Virgin Galactic updates (Factory)

[DocM]

3 openings. Virgin Galactic's "essentials" for applicants.

Line starts on the right ;)

Cosmic Log Link....

? U.S. citizenship (to satisfy export regulations).

? A current FAA commercial (or equivalent) pilot license and FAA medical clearance.

Degree-level qualification in a relevant technical field.

? Graduate of a recognized test pilot school, with at least two and a half years of postgraduate flight test experience.

? Diverse flying background with a minimum of 3,000 hours flying, to include considerable experience of large multi-engine aircraft and high-performance fast jet aircraft and low lift-to-drag experience in complex aircraft.

? Operational experience in an aerospace aviation project or business.

? Preference given to those with experience in spaceflight, commercial flight operations or flight instruction.

[Unix2]

Who will be the first guinea pig? :laugh:

[DocM]

SS2 has a crew of 2, so the first powered full flights will come from their existing staff of test pilots. That's supposed to happen later this year.

[DocM]

SS2 tests have resumed -

Flight: 56 / GF05

Date:22 Apr 11

Flight Time: 14 min, 31 sec

SS2 Pilot: Siebold

SS2 CoPilot: Shane

GS Crew: Binnie, Kelley, Bassett, Tighe, Reid, Keller, Verderame, Maisler, Zeitlin

Objectives:

Clean release

Evaluate stability and control

Continued flutter envelope expansion

Pilot proficiency

Results:

Clean release at desired altitude. Glide test objectives complete without issues.

[DocM]

This flight was a lot longer than the last one (higher altitude?), so maybe they're getting near the end of glide flights & close to powered flights.

Flight:??? 57 / GF06

Date:??? 27 Apr 11???

Flight Time:??? 16 min, 7 sec

SS2 Pilot:???Stucky???

SS2 CoPilot:???Alsbury

GS Crew:???Binnie, Kelley, Bassett, Tighe, Reid, Glaser, Inks, Verderame, Maisler, Knupp

Objectives:

Evaluate stability and control

Continued flutter envelope expansion

Pilot proficiency

Results:

Clean release at desired altitude. Glide test objectives complete without issues.

[DocM]

Aviation Week article.....

Discusses the speeding up of glude tests, flight envelope expansion etc.

Interesting is that SS2's RocketMotorTwo (RM2) is also being used (in pairs) in Sierra Nevada's Dream Chaser orbital spaceplane. They are made by SpaceDev, a Sierra Nevada subsidiary.

[DocM]

First test of SS2's feathered re-entry wing configuration -

OnOrbit article....

Early on Wednesday 4th May 2011, in the skies above Mojave Air and Spaceport CA, SpaceShipTwo, the world's first commercial spaceship, demonstrated its unique reentry 'feather' configuration for the first time.

This test flight, the third in less than two weeks, marks another major milestone on the path to powered test flights and commercial operations.

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All objectives for the flight were met and detailed flight data is now being analysed by the engineers at Scaled Composites, designers and builders of Virgin Galactic's sub-orbital spacecraft.

>

Once out of the atmosphere the entire tail structure of the spaceship can be rotated upwards to about 65o. The feathered configuration allows an automatic control of attitude with the fuselage parallel to the horizon. This creates very high drag as the spacecraft descends through the upper regions of the atmosphere. The feather configuration is also highly stable, effectively giving the pilot a hands-free re-entry capability, something that has not been possible on spacecraft before, without resorting to computer controlled fly-by-wire systems. The combination of high drag and low weight (due to the very light materials used to construct the vehicle) mean that the skin temperature during re-entry stays very low compared to previous manned spacecraft and thermal protection systems such as heat shields or tiles are not needed. During a full sub-orbital spaceflight, at around 70,000ft following re-entry, the feather lowers to its original configuration and the spaceship becomes a glider for the flight back to the spaceport runway.

>

[DocM]

Follow on report from VG -

Flight Test Legend:

GF = Glide Flight

P = Powered Flight

GC = Aborted Glide Flight

Flight: 58 / GF07

Date: 4 May 11

Flight Time: 11 min, 5 sec

SS2 Pilot: Siebold

SS2 CoPilot: Nichols

GS Crew: Binnie, Tighe, Bassett, Verderami, Kalogiannis, Persall, Zeitlin, Glaser, Knupp, Cassebeer

Objectives:

Feather evaluation

Evaluate stability and control

Flutter susceptibility testing

Pilot proficiency

Results:

All objectives achieved....Awesome flight!

[neoadorable]

kudos to them, but how high did they go?

[DocM]

Around 52,000 ft. Not a re-entry test, that would be >200,000 ft, but a test of handling and systems.

[neoadorable]

yeah that's not even close to the Karman line...so i guess there's still work to be done.

