Manned space rocket plane VSS Unity made a new flight

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For the first time in the past two years, the manned space rocket plane VSS Unity, owned by the American company Virgin Galactic, made its first successful suborbital flight in two years. The launch was carried out from the new spaceport "America" ​​in the state of New Mexico.

This was reported on the company's Twitter page.



The launch of the spaceplane took place on May 22. This is his third successful flight. The previous two were made in the Mojave Desert. The space rocket plane was launched from the WhiteKnightTwo aircraft. When he separated from the plane, the engines turned on and ran for one minute. The device climbed to an altitude of just over 89 kilometers, and then successfully landed on the runway. The entire flight took 17 minutes. It passed normally, no technical problems, as stated, did not arise.


Each time the device was separated from the aircraft from a 15-kilometer height, after which it independently rises above the 81 kilometer mark, which, according to the US Air Force standards, is the boundary of space. True, in the International aviation Federation, the height to which the apparatus rises is not yet considered space, since it is accepted there that it begins at a distance of 100 kilometers from the Earth's surface.

In the future, Virgin Galactic plans to use the VSS Unity spaceplane to organize suborbital flights for tourists.

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    1. +19
      24 May 2021 09: 53
      Why not congratulate you on your success?
      Well done!
      You have achieved technical success, but will there be commercial success?
      1. +4
        24 May 2021 10: 09
        I think there will be a lot of tourists who want to ride. If the price tag is not too high, they will pick it up.
      2. +2
        24 May 2021 11: 07
        For those who are in the tank! The height of space is accepted throughout the world as 100 km, not 81 km !!!
        1. +2
          26 May 2021 07: 22
          For those who are in the tank! The height of space is accepted throughout the world as 100 km, not 81 km !!!
          Exactly. But:
          rises above the 81 kilometer mark, which, according to the US Air Force standards, is the boundary of space. True, in the International Aviation Federation, the height to which the device rises is not yet considered space, since it is accepted there that it begins at a distance of 100 kilometers from the Earth's surface.
          If we cannot reach an altitude of 100 km, and we want to cut the loot from the smug rich suckers, then we will lower the boundary of space.
          Well, we will show our own exclusivity in spite of everyone. Just like in terms of "astronaut" - "astronaut". We do not fly to the stars, we do not land on them, but only in the despicable vacuum of space, but we are called astronauts.
    2. +1
      24 May 2021 09: 55
      Shareholders have a holiday! And then they were completely depressed.
    3. -9
      24 May 2021 09: 58
      And at what height does weightlessness occur? 89 km? 100 km?
      1. +15
        24 May 2021 10: 02
        Quote: Cat Alexandrovich
        And at what height does weightlessness occur? 89 km? 100 km?

        It comes even 10 meters away, it just doesn't last long! laughing
      2. +8
        24 May 2021 10: 05
        What, and completely illiterate?
        Climb onto the stool and jump off. You will have weightlessness at a height of 50 cm
        1. +8
          24 May 2021 10: 08
          Thank you explained! So my cat is an astronaut! He is constantly jumping off the stool!
          1. +1
            24 May 2021 10: 42
            And so NASA and the Air Force raised different questions about the boundary of space and received different answers at the dawn of astronautics.
            NASA asked what is the minimum altitude a spacecraft can fly and got a boundary of 100 km.
            And the Air Force asked what is the maximum altitude an aircraft can fly using its wings. And got 80 km.
          2. 0
            24 May 2021 10: 53
            Quote: Cat Alexandrovich
            So my cat is an astronaut!

            The cat pilot is a micro-jumper. )))
      3. +1
        24 May 2021 10: 44
        Quote: Cat Alexandrovich
        And at what height does weightlessness occur? 89 km? 100 km?

        If you answer seriously, then it occurs at the moment when the engine is turned off, and until that moment, on the contrary, an overload.
      4. +3
        24 May 2021 12: 11
        Quote: Cat Alexandrovich
        And at what height does weightlessness occur? 89 km? 100 km?

