Posted on 01/10/2014 1:51:19 PM PST by BenLurkin
Space tourism company Virgin Galactic sent its SpaceShipTwo reusable space vehicle to new heights on Friday, blasting the craft nearly 13.5 miles into the air and reaching a speed of Mach 1.4.
The craft left Mojave Air and Space Port at approximately 7:22 a.m. PST strapped to the WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft, which took the slick plane to around 46,000 feet. At the controls were Virgin Galactic Pilot Mike Masucci and Scaled Test Pilot Mike Alsbury.
WhiteKnightTwo then dropped the plane, which used its own rocket motor to roar to 71,000 ft. -- setting a new record for the craft.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
A new record? I thought most of the Apollo missions went higher.
Space actually begins at 400,000 ft or about 70 miles. 13 miles is a little short of that goal. Probably just a test flight.
The USAF says 50 miles. The FAI established the Karman Line which is 62.5 miles. NASA’s mission control says 76 miles.
For a business that was supposed to start flying tourists to space 10 years ago I think celebration because of this completely routine test is a little outdated.
A Mig-25 went to 123,520 ft in 1977.
The devil is in the details:
WhiteKnightTwo then dropped the plane, which used its own rocket motor to roar to 71,000 ft. -- setting a new record for the craft.
its own rocket motor to roar to 71,000 ft. — setting a new record for the craft,,,
Thanks BenLurkin. BTW, who has the Space list anymore?
How High is Space?
by FRASER CAIN on JULY 25, 2013
http://www.universetoday.com/25410/how-far-is-space/
...Space is defined by the point at which the Earth’s atmosphere ends, and the vacuum of space takes over...
The first official definition of space came from the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (the predecessor to NASA), who decided on the point where atmospheric pressure was less than one pound per square foot.
This was the altitude that airplane control surfaces could no longer be used, and corresponded to roughly 50 miles, or 81 kilometers.
Any NASA test pilot or astronaut who crosses this altitude is awarded their astronaut wings.
Shortly after that definition, the aerospace engineer Theodore von Kármán calculated that above an altitude of 100 km, the atmosphere would be so thin that an aircraft would need to be traveling at orbital velocity to derive any lift.
This altitude was later adopted as the Karman Line by the World Air Sports Federation.
When Felix Baumgartner broke the record for the highest freefall in 2012, he jumped from an altitude of 39 kilometers, less than halfway to space, according to NASA’s definition...
Even though it orbits at an altitude of more than 400 kilometers, the International Space Station needs to be constantly boosted because of friction with the atmosphere.
I have no idea who has the Space list.
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