Blog of SpaceShipOne's Second X-Prize Flight (Space Ship One)

So here is my log of the 2nd flight of SpaceShipOne on October 4th, 2004 in it's historic attempt to fly to 100km twice in 2 weeks to win the X-Prize.

Time (ET)	Description
1143	Okay. I'm done. Heading to do real work.
1142	Pilot Brian Binnie is speaking. He is thankful that he lives in a country where this sort of thing can happen.
1139	The Virgin Airline's CEO is speaking about Virgin Galactic airlines. Burt is contracted to supply 5 (I think) spaceships in a couple of years.
1138	Paul is saying that the technology is incredible and everything went so well this morning.
1137	Paul Allen is talking. He got very emotional in the control room watching the milestones tick by. Burt just said that 40% of his investment has already been paid back.
1136	Burt is talking about SpaceShipTwo already. Wow. This guy is a real visionary.
1136	Burt is saying that they will developing a space tourism system that will be 100 times safer than anything that has gone into space before.
1134	Burt is talking about NASA right now. He has little respect for them. It's very evident. He thinks that NASA engineers are saying right now "We're screwed!"
1134	Burt is saying that they beat the X15 record from 1963 by 13,000ft.
1133	Burt is talking about the documentary done by the Discovery Channel. He loved it. "Amazing peice." has says. The team came over to his house to watch it last night.
1131	Peter Diamandis, President of X-Prize, is introducing Burt, Paul Allen, and pilot Brian Binnie.
1129	Some announcements coming up from Burt Rutan and questions from the press are coming up. They are yelling at the press to backup but no one is moving.
1128	The pilot Brian Binnie is getting out and will talk to the press.
1128	SS1 rolling up to great the crowd.
1126	At some point I'm going to have to go off to work and will finish this later thanks to the wonders of Tivo.
1126	More commercials.
1124	They are talking about how the experts thought the X-Prize would have been claimed by 2000. They were close to folding a number of times but each time a benefactor would step forward to keep the dream going.
1121	They are interviewing Eric Lindberg who is Charle's grandson and one of the VPs of the X-Prize. Supposedly the President of the X-Prize thought of the idea after reading about the prize that encouraged Charles Lindberg on his flight across the Atlantic.
1120	Now the space port is turning back into an airport. The chase planes are landing and private planes which came for the event will be heading back out.
1119	The Beach Starship, high altitude alpha jet, and the low altitude acrobatic chase planes are going their victory fly over.
1118	Back. White Knight is now landing.
1118	Commercial break. Arggggg.
1115	Brian Binnie is now the second civilian astronaut.
1115	Hatch is open and hugs all around!
1114	Wow.
1114	They beat the 14 day X-Prize limit by 10 days. Burt wanted a chance to fly a 3rd flight in case they had problems and needed to swap out to their backup engine.
1113	She's stopped at the end of the runway!
1113	She's down on the front skid now.
1112	Touchdown! Sorry. I typed that in a little early.
1112	Coming in.
1112	Landing gear down. 4,200 feet.
1111	6,000 feet downwind. Gliding down.
1111	7,000 feet turning towards the runway. Wind calm.
1111	7,500 feet getting set up for the landing.
1110	Now directly over the airport.
1110	Low altitude chase plane ejecting smoke contrail on purpose making it easy for folks on the ground to track SS1.
1109	9,000 feet. Lining up for the runway.
1108	The rules require that SS1 comes back in good shape and the pilot must be in "good health" to win the prize. Good health means that he is "still alive after 24 hours".
1107	Off to the East of the field now into the sun. Great shot of SS1 flanked by 2 chase planes.
1107	16,000 feet.
1106	Passing through 17,000 feet.
1106	Less than 5 minutes before touch down.
1105	They are banking around the field, bleeding more speed.
1104	Beach Starship chase plane has intercepted SS1 and they are going over the vehicle visually.
1104	I should have been there for this. Not watching it on this stupid channel.
1103	Oh for god's sake. They aren't showing SS1 or talking about it at all. They are now talking to someone in St. Louis. Grrrrrrr.
1100	SS1 must be still circling the field. The high altitude chase plane should have reached SS1 by now and will be going over the craft visually.
1100	Show SS1 you fools. Don't show this woman! HELLO? MCFLY?!?
1058	They are talking to the title benefactor of the $10 million X-Prize.
1058	It will take another couple of minutes as it bleeds its speed, circles the field, and sets up the landing.
1058	Back. SS1 is now a glider. Feather is down.
1057	The last time Brian flew SS1, he crashed on the landing, the wheels buckling because he came down too fast. They have improved the flight controls since then and I'm sure he's done the landing again tens of times in the simulators.