        Constant weightlessness occurs when the satellite enters orbit, i.e. from 160 km. More or less stable orbits (where the influence of the atmosphere is not so strong) start from an altitude of 300 km.
      5. 0
        26 May 2021 07: 27
        Flip through your school physics textbook. There are even formulas for calculating the required speed, depending on the altitude. Well, as it should be at school - the resistance of the atmosphere must be neglected.
    4. +5
      24 May 2021 10: 10
      Honestly, to pay for a flight on such a kerosene stove, it will be necessary to look for such clients. Musk has an ambitious project, and the pilots who piloted this "shed" are crazy about their heads, in a good sense of the word, from protection overalls and glasses, cool. by their appearance that the height is almost 10 Everests.
    5. 0
      24 May 2021 10: 20
      Okay, experiment ... and then what?
      1. +1
        24 May 2021 10: 44
        Further analysis and decision-making to test or get documents and carry clients.
        1. +2
          24 May 2021 12: 05
          Terribly dangerous attraction. There is no emergency rescue system at all. The most interesting thing is that such a system for such spaceplanes was developed back in the 70s in our country.
          1. +2
            24 May 2021 12: 08
            We also had it temporary and very limited in height and speed.
            By the way, Shuttle also had one.
            1. -1
              24 May 2021 12: 12
              Quote: BlackMokona
              We also had it temporary and very limited in height.
              By the way, Shuttle also had one.


              I'm not talking about a shuttle, there they came to their limited one after the Challenger disaster, although before that there were catapults on Columbia. I'm talking about the Spiral spaceplane, which had a full-fledged system for rescuing an astronaut from orbit, which included both a special flight suit and a cabin design in the form of an autonomous descent vehicle. In the case of the Brenson craft, the CA itself could even be made easier, since the height is much less. Apparently, the weights were not enough for him .... Therefore, the passengers and turned into suicide bombers.
              1. +4
                24 May 2021 13: 11
                The spiral did not fly into space. So we stopped at scaled-down layouts.
                1. +1
                  24 May 2021 15: 02
                  Quote: BlackMokona
                  The spiral did not fly into space. So we stopped at scaled-down layouts.


                  It doesn't matter in this context. It is important that the CAC was there.
                  1. +2
                    24 May 2021 15: 18
                    SAS was planned, but in reality it was not created, not tested, etc.
                    1. +1
                      24 May 2021 17: 43
                      Quote: BlackMokona
                      SAS was planned, but in reality it was not created, not tested, etc.


                      It is enough that the SAS was an integral design feature of the airframe, in contrast to this apparatus.
          2. 0
            24 May 2021 12: 27
            Well, at the door with a parachute and oxygen equipment, you can probably fall out under certain conditions?
            1. +4
              24 May 2021 12: 33
              Quote: Disant
              well, at the door with a parachute, you can probably fall out 7


              Not. It's not that simple there. Here is a smart person falling out the door with a parachute at an altitude much lower than that of Unity (31 km):



              Pay attention to his equipment - this will not be the case for Unity passengers.
          3. 0
            25 May 2021 17: 36
            Quote: slipped
            the system for such spaceplanes was developed back in the 70s in our country.

            Only the spaceplane itself did not happen ...
            1. +3
              25 May 2021 21: 50
              Quote: shahor
              Only the spaceplane itself did not happen ...


              The reasons why that spaceplane did not happen lie in the plane of the desires of one person - the Minister of Defense of the USSR, and not in the design of the apparatus.

              It's about the design. In the design of the Spiral MTKS, the pilot sat in an autonomous descent capsule:



              He was wearing a Falcon-style flight suit.

              Unity pilots fly in ordinary VKKs with oxygen masks, which do not help during explosive decompression - at an altitude of over 20 km, nitrogen boils in the blood within a few seconds.



              The very design of the device is dangerous for passengers from the very beginning.
              1. -1
                25 May 2021 22: 46
                Quote: slipped
                The reasons why that spaceplane did not happen lie in the plane of the desires of one person - the Minister of Defense of the USSR,

                There were few fools among the USSR Defense Ministers. And the ministers were informed better than you and me. There must have been serious reasons why the spaceplane could not fly. And beautiful pictures, ideas and sketch projects are far from reality. Moreover, Korolev even built N-1, but it did not fly. And she couldn't at that technological level. Let's talk about real things - not what could have been if it hadn't been for ... bad dancers. And Bezos quietly started a purely commercial project, without ambition, just chopping cabbage. Rescue means - as in a passenger liner. Reliability - I think, not worse. I would fly.
                1. +1
                  25 May 2021 22: 53
                  Quote: shahor
                  There must have been serious reasons why the spaceplane could not fly.


