SpaceShipOne flight 17P

Infobox Space mission
mission_name = Flight 17P
insignia =
spacecraft_name = SpaceShipOne
booster = White Knight
sign = SpaceShipOne
crew_members = Brian Binnie (Pilot)
launch_pad = White Knight
launch = October 4, 2004, 14:49 UTC, Mojave, CA
landing = October 4, 2004, 15:19 UTC, Mojave Spaceport
duration = 30 min
orbits = Suborbital
apogee = convert|111.996|km|mi|lk=on
sso_burn = 87 sec
maxvel = 1024 m/s Mach 3.09
peakdec = 5.4 g
previous = Flight 16P
next = Flight 1P

Flight 17P of SpaceShipOne was a spaceflight in the Tier One program that took place on October 4 2004. It was the second competitive flight in the Ansari X Prize competition to demonstrate a non-governmental reusable manned spacecraft, and is hence also referred to as the X2 flight. It was a successful flight, winning the X PRIZE.

cheduling

To win the X PRIZE, a spacecraft needed to make two successful competitive flights within 14 days. SpaceShipOne made a successful competitive flight on September 29 2004, and so needed to make a second by October 13 2004 in order to win. Scaled Composites aimed to be able to fly three times within the two weeks in order to allow for a failed flight.

The date of the flight, October 4 2004, was the 47th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth. SpaceShipOne's first powered flight was, in a similar vein, on the 100th anniversary of the first ever powered flight by the Wright Brothers.

The da Vinci Project, another X PRIZE contender, planned to make its first competitive flight on October 2 2004, which might have caused a race to develop, affecting the scheduling. However, they encountered problems and had to delay their flights. Tier One was therefore able to follow their original flight schedule. Scaled Composites reported that they could have turned the spacecraft around faster than the five days they actually allowed for it.

It was anticipated by observers that Mike Melvill, the pilot on both previous spaceflights by SpaceShipOne, would pilot this flight also. This expectation was not supported by any real evidence, but was based on Melvill's prior experience. On the morning of the flight it was announced that Brian Binnie would be the pilot.

Manifest

Under Ansari X PRIZE rules, the flight was required to carry 180 kg payload, to simulate two 90 kg human passengers. Whereas Scaled Composites stated that the first competitive flight would not carry passengers, it did not make any such statement about later competitive flights. It seemed possible that Burt Rutan would be a passenger on flight 17P, but in the end he was not, possibly due to the roll excursion on flight 16P. The payload included:
*X PRIZE flight monitoring equipment, known as the "gold box"
*the Explorers Club flag, by arrangement between the Explorers Club and the X PRIZE Foundation

The same logos were carried as on flight 16P:
*Scaled Composites
*"SpaceShipOne: a Paul G. Allen project" on SpaceShipOne
*"White Knight" on White Knight
*Virgin Galactic, on the tails
*Virgin, on the fuselage
*Ansari X PRIZE, as required by X PRIZE rules
*The Spirit of St. Louis, a science center
*M&M's
*7-Up Plus
*Champ Car World Series

Flight profile

"All times are in PDT, which is seven hours behind UTC. This was the local civil time at the spaceport on the day of the flight. All measurements are first stated in the U.S. customary units in which they were originally reported, with conversions to SI units also given."

The SpaceShipOne pilot was Brian Binnie. White Knight was piloted by Mike Melvill.

Taxiing, scheduled for 06:30, began at 06:36. Takeoff from Mojave Spaceport, scheduled for 07:00, took place at 06:49. White Knight then carried SpaceShipOne to the launch altitude, in excess of 43,500 feet (13.3 km). SpaceShipOne separated from White Knight at 07:49, and promptly ignited its rocket.

The rocket motor was capable of burning for approximately 87 s. The burn-out altitude was in excess of 200,000 feet (61 km). After burn-out the craft continued to coast upwards. The wing was feathered, into high-drag configuration, during the coasting phase. The spacecraft coasted to apogee at an altitude of 367,442 feet (111.996 km), well in excess of the X PRIZE target altitude. It also broke the record altitude of 354,200 feet (107.96 km) for a rocket plane, set by the X-15 in 1963.

After apogee, SpaceShipOne reentered the atmosphere in its feathered configuration, and then changed to gliding configuration at 07:57. SpaceShipOne then glided back to the spaceport, deployed landing gear at 4,200 feet (1.28 km), and landed safely at 08:13. White Knight then landed at 08:19.

pectacle

As with SpaceShipOne's previous spaceflights, a large crowd watched from Mojave Spaceport. There was also live television coverage, and various websites provided coverage in their medium of preference.

Distinguished attendees included:
*Richard Branson, of Virgin Galactic
*Paul Allen, of Mojave Aerospace Ventures
*Rick Searfoss, chief X PRIZE judge
*Jerry Pournelle, science fiction author

X PRIZE

The Ansari X PRIZE requires that two spaceflights be made by the same spacecraft within two weeks. SpaceShipOne successfully made its first competitive flight (flight 16P) on September 29 2004. This second successful competitive flight therefore won the X PRIZE. This was declared by Rick Searfoss, the chief X PRIZE judge, at a post-flight press briefing. The prize was awarded on November 6 2004.

Trivia

* Coincidentally, one of the first astronauts, Gordon Cooper, died on the same day that flight 17P took place.

External links

* [http://web1-xprize.primary.net/press_room/press_releases/press.php?presstitle=20040727 Go for launch! X PRIZE Foundation announces teams ready to compete for $10 million]
* [http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/xprize_full_coverage.html SPACE.com contemporaneous report]
* [http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/xprize2_success_041004.html SPACE.com: SpaceShipOne Wins $10 Million Ansari X PRIZE in Historic 2nd Trip to Space]
* [http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ss1/status.html Spaceflight Now contemporaneous report]
* [http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ss1/041004x2launch.html Spaceflight Now: SpaceShipOne launches for X PRIZE]
* [http://www.xprize.org/press_room/press_releases/press.php?articleID=130 X PRIZE press release: SpaceShipOne reaches over 360,000 feet to win the $10 million ANSARI X PRIZE]
* [http://www.aviationnow.com/avnow/news/channel_awst_story.jsp?id=news/10114top.xml Aviation Week & Space Technology gives technical details on how roll problem was avoided]