Tag Archives: Test Flight
Watch NASA and SpaceX launch astronauts (updated)
Virgin Orbit’s first launch demo takes place this weekend
SpaceX asks permission to take Starship on a high-altitude test flight
One of the next major steps in SpaceX's plans for true spaceflight will be a 12-mile-high test flight. Sometime between March and September, the company plans to launch its Starship suborbital test vehicle from Boca Chica, Texas. The Starship will tr...
Boeing completes test flight for the world’s largest twin-engine jet
Boeing is still grappling with the consequences of its safety mistakes, but it does have something to crow about at the moment. The company has completed the first test flight of the 777X, believed to be the largest twin-engine jet aircraft to date...
Blue Origin might not send humans to space until 2020
Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin still plans to offer space tourism trips on its New Shepard rocket, but before any passengers take flight, the company is expected to launch at least two more uncrewed test flights. Tuesday, Blue Origin filed an application fo...
Volocopter proves its air taxi can work with air traffic control
In order for air taxis and delivery drones to succeed, they'll have to play nicely with air traffic control systems. Yesterday, a Volocopter air taxi proved it's ready to do just that. The Volocopter 2X performed a series of tests at the Helsinki int...
Boeing delays its first Starliner test flight until August
For a while, Boeing and SpaceX have been neck-and-neck in their race to provide the first commercial space travel. That might be changing, as NASA and Boeing announced they'll delay the first uncrewed flight test of Boeing's Starliner. The spacecraft...
SpaceShip Two Completes Another Test Flight
A few days ago, Virgin Galactic successfully completed another test flight. The test flight happened last Friday and saw the craft reach its highest altitude yet.
You might think the pilot behind the controls would have looked out the window for a bit and enjoyed the view at 71,000 feet. Pilot David Mackay said he didn’t get to look out the window because he was too busy checking the thruster system that will be used to control the craft in space.
SpaceShip Two will eventually fly to an altitude of 62 miles above the surface of the Earth, which is the official start of outer space. Passengers aboard the spacecraft will pay $250,000 each to make the trip into space.
[via NBC News]
X-51A WaveRider hypersonic mission doomed by bum missile fin
The latest attempt to go past Mach 5 with the X51A has finished badly again, as a broken fin caused the missile to lose control before its air-breathing "scramjet'" motor could even kick in. It happened just after the booster rocket phase, which accelerates the craft to at least Mach 4, a high enough velocity for the hypersonic scramjet to work. The craft ended up in the Pacific shortly afterwards instead, and this latest affair may end up dunking the entire $300 million program. The Air Force initiative is already short on funding, and the previous two tries were equally dismal failures -- meaning a fourth missile, already built, may end up a museum piece.
Filed under: Transportation, Science
X-51A WaveRider hypersonic mission doomed by bum missile fin originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Aug 2012 10:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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