Virgin Galactic's WhiteKnightTwo spaceship carrier gets unveiled

It looks like the Mojave Desert is once again the center of the private space industry, with Richard Branson and crew on hand to unveil Virgin Galactic's WhiteKnightTwo spaceship carrier as promised. This craft (only the first of more that are promised) has been named EVE (after Branson's mother) and, with a 140-foot wingspan, it's apparently now officially the largest all carbon-composite aircraft ever made. Eventually, it'll be used to help carry the yet-to-be-completed SpaceShipTwo craft in orbit although, as Burt Rutan himself tells Space.com, that's still a little ways off, with him saying that while could be ready to go after just 40 tests flights, they'll likely do a few more than that for good measure. Head on past the break for a few more pics.

Read - Space.com, "Virgin Galactic Unveils Space Liner Mothership "
Read - Wired Science, "First Look at Virgin Galactic's New Mothership, WhiteKnightTwo"

[Jake @ Jul 28th 2008 12:14PM]

"To Unveil" is in there twice :).

[TheDude @ Jul 28th 2008 12:17PM]

maybe they're pulling the ships out separately?

: )

[ryan @ Jul 28th 2008 12:17PM]

"To Unveil" is in there twice :).

[Andrew Borem @ Jul 28th 2008 12:22PM]

You suck!

[rock99rock @ Jul 28th 2008 12:23PM]

Pete and Re-Pete walk into a bar...

[Jake @ Jul 28th 2008 12:27PM]

Well....now they fixed it. So....my comment means nothing.


Hopefully other airlines can take after Virgins lead and make flying enjoyable again.

[George @ Jul 28th 2008 12:31PM]

Re-Pete!!!

[thatrotierkid @ Jul 28th 2008 12:37PM]

Maybe other airlines should take Virgins lead and not put everything in one basket so their companies dont crumple when gas prices go up

[Got Fr4g? @ Jul 29th 2008 8:29AM]

" 'To unveil' is in there twice :)." is in there twice :)

[Scott @ Jul 28th 2008 12:14PM]

Contest for tickets???

jkjk

[TheDude @ Jul 28th 2008 12:17PM]

YEAH!!!!!

[OneLove @ Jul 28th 2008 12:22PM]

...so which engadget editor yelled "First!"

http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/23/spaceshiptwo-white-knight-two-designs-unveiled-arent-they-cut/

http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/26/whiteknighttwo-to-be-unveiled-on-monday-space-to-seem-less-far/

[derX @ Jul 28th 2008 2:44PM]

You do realize they just happen to use the same picture, right?

....I would assume the editor of the January post would have called first...since....he posted first.

[OneLove @ Jul 28th 2008 2:52PM]

@derX: This article also had the same picture, but it was changed...and yes, I am smarter than you.

[derX @ Jul 28th 2008 4:05PM]

Wait, I'm just confused as to why you made your comment if the two links you've presented lead to two articles published a long time apart whose only similarities are the picture and topic (not the content, though)...would you care to elucidate?

And you may very well be smarter than I...although I never made any claims on either of our levels of intelligence.

No hard feelings,

derX

[OneLove @ Jul 28th 2008 11:57PM]

@derX: Its all good. I forgot the smiley face :)

[backbeat @ Jul 28th 2008 12:26PM]

^wtf

[NHAnimator @ Jul 28th 2008 12:29PM]

So who gets to be the pilot and who's the co-pilot?

[Matthew Hilario @ Jul 28th 2008 12:33PM]

:::filipino accent:::
probably a pair of pliers.

[Nightmare @ Jul 31st 2008 5:26PM]

whoever volunteered to die first I suppose. :)

[Eric @ Aug 2nd 2008 1:58PM]

time to call the suicide hotline...
and what about the passengers??

[derekdd30 @ Aug 11th 2008 1:59PM]

Pete pilots the first fuseloge and Re-Pete pilots the second fuseloge.

[dwr50 @ Jul 28th 2008 12:33PM]

Looks like they glued two Lear jets together... but if it works...who cares.

[Mile @ Jul 28th 2008 1:27PM]

I care. I do. How the heck does it work? Pilot in one and co-pilot in the other just in case? And why? Why two fuselages? Why don't any of these posts about it address this design?