1055	At this point SS1 is probably de-feathering and turning back into a glider.
1055	They are going to commercial. DAMMIT! God dammit. Fools.
1054	They are dumping the spare nitrous-oxide. In previous flights this has caused some severe buffeting but it looks like not too much today. Passing through 3 Gs of deceleration.
1053	180,000 ft in reentry.
1053	315,000 ft on his way back.
1052	Unofficially 368,000ft!!! Holy cow! Shattering the X15 records. They expect official radar numbers within an hour.
1052	He is slowing and now SS1 is at apogee.
1052	350,000 and still climbing!!!
1051	Unofficially in space!
1051	Feather activated. Still climbing.
1051	Black sky. Still climbing.
1050	200,000 ft! Engines off but still climbing.
1050	140,000 ft. Very, very straight.
1050	Passing 100,000. Straight as an arrow!
1049	Passing 60,000 ft.
1049	Looking very nice and stable!!
1049	Ignition!
1049	Separation!
1049	20 seconds to release!
1046	Showing mission control. Still looking bored and waiting for separation. Love to graph their adrenaline levels over the next couple of minutes.
1044	Very close to separation.
1043	They are talking about the pilot Brian Binnie. He has an extensive military experience which include numerous carrier landings and test pilot flights. He has also been heavily involved with the civilian air and space programs and he was a member of the Rotary Rocket team, designed their cockpit, and flew their only test flight before the Rotary company folded.
1042	They are back. More live pictures of the craft. The pilot is going over the pre-drop checklist and has just reset the trim of SS1.
1040	Stupid commercials. They better not miss the drop. I bet this is the last break before the drop and flight. She's 50 years old and uses bowflex. Who cares.
1038	They are above 44,000 feet.
1038	They are going over more file footage for SS1. Part glider and part space ship. They are talking about the hinged wing that feathers up at the top of the flight dropping SS1 into a maximum drag and perfect horizontal configuration which balances the reentry heat over the entire craft.
1035	The "Karman Line" is defined as 100km and is a somewhat arbitrary definition of where the atmosphere ends and space begins. This is not low orbit however. To get to low earth orbit, the space shuttle goes higher and flies 17,500 mph across the top of the atmosphere.
1033	White Knight and SS1 are up at 43,500 heading to 46,000 ft. Starts off at a 30 degree takeoff angle but now, because the air is so thin, it takes a while to climb.
1031	I am SICK of the stupid "62 mile" definition of space altitude. Just say 100 kilometers. Is it really so incomprehensible for us stupid Americans?
1031	They are showing some footage and defining the X-Prize.
1029	Brian Binnie is today's pilot. He flew the first powered flight when they lit the engine's for 15 seconds. He broke the sound barrier going 900mph almost straight up. When he came back to land, however, he came down too fast and crashed. The left wheel strut failed and SS1 veered off the runway and into the scrub and sand off of the runway.
1028	Things have slowed a bit because the rate of climb has changed. This depends on temperature at altitude. They are at 42,000 feet and another 10 or 20 minutes before separation.
1026	Mike Melville, the pilot of the two previous 100km SS1 flights is not at the helm today. There are 3 test pilots who have been training to fly SS1.
1024	So White Knight climbs over the field but then moves off to the NE so on Wednesday, when it released and started it's engine, it was 30 degrees off the dessert to the NE, far downrange. This is probably in case of catastrophic failure, it is above less populated areas.
1023	15 minutes away from separation. They are about 39,000ft climbing up another 6,000ft to the drop height of 45,000.
1021	On Wednesday Mike Melville, the pilot, got into a heavy roll at the top of the flight. He was going right up however at a perfect angle. Mike thinks that he just over compensated and got into the roll.
1019	They are showing the footage from the 29th on Wednesday. I was there in the crowd with the rest of the space geeks. Loads of fun.
1019	Every foot they claw their way up turns into 5 feet of altitude at the top.
1018	They are at 33,000 feet. White Knight has turned on the afterburners because they are in very thin air.
1018	The X-Prize group bet an insurance company that someone could get the prize by the end of the year.
1013	They are showing other groups that are competing for the X-Prize. The Canadian group is using a balloon to carry the rocket up to 80,000 feet. It will land back on the ground via a parachute. There is another group which is taking the German V2 rocket and adding flight controls and human capsule.
1012	They are back live and are showing the takeoff again. Mojave is in a dessert valley around the rim of which are some huge wind turbine farms.
