Space Ship Launch Tomorrow!

[Mike Phillips]

Tomorrow at 6:30am, the first *Private* manned space ship will be launched from the Mojave Desert.

My family has been invited and given a VIP pass to watch from the viewing platform. Here's a link to their website,

Space Ship Website

Here's what the SpaceShipOne looks like,



Here's SpaceShipOne getting a lift into the air,



Here's a link to more photos...

More photos

Sometime next month I have been asked to conduct a detailing clinic for the crew and employees of Scaled Composites. Seems as though a majority of these folks are car crazy and Meguiar's fans! They would also like me to show them how to maintain the paint on the Spaceships! Cool!

Mike



Mike

[gb387]

That is awesome! Don't they get something for being the first private manned space flight? They go up to space come back and go up again in a certain period of time in the same vehicle?

[rusty bumper]

I saw that on the news tonight....I wonder if they will pass through the heat belt upon reentry to the atomsphere?

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by gb387
That is awesome! Don't they get something for being the first private manned space flight? They go up to space come back and go up again in a certain period of time in the same vehicle?

The prize is something like 1 million dollars? Maybe more. I'll be sure to ask while I'm there today. Getting ready to leave right now. It's about a 2-hour drive from here and they recommend getting there an hour early.

I'll take some photos too!

Mike

[Rockpick]

10 million I believe.

I hope you snap some photos Mike! I bet R... will LOVE seeing something like this (and I'm sure his dad will as well! HA!)

RP

[jfelbab]

Successful flight. That thing looks like something out of Flash Gordon.

I can see Mike working on it with a PC and some NXT.

[Rockpick]

LOL!! Yeah Mike, did you drop off a few business cards? Someone has to buff that thing out on occasion...

I'm sure they'll have it all shiney when they show up to claim the XPRIZE!

[Mike Phillips]

What a show! It was fun watching history being made!

Rick Aldrich, the Crew Chief for today's successful launch, originally contacted me about conducting a detailing clinic for all the employees of Scaled.com, seems as though the majority of people that work at and are involved with SpaceShipOne and the race to win the 10 Million dollar XPRIZE! are all car crazy and want to learn more about how to maintain their cars with Meguiar's.

Rich also told me that the plant manager would like to learn more about Meguiar’s Mold Release Waxes for their tooling processes.

Some of the other issues they are interested in are how to blend in repairs and how to make wing leading edges smooth through wet sanding and buffing.

Rick told me that they have numerous employees with classic cars and numerous homebuilt aircraft available to demonstrating product and procedures.

So it looks like sometime next month I'll have a chance to host a Meguiar’s Detailing clinic at Scaled, and I'm going to get to buff-out my first Space Ship!

Here are some pictures from this mornings successful private launch of a manned spaceship into space.

There were at least a thousand people on hand to watch this historic moment. Here's a pictures of the White Knight with the SpaceShipOne connected to the under, and inside area of the White Night. The White Knight lifts and carries SpaceShipOne into high altitude whereupon they separate and then SpaceShipOne continues it's trip into space.



Here are some pictures of SpaceShipOne, connected to the White Knight preparing for take-off,









Here you can see the White Knight climbing into the air here in the beautiful Mojave desert.



Here's a picture of both planes shortly after they separated,



After gaining more altitude, SpaceShipOne fired off it's rocket and shot into space! It actually looked like it was headed straight for the sun, but after a few seconds you could see it climb past the sun and into blue sky.



After entering zero gravity and then floating in space for around 3-5 minutes, SpaceShipOne headed back to earth and landed at the Mojave Desert Airport. Here it is touching down just in front of the wind sock. The Chase Plane can be seen flying overhead.



After landing and describing the experience, pilot Mike Melvill takes a Victory lap riding atop SpaceShipOne!

[rusty bumper]

Wow! What an experience! The scenery alone was worth the trip.

One question though...Why did it take so long for the mother plane to reach 47,000 feet? A commercial jetliner could reach that altitude in less time I presume.

[Scottwax]

Mike, that is some really cool stuff! You must feel very honored to be considered to detail the spaceship. I expect lots of pics!

[gb387]

That is just amazing! Think its all without the backing and know how of NASA! How long did it take from take off to landing?

[perry]

Neat! That launch aircraft is pretty wild looking!

[Mike Phillips]

Almost forgot, Buzz Aldrin was there, (One of the first Astronauts to walk on the moon).



This was also kind of interesting in a futuristic, George Jetson kind of way, here's the Mojave Airport Control Tower,



Here's a close-up of the sign,



Mike

[rjstaaf]

Originally posted by Rusty Bumper
Wow! What an experience! The scenery alone was worth the trip.

One question though...Why did it take so long for the mother plane to reach 47,000 feet? A commercial jetliner could reach that altitude in less time I presume.

Airliners typically race to cruising altitude as fast as they can as that is where the best fuel economy is going to be. If they didn't have to take passenger comfort into account you can bet they would push the plane to its maximum climb rate.

They probably took their leisurely time getting Space Ship One to 47,000 as there was no rush and there were probably lots of checks to do as they went up.

The Beechcraft Starship was an awesome choice as a chase plane. I love those things! I believe Rutan had a hand in their design as well if I recall. Below is a link to an individuals Beechcraft Starship site where you can see more pics of the Starship as well as Space Ship One and the White Knight.

http://www.bobscherer.com/Pages/Starship.htm

[atclew]

Originally posted by rjstaaf
I believe Rutan had a hand in their design as well if I recall.

This is going to jump around quite a bit. It's 3 am, I'm tired, and have insomnia!

Burt Rutan did have quite a bit to do with this project. He also flew the Proteus a month or so back at an altitude of 55,000ft. I had the distinct pleasure of controlling his flight as it traversed Northern Illinois. Not that there were any other aircraft within 14,000ft of him, but we have to keep radio contact anyway.

Okay now to my area of expertise; Airliners typically fly at a cruising altitude of 31,000ft to 39,000ft, depending on the type of aircraft. We express those numbers as FL310-FL390 so I'll do the same here. Occasionally some aircraft that airlines fly will make it to an altitude of FL410 (41,000ft), but not within the first hour or so after departure.

There are some occasions, at least in the Chicago Metro area, where we have to restrict aircraft below it's cruising altitude for a short time, as long as 15 minutes on rare instances. If we have the time, and the chance to do so, we will ask a pilot to push his aircraft a little bit beyond normal operating characteristics. Meaning, you as a passenger will be reclined in your seat a little bit further back than you are accustomed to. No need to worry, we are just getting you that much closer to your snack/meal/beverage service.

Sheesh, I hope some of this made sense to someone. I've rambled on enough. If anyone wants to know anything else avaition (air traffic control), feel free to contact me in anyway. As I'm here to learn from you pro's about detailing who are so glad to share your expertise, I'm more than happy to share mine to satisfy the curious or discouraged flier.

Clear, Blue, and 22