(Source: Virgin Galactic press release)

Sir Richard Branson witnesses vehicle-proving milestone as company sets year-end goal for spaceflight

MOJAVE, Calif. – Today, Virgin Galactic, the world’s first commercial spaceline owned by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group and Abu Dhabi’s aabar Investments PJC, completed the first rocket-powered flight of its space vehicle, SpaceShipTwo (SS2). The test, conducted by teams from Scaled Composites (Scaled) and Virgin Galactic, officially marks Virgin Galactic’s entrance into the final phase of vehicle testing prior to commercial service from Spaceport America in New Mexico.

“The first powered flight of Virgin Spaceship Enterprise was without any doubt, our single most important flight test to date,” said Virgin Galactic Founder Sir Richard Branson, who was on the ground in Mojave to witness the occasion. “For the first time, we were able to prove the key components of the system, fully integrated and in flight. Today’s supersonic success opens the way for a rapid expansion of the spaceship’s powered flight envelope, with a very realistic goal of full space flight by the year’s end. We saw history in the making today and I couldn’t be more proud of everyone involved.”

The test began at 7.02am local time when SS2 took off from Mojave Air and Space Port mated to WhiteKnightTwo (WK2), Virgin Galactic’s carrier aircraft. Piloting SS2 were Mark Stucky, pilot, and Mike Alsbury, co-pilot, who are test pilots for Scaled, which built SS2 for Virgin Galactic. At the WK2 controls were Virgin Galactic’s Chief Pilot Dave Mackay, assisted by Clint Nichols and Brian Maisler, co-pilot and flight test engineer, respectively, for Scaled.

Upon reaching 47,000 feet altitude and approximately 45 minutes into the flight, SS2 was released from WK2. After cross-checking data and verifying stable control, the pilots triggered ignition of the rocket motor, causing the main oxidizer valve to open and igniters to fire within the fuel case. At this point, SS2 was propelled forward and upward to a maximum altitude of 55,000 feet. The entire engine burn lasted 16 seconds, as planned. During this time, SS2 went supersonic, achieving Mach 1.2.

“We partnered with Virgin Galactic several years ago with the aspiration to transform and commercialize access to space for the broader public,” said His Excellency Khadem Al Qubaisi, Chairman of aabar Investments PJC. “Today’s test is another key milestone in realizing that aspiration. Our partnership goes from strength to strength, and is an excellent example of aabar’s desire to participate in the development of world class technologies that are commercially viable and strategically important, both for the company, its shareholders, and for Abu Dhabi.”

The entire rocket-powered flight test lasted just over 10 minutes, culminating in a smooth landing for SS2 in Mojave at approximately 8am local time.

“The rocket motor ignition went as planned, with the expected burn duration, good engine performance and solid vehicle handling qualities throughout,” said Virgin Galactic President & CEO George Whitesides. “The successful outcome of this test marks a pivotal point for our program. We will now embark on a handful of similar powered flight tests, and then make our first test flight to space.”

In the coming months, the Virgin Galactic and Scaled test team will expand the spaceship’s powered flight envelope culminating in full space flight, which the companies anticipate will take place before the end of 2013.

“I’d like to congratulate the entire team,” said President of Scaled Kevin Mickey. “This milestone has been a long time coming and it’s only through the hard work of the team and the tremendous support of Virgin Galactic that we have been able to witness this important milestone. We look forward to all our upcoming tests and successes.”

Congratulations to Virgin Galactic and Scaled Composites on the successful test flight PF-01, the first rocket-powered test flight of SpaceShipTwo, which took place around 07:50PDT in the airspace above Mojave Air and Space Port.

SS2 was carried to an altitude of 47,000 feet by the WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft and released in a glide. After propulsion system cross-checks, pilots Mark Stucky and Mike Alsbury commanded ignition of SS2's hybrid motor. The motor burned for 16 seconds, propelling the spaceplane to an altitude of 56,000 feet, and a speed of Mach 1.2. Following engine shutdown, the vehicle proceeded in a glide back to Mojave, landing safely on the runway around 10 minutes later.