[DocM]

Engine tests have gone very well, which is also good for Dream Chaser since it's the same RM2 motor. Powered flights should start this summer; short burns at first then progressively longer until they're at full flight profiles. Scaled is very methodical, as they should be.

[neoadorable]

guess the slow and safe route does make sense, yes. hopefully it gets results sooner rather than later, though.

[DocM]

Big hint at an IPO

Satellite Spotlight story....

http://careers.virgin.com/search/1993/

Chief Financial Officer

Location: Pasadena, CA

Business: Virgin Galactic

Salary: Competitive

Contract Type Full Time

Closing date: 23/05/2011

IF YOU DON?T SEE DON?T SEE THE NEXT AUDIT AS THE FINAL FRONTIER?

Virgin Galactic, the flagship project for Sir Richard Branson?s Virgin Group is inviting applications for its first CFO who will join the leadership team as this unique and exciting business heads into commercial operations as the world?s first commercial spaceline.

Based on the X Prize winning SpaceShipOne, Virgin Galactic?s prototype commercial vehicles are built and flying successfully in an extensive test flight program, before moving to the near completed Spaceport America in New Mexico.

Virgin Galactic also has more than 430 customers paid up and waiting to fly and closed a deal with its first external investor in 2010 valuing the company at around $900m.

Located in the company?s current HQ in Pasadena CA and reporting to the CEO, the Virgin Galactic CFO will be responsible for engineering the financial strategy, driving growth, and formalizing the business structure as well as overseeing finance, accounting, IT, and HR functions. In order to apply you will probably have had previous CFO experience and an exposure to the aerospace sector. You will be confident in leading a capital raising process, either in the form of a private placement or initial public offering. You?ll be comfortable building influential relationships with key stakeholders including board members, investors and suppliers

In another life (and in a galaxy far, far away) you will have worked for one of the Big 4 and be up to speed with IFRS and UK GAAP.

Lastly you will thrive in a friendly but dynamic, international, high growth environment.

Competitive compensation and benefits package; Salary dependent upon experience

Please send your resume to Emma Sacknoff at (esacknoff@mpexecutivesearch.com) or call +1 212 661 4800 by Monday 23rd May referencing "Galactic CFO" or upload your details here.

[guru]

Virgin Galactic has tested the return capabilities of their SpaceShipTwo spacecraft for the first time. The video of its first feathered flight is just too beautiful and elegant to describe.

http://gizmodo.com/5803128/spaceshiptwo-returning-to-earth-looks-just-awesome

[DocM]

She definitely is a sweet bird.

Can't wait for the powered flights, both to see SS2 do her stuff and to get a taste of how Dream Chaser will look under power; both will use the SM2 engine. SS2 will use 1 and Dream Chaser 2.

[DocM]

Flight Test Legend:

GF = Glide Flight

P = Powered Flight

GC = Aborted Glide Flight

Flight: 60 / GF09

Date: 19 May 11

Flight Time: 11 min, 32 sec

SS2 Pilot: Siebold

SS2 CoPilot: Binnie

GS Crew: Alsbury, Kalogiannis, Bassett, Reid, Glaser, Verderame, Tighe, Persall, Inks

Objectives:

Flutter susceptibility envelope expansion

Results:

All objectives achieved.

[neoadorable]

glad the flight went well, but again, how high up are we talking about here? i want actual space!

[DocM]

51,000 feet this time.

RM2 powered tests start later this summer after they shake her down a bit more. Scaled is nothing but thorough when it comes to their testing.

[DocM]

RocketMotorTwo ground test. This parallels tests by Sierra Nevada who will use a different SM2 variant in its Dream Chaser.

Fire: 06

Date: 24 March 11

Objectives:

Perform sixth full scale flight design RM2 hot-fire

Continue all systems evaluation

Continue fuel formulation evaluation

Continue nozzle evaluation

Continue motor structural evaluation

Continue Valve/Injector performance evaluation

Results:

All objectives completed. Performed increased duration hot-fire, including igniter performance, oxidizer flow and pressurization systems, data acquisition system measurements, structural evaluation, nozzle ablation, and fuel regression rate data collection. Determined stability levels.

[neoadorable]

so how much closer is this getting us to my Valkyrie shuttle, Doc :laugh:

i know, that joke's played, so played...

hope the trials go well, 51K feet ain't much to be honest when the hopes of an entire species are with these people...in a way at least.

[DocM]

51k's the launch point with 8-9x that for apogee in a suborbital flight. And as noted before - spaceplanes suck for beyond orbital space.

[DocM]

Keybounce double-post

[neoadorable]

why, because their engines can't work in near-vacuum? well, that's where the fusion reactors kick in :shifty:

[DocM]

Because whatever the power source carrying wings, landing gear, a tail and the extra airframe mass icauses a waste of fuel at every stage where the engines fire; launch, Earth departure, end of trip deceleration, trans-Earth injection, Earth return deceleration and every course correction along the way.