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VSSEnterprise

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"Enterprise (Virgin Galactic)" redirects here. For the enterprise named Virgin Galactic, seeVirgin Galactic.
Not to be confused withUSS Enterprise.

VSSEnterprise(N339SS)
VSSEnterprise,the firstSpaceShipTwospaceplane, attached to its carrier aircraft WhiteKnightTwoVMSEve
Type Scaled Composites Model 339 SpaceShipTwo
Manufacturer Scaled Composites
Construction number 1
Registration N339SS
First flight 10 October 2010 (crewed gliding flight)

29 April 2013 (powered flight)

Owners and operators Virgin Galactic
Status Destroyed
Fate Crashed
31 October 2014

VSSEnterprise(tail number:N339SS[1]) was the firstSpaceShipTwo(SS2)spaceplane,built byScaled CompositesforVirgin Galactic.As of 2004, it was planned to be the first of five commercial suborbital SS2 spacecraft planned by Virgin Galactic.[2][3][needs update] It was also the first ship of the Scaled Composites Model 339 SpaceShipTwo class, based on upscaling the design of record-breakingSpaceShipOne.

The VSSEnterprise's name was an acknowledgement of theUSSEnterprisefrom theStar Trektelevision series.[4]The spaceplane also shared its name withNASA's prototype Space Shuttle orbiter,as well as theaircraft carrierUSSEnterprise. It was rolled out on 7 December 2009.[5]

SpaceShipTwo made its first powered flight in April 2013.Richard Bransonsaid it "couldn't have gone more smoothly".[6]

Enterprisewas destroyedduring a poweredtest flighton 31 October 2014, killing one pilot,Michael Alsbury,and seriously injuring another,Peter Siebold.[7]This was the first spacecraft-related accident in which part, but not all, of the crew survived. An investigation revealed the accident was caused by premature deployment of the "feathering" system, the ship's descent device; the NTSB also faulted the spacecraft's design for lacking fail-safe mechanisms that could have deterred or prevented early deployment.[8][9][10]

Flight test program[edit]

See also:VSS Unity § Test flight program

Initial projections by Virgin Galactic in 2008 called for test flights to begin in late 2009 and commercial service to start in 2011.[11][12]This schedule was not achieved, with captive carry and glideflight testsbeginning in 2010, and the first test flight under rocket power in 2013.

In October 2009, Virgin Galactic CEO Will Whitehorn outlined the flight test program for SpaceShipTwo. The test program includes seven phases:

  1. Vehicle ground testing
  2. Captive carry under White Knight Two
  3. Unpowered glide testing
  4. Subsonic testing with only a brief firing of the rocket
  5. Supersonicatmospherictesting
  6. Full flight into suborbital space
  7. Execute a detailed and lengthy appraisal process with theFAA/ASTto demonstrate the system's robustness and eventually obtain acommercial launch licenseto begin commercial operations.[13]

On 22 March 2010, the SpaceShipTwo vehicle VSSEnterpriseunderwent a captive carry test flight, with the parent White Knight Two aircraft,VMSEve,performing a short flight while carrying theEnterprise.[14] A second test flight was made on 16 May 2010,[15]reaching SS2's launch altitude (51,000 feet) and lasting nearly five hours, in order to facilitate "cold soak" testing of SS2's avionics and pressurization system. Thereafter, "a simulated spaceship descent/glide mission was made from [launch] altitude."[16] Between these two flights, the SpaceShipTwo airframe was modified by the addition of two interior fins, with one fin being added to the inside (rocket-side) of each of the craft's twinvertical stabilizers.[17]

On 15 July 2010, VSSEnterprisemade its first crewed flight. The craft remained attached to VMSEveas planned, and underwent a series of combined vehicle systems tests. The flight lasted a total of 6 hours and 21 minutes. A second, similar crewed flight of VSSEnterpriseand VMSEvewas carried out on 30 September 2010, lasting approximately 5 hours. Among the objectives of these flights was the improvement of pilot proficiency, and the results of the flights were deemed to show that the systems were capable of supporting future glide missions.[15]