                  So they are famous. Start of work on MTKS "Energia-Buran". A separate NGO was immediately established under the Spirali Group of Companies, which was named Molniya.

                  Quote: shahor
                  And beautiful pictures, ideas and sketch projects are far from reality.


                  The "Spiral" project has reached analogous discharges.



                  And the models for testing TZP were called "Bor" - they successfully flew into space using a different program.

                  Quote: shahor
                  Rescue means - as in a passenger liner. Reliability - I think, not worse. I would fly.


                  But there is no such money? laughing I think if you had such a sum, then you would hardly have used it for this attraction. laughing
                  1. -1
                    25 May 2021 23: 25
                    Quote: slipped
                    The "Spiral" project has reached analogous discharges.

                    I hope the dropped analog was equipped with rescue equipment? And Buran? how was the crew rescue implemented on it? I think that no manned flight was planned, it was beyond the means of the USSR. As for my pocket - are you not an undercover tax inspector? Let's look at the price tag, maybe I'll fly.
                    1. +2
                      26 May 2021 03: 24
                      Quote: shahor
                      I hope the dropped analog was equipped with rescue equipment?


                      Ejection seat. It was an atmospheric counterpart. There were several discharges.

                      Quote: shahor
                      And Buran? how was the crew rescue implemented on it? I think that no manned flight was planned, it was beyond the means of the USSR.


                      Wrong. In the planned third, already manned flight, at the initial stage, in the event of an accident, ejection was carried out from both the upper and lower decks. But, of course, it was a half-hearted solution, so an option with a detachable cockpit was invented, which was never implemented due to the stoppage of the program.

                      Quote: shahor
                      As for my pocket - are you not an undercover tax inspector? Let's look at the price tag, maybe I'll fly.


                      Do you have a free $ 250k per ticket? Oh well.
                2. 0
                  26 May 2021 06: 45
                  There were few fools among the USSR Defense Ministers. And the ministers were informed better than you and me.


                  As it is now known that there were many "fools" and they could not correctly assess the purpose of the Shuttle program, they could not accept the fact that the Shuttle program is not military, but a commercial one, the main goal is to reduce the launch cost by means of a high degree of reuse and mass scale. And because of this incorrect assessment, the Energiya-Buran program began to make its own answer, which, despite the “cool” technical solutions, was completely unprofitable in economic terms and had no practical application.
                  1. 0
                    26 May 2021 22: 49
                    Quote: Israel
                    the Shuttle program is not military, but commercial,

