Ready for Rocket Power (10G)

The rocket engine had been qualified only a few weeks previously and was ready to make its debut. Test flight 10G would be the last glide flight before attempting to light off the rocket engine with SpaceShipOne. Figure 7. IS shows Brian Binnie readying himself for his first flight in SpaceShipOne, and figure 7.16 shows flight engineer Matt Stinemetze making preparations in White Knight right before takeoff.

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Flight Test Log Excerpt for 10G

Date: 4 December 2003

Flight Number Pilot/Flight Engineer

SpaceShipOne 10G Brian Binnie

White Knight 42L Pete Siebold/Matt Stinemetze

Objective: The seventh glide flight of SpaceShipOne and new pilot check out. Full functional check of the propulsion system by cold flowing nitrous oxide. Completed airspeed and positive and negative g-envelope expansion.

(source: Mojave Aerospace Ventures LLC, provided courtesy of Scaled Composites)

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Fig. 7.17. SpaceShipOne was released at a height of 48,400 feet (14,750 meters). This video­capture image shows SpaceShipOne and White Knight mated up just prior to separation. The contrails from White Knight’s turbojet engines can be seen trailing off in the background.

Mojave Aerospace Ventures LLC, video capture provided courtesy of Discovery Channel and Vulcan Productions, Inc.

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Brian Binnie would now have a chance behind the control stick of SpaceShipOne. White Knight carried SpaceShipOne to the highest release altitude yet, 48,400 feet (14,750 meters). Figure 7.17 shows a close – up of SpaceShipOne attached to White Knight with the contrails from White Knight’s afterburners streamed away in the background.

A cold run of the rocket was performed. Binnie used all the controls and instruments for the rocket, including flowing the liquid N20 oxidizer
through the CTN (case/throat/nozzle) as if it were an actual rocket burn. However, without igniting the fuel, no combustion occurred.

After the successful cold run, Binnie turned his attention to com­pleting the airspeed and g-force envelope expansion. Binnie pushed SpaceShipOne the hardest so far, and when finished, he glided back to Mojave, as shown in figure 7.18, eager for the next phase of flight testing to begin.

Up to this point, the contrails in the air only came from the twin turbojets on White Knight After a total of ten unpowered flights, some captive carry and some glide, SpaceShipOne was ready to light its hybrid rocket engine for the first time in the sky. Tyson V. Rininger