On 10 October 2010, VSSEnterprisemade its first crewed gliding test flight. It was released from VMSEveat 45,000 ft (13,700 metres) and glided to a safe landing at the Mojave Air and Spaceport.[18][19][20]A second gliding test flight took place on 28 October 2010[21]and a third on 17 November 2010.[22]As of December 2010,Scaled reported that the flight test program was exceeding expectations.[23]The fourth test flight took place on 13 January 2011,[24]while the fifth and sixth glide flights occurred on 22 and 27 April 2011, respectively.[15]Following this, the feathered reentry configuration was tested in flight on 4 May 2011,[15]with weekly test flights continuing through the end of May.[15] On 9 June 2011, SS2 failed to separate from White Knight Two during its 11th planned glide flight due to a technical problem.[15]Testing resumed with five successful glide flights in June 2011.[15]

In July 2011, after 15 successful glide flights, flight testing of SS2 was halted for two months while planned revisions to the spaceplane were made.[25]Flight tests resumed in late September 2011, although the 16th glide flight – on 29 September – was marred by a brief loss of control aboard SS2, forcing the crew to utilise the feathered wing configuration to land safely.[26][27]This test was followed by another hiatus, during which some of the spacecraft's engine components were installed.[28]In June 2012, Scaled Composites received an FAA permit to conduct rocket-powered supersonic test flights.[29]SpaceShipTwo flight tests resumed in June 2012.[28][30]

In September 2012, Virgin Galactic announced that the unpoweredsubsonicglide flight test program was essentially complete. The company thereafter stated its intention to fit the hybrid rocket motor and control system to the vehicle, before resuming the glide flight test program with the rocket motor installed, in order to recharacterize the spacecraft's glide performance with slightly different weight distribution and aerodynamics.[31]In October 2012, Scaled Composites installed key components of the rocket motor, and SpaceShipTwo performed its first glide flight with the engine installed in December 2012.[32][33]

The spacecraft's first powered test flight took place on 29 April 2013, briefly driving SpaceShipTwo to asupersonicvelocity.[34][35][36]Richard Bransonsaid it "couldn't have gone more smoothly".[6]

On 5 September 2013, the second powered flight was made by the SpaceShipTwo. It broke the sound barrier, reached Mach 1.43, and climbed to 69,000 feet (21 km) over theMojave Desertunder rocket power and descended using its tilt-wing "feathering" maneuver.[37]Space journalist Doug Messier reported that "theengine plumefeatured white smoke, not the black smoke seen on the April flight. "[38]

On 10 January 2014, the third powered flight climbed higher than the previous flights, testing a new coating on the tail boom and other systems.[39]

List of test flights[edit]

This section is an excerpt fromList of Virgin Galactic launches § VSSEnterpriseflights.[edit]

Sources:[40][41][42][43]