• Momentous day for space travel -- Richard Branson/Virgin blog

(Source: UK Space Agency)

Friday 19th July

Surrey Space Centre (SSC) and AMSAT-UK invite anyone with CubeSat equipment to a ‘Bring Your Own Board’ (BYOB) workshop. The aims are to demonstrate your latest CubeSat developments, to foster new partnerships and links within the UK and EU community, and encouraging more interaction with AMSAT-UK and the Colloquium.

The workshop is free to attend or present at, opening from 9am to 4pm. Ad-hoc tours to SSC’s new cleanroom, ground-station, and CubeSat experimentation facilities will be provided.

Information for Demonstrators:

* Must have working hardware for demonstrating to visitors, i.e. TRL 5-6 and above.
* Provide a 1 slide overview of their developments & how it can benefit new UK missions for public show.
* We will provide a 1.5m table, power & 1m poster area.

For more information, see the AMSAT-UK website

(Source: Facebook)

The UK Space Design Competition has been awarded a £20,000 Ingenious grant by the Royal Academy of Engineering. They will be using the funds to expand the scope of the Competition, running more regional events, and new 12 hour Micro-Competitions for younger students.

Richard Branson informed the Las Vegas Sun of plans to conduct the first powered test flight of the SpaceShipTwo spacecraft from Mojave Air and Space Port on Monday. This first flight is expected to exceed Mach 1:

"That’s your Virgin Galactic project. What’s ahead for that?"

"We’re hoping to break the sound barrier. That’s planned Monday. It will be a historic day. This is going to be Virgin Galactic’s year. We’ll break the sound barrier Monday and from there, we build up through the rest of the year, finally going into space near the end of the year. I’ll be on the first official flight, which we look to have in the first quarter of next year. We’re doing a number of test flights into space first."

A NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) has been issued limiting access for civilian pilots in the airspace around Mojave:

• Excitement Building in Mojave for First SpaceShipTwo Powered Flight -- Parabolic Arc

Security will be tight around the spaceport perimeter, to discourage casual onlookers:-

• If You’re Coming to Mojave on Monday, You’ll Need Your Stinkin’ Badges -- Parabolic Arc

(Source: University of Leicester)

UK artist has produced an art installation inspired by University of Leicester astronomers’ discoveries of a gamma ray burst

UK artist Dave Griffiths’ new project is inspired by the work of University of Leicester scientists, who are monitoring data from the Swift space observatory.

Griffiths spent three days at the UK Swift Science Data Centre with Professor Julian Osborne and Dr Kim Page, based in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Leicester.

The artist-in-residence collaboration is funded by Manchester Metropolitan University’s MIRIAD Research Institute for Art and Design.

The overall exhibition, Extinction Event, which runs for six weeks, will unveil Griffiths’ window vinyl display in the cafebar at Phoenix which will be in place for a year. The exhibition will open from Friday 12 April.

(Source: Royal Aeronautical Society)

2nd July 2013, RAeS, London

Space debris is a man-made threat to the continued use of space for commerce, science, exploration and security. The threat has manifested itself in accidental damage to, and even destruction of, objects in space, as well as requiring increasingly regular avoidance manoeuvres by threatened satellites.

This conference will bring together experts in the field to discuss the evolution of the threat, the implications for the various stakeholders and the actions that can be taken to resolve the situation. The conference is timed to inform the community about ongoing political initiatives and to encourage informed participation in those initiatives. The choice of London as the conference venue is designed to ensure maximum participation by stakeholders from the financial world – both insurance and banking - since they have the potential to quantify in financial terms the scale of the threat and thus complement the more highly publicised political and technical initiatives.

The speakers (both civil and military) will include space lawyers and financiers, public sector space officials, and representatives from the space industry and space academia.
If you are interested in reading more about 'Space in 2013' you can via the Space specialist group website.

The British Interplanetary Society has recruited gifted 16-year-old student Like Bussell to take part in its Kicksat picosatellite development project.

• Video: Star pupil is hired for space project -- Yorkshire Post

Rocketeer comments: I'm also part of the Kicksat project, and hope to report more on our progress soon.