their new Newton liquid rocket engine in SS2. Higher, faster, further.

http://m.aviationweek.com/space/new-fuel-boost-spaceship-two

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  • 4 months later...

An integrated glide test next week, a run-up to another powered test flight. This was a full duration test of their new engine.

@gtwhitesides George Whitesides

Good day at the test site yesterday. One more formal qual to go. Glide flight next week to exercise the vehicle. http://t.co/PvwaVnmwzx

fa0be58b6f908abf7c2bf9c5d1ba632a.jpg

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An integrated glide test next week, a run-up to another powered test flight. This was a full duration test of their new engine.

fa0be58b6f908abf7c2bf9c5d1ba632a.jpg

 

Something inside me wants to strap that bugger onto the back of a pick up truck, and let her rip! :p

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