                    I agree with your assessment of the Buran program. But, you see, the Americans' business plan for the Shuttle turned out to be a failure - the program did not pay off and the costs even for the United States turned out to be exorbitant. I think that the whole point is that the technologies available at the time of the development of the programs did not provide an acceptable cost of the products.
                    1. 0
                      27 May 2021 19: 08
                      But as it turned out, the Shuttle also did not justify the initially laid hopes in terms of reducing the launch cost. Although, of course, he served for a long time.
    6. +1
      24 May 2021 11: 12
      The development is practically useless, since to cut it 5 times more to any practically useful orbit there. The ship is, in fact, a super expensive attraction, which is late for 30 years.
      1. +1
        24 May 2021 12: 43
        In the Nizhny Novgorod region, they planned to build a similar cosmodrome - to build an attraction, to drive the tourists to the suborbit, but something in the corridors was lost in the project. Or maybe it was not for nothing that he was lost - now, he surfaced in the FSA ... bully
    7. 0
      24 May 2021 11: 13
      But a cosmodrome for suborbital flights in the Nizhny Novgorod region could already operate, but no, they still drive paper in a circle, agree ... fool
      1. +1
        24 May 2021 12: 34
        yes, but tanks and unfinished kerosene and other spare parts will fall on people's heads
        1. 0
          24 May 2021 12: 38
          With alcohol. There is taiga. The plan was to use a spacecraft, not a rocket. fool drinks
          1. 0
            24 May 2021 13: 04
            Well, if with alcohol - then another matter.
            the only thing left to do is to develop a spacecraft and build a launch vehicle
            1. 0
              24 May 2021 13: 32
              Yes, it was already developed, the spacecraft is not a spacecraft, but into the stratosphere, into small space, it could climb to swing the tourists in zero gravity and go home. Since the engine was planned to run on alcohol, a distillery was to be installed next to this private cosmodrome. The presence of taiga made it possible to include ecotourism in the program. Solid pluses for vacationers, and fuel, again, is nearby ... drinks
          2. 0
            26 May 2021 07: 46
            There is taiga.
            Taiga in Nizhny Novgorod and to the Urals? Yes, you are straight Ermak with Khabarov! Look at that map.
            1. 0
              26 May 2021 12: 22
              The northeastern part of the region is in taiga-type forests ... Should I look at the map when I pick mushrooms there ... fool
    8. +3
      24 May 2021 11: 22
      And they said a swindler ...
    9. +3
      24 May 2021 11: 30
      nice however.
      1. -6
        24 May 2021 12: 39
        Surely it was not without Soviet drawings ... bully
      2. 0
        26 May 2021 07: 51
        nice however.
        Hmm ... The design looks disgusting. Both aesthetically and engineering. To be honest. No wonder all serious spaceplanes look like a rounded streamlined iron. Aerodynamic and thermal loads force. And those thin and long tail booms ...
    10. +2
      24 May 2021 12: 52
      They have closed everything already. Yes, and seriously, none of the entertainers of this event was going to do anything IMHO.
      Quote: isv000
      But a cosmodrome for suborbital flights in the Nizhny Novgorod region could already operate, but no, they still drive paper in a circle, agree ... fool
    11. +2
      24 May 2021 12: 58
      Pilots without high-altitude spacesuits - carelessness is off scale.
    12. 0
      25 May 2021 00: 07
      Lagging in space has become a habit for a long time.
      And Rogozin is not going to do hara-kiri, it just gets fat ...
      .
      The An-225 booster plane is miraculously preserved, is barbarously used as a truck, there is no Buran or Spiral at all ...
      1. 0
        25 May 2021 16: 50
        Well, Buran, in principle, was an unsuccessful project from an economic point of view. And the Spiral was just closed in favor of Buran.
    13. -2
      26 May 2021 01: 39
      The device resembles the shuttles from Odyssey-2001 by S. Kubrik, design of the late 60s good
      and Roskosmosos will rub their nose? Well, where is Rogozin's design reusable trampoline? wassat
    14. -2
      26 May 2021 01: 46
      Russia's lagging behind in space exploration has reached a point of no return. Already the Chinese have wiped their nose ... and the Arabs. Well, nothing right now, our space Buffoon will push another speech, about the Eagle-Federation-Lunar Station and Trampoline ... the Mask will scold .. and yes, he will build a new skyscraper in the form of a rocket ... ugh (((
      1. +2
        26 May 2021 12: 49
        Quote: Klingon
        Russia's lagging behind in space exploration has reached a point of no return.


        "Chef, the FSE is gone!" lol

        Meanwhile, at the Baikonur cosmodrome, complex factory tests of the MLM-U "Nauka" module have been successfully completed. And the preparation of the product began directly for the launch on July 15, 2021.



        In accordance with the work schedule until mid-July, installation of solar panels and placement of delivered cargoes, balancing and control weighing of the module, pressurization of pressurized compartments and control of the crew habitat, as well as the assembly of the space warhead, filling the tanks of the module with propellant components, general assembly of the space rocket is to be carried out. purpose, comprehensive testing of the components of the rocket and space complex, combined with their regular training, as well as a filling station, a universal technical and launch complex.
        1. -2
          26 May 2021 19: 16
          yes why the heck need this long-term "science"? finally, after 20 years, completed! when the station has already exhausted its resource. I actually wrote about space exploration beyond orbit. And here Russia is a distant outsider. The last attempt, as far as I remember, was the shameful start Phobos-soil
          1. +1
            26 May 2021 22: 45
            Quote: Klingon
            yes why the heck need this long-term construction "science"?


