SpaceShipOne Breaks the Sound Barrier

Scaled Composite Press Release ^ | December 17th, 2003

[Frank_Discussion]

This is OUTSTANDING!!! Also, see this pic of SS1 doin' its thang:

http://www.hobbyspace.com/AAdmin/Images/RLV/Scaled/17dec03316%20079_cmp30.jpg

[RoughDobermann]

Cool

[The_Victor]

Cool!

Bump for your space ping list.

[ArrogantBustard]

Thoroughly appropriate that this happen today, the 100^th anniversary of powered flight. Note that Orville and Wilbur Wright were also a small company, involved in a non-government effort.

[RoughDobermann]

My personal favorite

[Poohbah]

The only thing I regret about the Scaled Composites effort is that they're not using a B-29 as the drop ship. (I still get chills watching the B-29 takeoff at the beginning of The Right Stuff; the music and imagery bring to mind something akin to being in a cathedral.)

[RightWhale]

The hybrid motor was tested just last week. One thing about private enterprise: they don't have to waste time.

[narby]

Way to go Rutan!

The Wright Flyer repro non-flight was a bummer. But Rutan makes up for it!

[r9etb]

Pretty cool stuff.

[Moonman62]

Our flight this morning by SpaceShipOne demonstrated that supersonic flight is now the domain of a small company doing privately-funded research, without government help.

Great news.

The flight also represents an important milestone in our efforts to demonstrate that truly low-cost space access is feasible.

Which is what the government should have been doing for the past 20 years.

[Professional Engineer]

WAAAAAAYYYYY COOL ping

[Frank_Discussion]

Ya got that right! I caught that too - I think the X-Prize is going down very soon. This is incredible news.

[HamiltonJay]

Captain, she can't take no more... she's comin apart at the seams, the engines just can't take the strain...

[Gorjus]

Which is what the government should have been doing for the past 20 years.

Da*n, so close! You almost had it right.

Get the government out of the picture - and your sentence - and you're on the right track. It's certainly what should have been done, just not by the government. That's guaranteed to do only three things. Add cost. Add time. And reduce performance.

[RoughDobermann]

Captain, she can't take no more... she's comin apart at the seams, the engines just can't take the strain...

Nah, I'd be the first to volunteer to take a ride in one of Burt's designs. He builds good ships. :-)

[Viking2002]

Awesome photo. If these guys aren't careful, they might actually make it into orbit! :-)

[RoughDobermann]

Awesome photo. If these guys aren't careful, they might actually make it into orbit! :-)

That would be, as they say, bad... :-)

[ericthecurdog]

The first manned supersonic flight by an aircraft developed by a small company's private, non-government effort.

AHEM. Someone forgot the Bede Aircraft BD-10… first supersonic aircraft developed by a small company's private, non-government effort.

Pretty sweeeeet...

[Frank_Discussion]

Such things happen when you get real excited, I guess...

[RightWhale]

a small company, involved in a non-government effort

That's right, no gov't funds. No gov't interference aside from the usual permits. How many here on FR own shares in this enterprise?

RightWhale does.