Legend[edit]
Code Detail
GFxx Glide Flight
CCxx Captive Carry Flight
CFxx Cold Flow Flight
PFxx Powered Flight
Fxx Feathering deployed
Flights[edit]
Flight designation Date Duration Maximum altitude Top speed Pilot / co-pilot Notes
41 / GF01 10 October 2010 13 min 46,000 feet (14,000 m) 180 knots (210 mph; 330 km/h) EAS 2 g Siebold/Alsbury
44 / GF02 28 October 2010 10 min, 51 sec 230 knots (260 mph; 430 km/h) EAS 3 g Stucky/ Alsbury
45 / GF03 17 November 2010 11 min, 39 sec 246 knots (283 mph; 456 km/h) EAS 3.5 g Siebold / Nichols
47 / GF04 13 January 2011 11 min, 34 sec 250knots(290 mph; 460 km/h)EAS3.8 g Stucky / Nichols
56 / GF05 22 April 2011 14 min, 31 sec Siebold /Shane
57 / GF06 27 April 2011 16 min, 7 sec Stucky / Alsbury
58 / GF07 4 May 2011 11 min, 5 sec 51,500 feet (15,700 m) 15,500 feet per minute (4,700 m/min) Siebold / Nichols F01
59 / GF08 10 May 2011 13 min, 2 sec Stucky / Shane
60 / GF09 19 May 2011 11 min, 32 sec Siebold /Binnie
61 / GF10 25 May 2011 10 min, 14 sec Above 50,000 feet (15,000 m) Stucky / Binnie F02
62 / (CC12) 9 June 2011 Siebold / Shane Release failure during flight intended as GF11
64 / GF11 14 June 2011 13 min, 18 sec Siebold / Shane
65 / GF12 15 June 2011 10 min, 32 sec Stucky / Nichols
66 / GF13 21 June 2011 8 min, 55 sec Siebold / Nichols
67 / GF14 23 June 2011 7 min, 33 sec Stucky / Nichols
68 / GF15 27 June 2011 7 min, 39 sec Siebold / Binnie
73 / GF16 29 September 2011 7 min, 15 sec Stucky / Nichols / Persall F03
87 / GF17 26 June 2012 11 min, 22 sec Siebold / Alsbury
88 / GF18 29 June 2012 13 min Stucky /Mackay
90 / GF19 18 July 2012 10 min, 39 sec Siebold / Nichols
91 / GF20 2 August 2012 8 min Stucky / Nichols F04
92 / GF21 7 August 2012 9 min, 52 sec Siebold / Colmer F05
93 / GF22 11 August 2012 8 min, 2 sec Stucky / Binnie
109 / GF23 19 December 2012 13 min, 24 sec Stucky / Alsbury
113 / GF24 3 April 2013 9 min Stucky / Nichols F06
114 / CF01 12 April 2013 10 min, 48 sec Stucky / Alsbury
115 / PF01[44][45] 29 April 2013 13 min 56,000 feet (17,000 m) Mach 1.22 Stucky / Alsbury
130 / GF25 25 July 2013 11 min, 52 sec Stucky / Mackay
131 / GF26 8 August 2013 10 min Stucky / Mackay F07
132 / PF02 5 September 2013 14 min 69,000 feet (21,000 m) Mach 1.43 Stucky / Nichols F08
141 / GF27 11 December 2013. 11 min Stucky / Masucci
147 / PF03 10 January 2014 12 min, 43 sec 72,000 feet (22,000 m)[46] Mach 1.4 Mackay / Stucky[47] F09
149 / GF28 17 January 2014 14 min, 12 sec Siebold /Sturckow
156 / GF29[48] 29 July 2014 12 min Masucci / Siebold
164 / CF02[48] 28 August 2014 13 min Siebold / Alsbury
170 / GF30[49] 7 October 2014 10 min, 30 sec Siebold / Sturckow[50] F10
?? / PF04 31 October 2014 0 min, 13 sec roughly 50,000 feet (15,000 m)[51] ?(at least Mach 0.92) Siebold / Alsbury[52] Unintended featheringdestroys vehicle in-flight

First commercial spacecraft accident[edit]

Main article:VSS Enterprise crash

On 31 October 2014,Enterprisebroke apart in flightduring a powered test flight over California's Mojave Desert.[53][54][55]The flight began smoothly, withEnterprisebeing dropped from its WhiteKnightTwo carrier and igniting its engine at an altitude of 50,000 feet (15,000 m).[53]About 60 to 90 seconds into the flight, an "anomaly" was reported that resulted in destruction of the ship.[53]The pilot in command,Peter Siebold,escaped from the craft and parachuted to safety; the copilot,Michael Alsbury,was killed in the crash.[53][10]

TheNational Transportation Safety Boardconducted an independent investigation into the accident. In July 2015, the NTSB released a report that cited inadequate design safeguards, poor pilot training, lack of rigorous federal oversight and a potentially anxious co-pilot without recent flight experience as important factors in the crash.[10]The NTSB determined that the crash resulted from the co-pilot's premature deployment of thefeathering mechanism,which is normally used to aid a safe descent. The NTSB also faulted the ship's designers for failing to protect against human error, noting that the spacecraft lacked fail-safe systems that would have prevented or deterred a premature deployment of the feathering mechanism.[10]The NTSB recommended that the FAA establish human factors guidance specific to commercial spaceflight operators and create a more rigorous application process for experimental spaceflight permits.[10]

Image gallery[edit]

  • Virgin Galactic VSSEnterprise
  • Enterprise in flight slung under VMS Eve
    Enterprisein flight slung underVMSEve
  • Enterprise under construction and under wraps in 2008
    Enterpriseunder construction and under wraps in 2008
  • A 3-view of the SS2
    A 3-view of the SS2

See also[edit]

References[edit]

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  2. ^ "Virgin Galactic to Offer Public Space Flights".Space.Associated Press. 27 September 2004.Retrieved12 August2008.
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  7. ^Clark, Stephen (31 October 2014)."Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo rocket plane crashes on test flight".SpaceflightNow.Retrieved31 October2014.
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  9. ^Melley, Brian (3 November 2014)."Spaceship's descent device deployed prematurely".AP News.Retrieved3 November2014.
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External links[edit]

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