1011	Tuesday, 10/12 beginning at 8pm ET, there is a recap of both flights on the Discovery channel. Looks like a ton of cool footage.
1009	They are talking about the acrobatic chase plane which is used also as a test plane. Previous SS1 pilot Mike Melville used it to train pulling up to 7 Gs to prepare him for the 5 Gs that he will get upon reentry. He also used it to train for regaining control in stall and other out-of-control situations. Today's pilot is Brian Binnie.
1007	The high chase plane training jet just took off.
1007	White Knight is now at 25,000ft, about halfway up to the drop altitude.
1006	Also at the Mojave Spaceport there is X-Corp (sp?) which is another spacecraft business which is designing an aircraft which takes off directly from the runway, climbs itself using a standard jet engine, and then engages its rockets to go suborbital above 100km.
1002	They are interviewing the FAA representative on the site who is explaining that the FAA works with governmental and commercial space launch companies. Scaled Composite is the first company to apply for a reusable launch license. It requires a more flexible FAA regulatory and licensing approach. They worry about insurance, environmental impact, etc..
1001	We are seeing shots showing White Knight and the Beach Starship chase plane from Edwards Airforce Base which is in the same valley. They have high speed and high magnification tracking cameras at the base. They will also use dual radars to verify altitude.
1000	Ooooh. They are showing some models of SS1 which will be buyable soon. That will be fun for Tim.
1000	We are seeing pictures of SS1 slung below the White Knight up at altitude. They have cameras on the White Knight as well as on a SS1 wingtip.
0958	During the first flight, I snuck over a dark section of the field and into the "Special" visitors and press area. It turned out that the general admission area got a better view and was less crowded. Only 5,000 people showed up last Wednesday as opposed to 12,000 in June with the first flight above 100km. I've not heard about how many people showed up today.
0956	On Wednesday, we listened in a bit to the conversations on short wave radios in the crowd as White Knight climbed above the airport. The pilot is going through the check lists and visualizing the flight ahead of him.
0955	Just showed the Scaled Composite control room. They look bored as White Knight circles and climbs. It will take at least 45 minutes.
0954	You can be smoke free for years. Oops. Science Channel on commercial.
0952	A couple of flights back, part of the tail assembly on SS1 buckled when it reached the top of the flight scaring the pilot, Mike Melville, into thinking that there was something wrong with the craft. The chase planes go over the craft visually to make sure it all looks good.
0950	On Thursday, aside from jet trainer which intercepts SS1 on it's way down at high altitude, there was a single prop acrobatic plane as well as one of Rutan's dual prop planes which fly up with White Knight and intercept SS1 on the way down at lower altitude.
0950	The FAA has regulations on the upper level winds to make sure that in the event of an explosion, no debris reaches the town of Mojave.
0949	They are off the ground. White Knight and SS1 have taken off to the NW and then will bank to the East and start circling and climbing.
0948	They are turning onto the runway to take off to the NW.
0948	Ship is rolling.
0946	The Science Channel has cut away and is showing some history.
0945	Did I already share that my spelling sucks? The reader will have to deal with it. Oh, and I'm using this very cool blog tool on my site this morning. It's called "Emacs".
0943	During the Black Sky program, Rutan says that SS1 is part of his "Tier 1" program which is suborbital. He is also planning tier 2 (orbital) and tier 3 (inter-planetary) vehicles.
0943	After White Knight and SS1 take off, they will fly up, circling the field for 45 minutes until they get up to 50,000ft.
0941	White Knight will take off with 2 chase planes initially and then the high altitude jet, her 3rd chase plane will take off when they are close to the drop.
0941	On Wednesday, during the first launch, it was very cool out on the dessert and warmed rapidly after the sun came up.
0940	I highly recommend watching the Discovery Channel's Black Sky program about Burt Rutan's and Scaled Composite's quest to win the X-Prize. Lots of fun for all space geeks!!
0940	The science channel cuts to commercial. The bastards!!
0939	It passes the main hangers and the general viewing area.
0938	SS1 and White Knight pass the press area and the crowd gives a cheer.
0938	Scaled Composite's hanger is to the NW of the Mojave Spaceport.
0935	SS1 and White Knight have pulled out of Scaled Composite's hanger and are taxiing down towards the runway.
0930	SS1 pushed out of the hanger this morning at 4am. All systems look good.
0930	Weather looks good. On Wednesday, during the first flight, winds moderated right around sun up and it looks like the same thing is happening now. Meteorologists say that there are no low or high clouds and weather looks optimal.
0928	Just got finished with clearing out the drain in one of our sinks upstairs and start this page.

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