            Wow! Why the heck then space? laughing

            Quote: Klingon
            when the station has already exhausted its resource.


            It still flies for five years. Then we will make a new one.

            Quote: Klingon
            I actually wrote about space exploration beyond orbit.


            We master. At the Lagrange point L2 beyond the orbit of the Moon, the Russian station Spektr-RG cuts circles. Our scanners-spectrometers are in the orbit of the Moon and Mars, and soon Mercury.

            Quote: Klingon
            And here Russia is a distant outsider. The last attempt, as far as I remember, was the shameful start Phobos-soil


            Wrong. Russia launched on its rockets, and then used the IKI RAS in its scientific program - Mars-Express (ESA), Venera-Express (ESA). Today, we are using the ExoMars-2016 program (Roscosmos-ESA), launched by the TGO AMS, to the full, working on Mars from its orbit according to the Russian scientific program of Martian research. The discoveries of our scientists are regularly published in well-known scientific journals.

            This year, in October, the launch of the Luna-25 spacecraft from the Vostochny cosmodrome, the next - ExoMars-2022 from Baikonur, in 2024 - the Luna-26 spacecraft, in 2025 the Luna-27 spacecraft ".
            1. -2
              27 May 2021 07: 05
              wassat He is again about spectrometers on other people's AMS, this does not count.
              you repeat the same thing every time like a parrot Rogozin's relative or what?
              If I have a bike about. from Bergamont and the brakes are from Shimano, this does not mean that Shimano has launched the entire bike into production. And instead of Shimano, they could have put brakes from Tektro or Magura. So it is with spectrometers. Could be from anyone.
              Luna-25, 35, that's when it flies and then we will argue, otherwise it will be shifted to the right for a couple of years, the skyscraper and the sawmill are still more important laughing
              1. +1
                27 May 2021 09: 32
                Quote: Klingon
                wassat He is again about spectrometers on other people's AMS, this does not count.


                I see you don’t understand that a spectrometer is not a small box. This is quite a large box comparable to a satellite and it is not alone there. Consider that they were just a ride. laughing This time. Second, all of this was launched by us. Those. our rocket put the device on a certain flight path to Mars or Venus. If we draw an analogy with your beloved Phobos-Grunt, which failed the control system of its upper stage, then our RB did not refuse and everything accelerated and flew as needed.

                In addition, our Navigator platform of the Spektr-RG spacecraft has been successfully operating in deep space for two years now. Especially for you, an infographic about the location of the device:



                Quote: Klingon
                you repeat the same thing every time like a parrot Rogozin's relative or what?


                So the facts speak for themselves. To date, Russia is working perfectly from orbit both on the Moon and on Mars. In general, there are no problems with this.

                Quote: Klingon
                So it is with spectrometers. Could be from anyone.


                No, they couldn't. LRO and Beppi Colombo won international competitions - our devices turned out to be unique in their characteristics. And ExoMars is generally a joint program - there our devices are installed at the level of the apparatus design. Those. when designing it, the wishes of our developers were taken into account.

                Quote: Klingon
                Luna-25, 35, that's when it flies, then we'll talk ...


                Those. working Russian spacecraft beyond the orbit of the moon, do you want to see now? laughing Clear.
    15. 0
      26 May 2021 09: 26
      It is dangerous to fly on "this" - it will break off the tails with such windage. Even the Columbia's wing fell off.
      By the way, a suborbital flight at a speed of Mach 3 (see the English-language WIKI) is a cool PR. Then the first space "tourist" should be recognized as a monkey from the United States that flew in 1948 on a V-2, and, as not the case, heroically perished - a parachute, damn it.
    16. -1
      26 May 2021 13: 47
      to fly into space is not to ride on a ferris wheel ... space is not fun ... this flight and the subsequent ones are a game with death ............ in roulette with a colt with one cartridge to the temple

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