[Adamwho @ Aug 3rd 2008 9:26PM]

It has worked, were you asleep during the x-prize?

[Ron Smith @ Jul 28th 2008 12:35PM]

more pictures are available here:

http://virgingalactic.com/pressftp/

[Ron Smith @ Jul 28th 2008 12:37PM]

And since that seems to be taking too long, I posted one image on this forum:

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=13744.30

[kjb434 @ Jul 28th 2008 12:37PM]

So i guess the black night is not being involved and is left at the bridge charging tolls? Anyway, it was just a flesh wound.


P.S. How long is it until Jesse Jackass and Al "Nappy Headed Ho" Sharpton protest the name?

[Marc-O @ Jul 28th 2008 9:40PM]

You're so witty ! It has "white" in the name and you made a racial joke ! I get it !

[doudOSX @ Jul 31st 2008 6:59PM]

you sir are an idiot

[phanbouy @ Jul 28th 2008 12:40PM]

high quality comments this morning i see

[Najakwa @ Jul 28th 2008 12:40PM]

I'm no rocket-surgeon, but that thing looks terribly deficient. If that wing breaks apart in the middle there, both those pilots will have major problems. I hope it works though, it would be really cool to see that happen.

[Jason @ Jul 28th 2008 12:47PM]

The previous version worked very well, carrying SpaceShipOne to 50,000 feet several times.

This is only half the spaceship. This is the part that gets up to 50,000 feet, then SpaceShipTwo drops from the middle and rockets up to around 330,000 feet, above 62miles(100km), which is technically where "space" starts.

[Lowest Ranked @ Jul 28th 2008 12:50PM]

Read: Carbon Composite.

[iamsoinsane @ Jul 28th 2008 1:00PM]

I'm not too sure..... ;)
But wouldnt any aircraft wing that broke, the pilot would have major problems?

But then again, maybe not...

[Najakwa @ Jul 28th 2008 1:04PM]

good to hear from all the rocket-surgeons out there. i knew i was stupid!

[David @ Jul 28th 2008 1:38PM]

This isn't two wings joined weakly at the tips. It's one wing, sharing a structural spar right down the middle. There just happen to be two loads hanging off of it (three when Spaceship Two is attached in the center). Since the control surfaces on each fuselage operate in concert (and probably even if they didn't), there cannot be enough strain on the wing to snap it. Remember, this plane was designed by Burt Rutan, who's set many records and won the X-Prize.

[futurepastnow @ Jul 28th 2008 1:20PM]

That's probably the strongest wing ever made (for its weight and thickness, at least).

[granny down east @ Jul 28th 2008 2:59PM]

Broken wing? No problem.
http://www.rockwellcollins.com/news/video/damage-tolerance.html

[OneLove @ Jul 28th 2008 3:00PM]

rocket-surgeon?

[Richard @ Jul 28th 2008 4:38PM]

OneLove,
Really? That's a new one for you?

[OneLove @ Jul 28th 2008 11:56PM]

sorry, I know rocket scientist, never heard of the other.

[Eric @ Aug 2nd 2008 2:05PM]

@onelove

its just a combo of rocket scientist and brain surgeon

hence rocket surgeon

[John De Vries Ralph Bromley @ Jul 28th 2008 12:41PM]

Why two? How do they coordinate them? don't get it.

[norm @ Jul 28th 2008 4:13PM]

They probably coordinate through Instant Messenger... or they text each other.

[WhIteSidE @ Jul 28th 2008 7:46PM]

The control surfaces are linked and flown from one fuselage or the other. I suspect in actual operations that they will only have flight crew in one side or the other.

I WhiteKnight (the original) they used all push rods for control and it worked fine. It's just with this big a launch craft, if they went with the white knight one style design they would have an incredibly high and unweidly cockpit.

[John De Vries Ralph Bromley @ Jul 28th 2008 12:44PM]

Where is this thing supposed to go?

[Zal @ Jul 28th 2008 12:50PM]

To infinity. And beyond!

[Michael @ Aug 2nd 2008 6:16PM]

it's always been a great mystery to me exactly where infinity starts

[Spyvie @ Jul 28th 2008 12:44PM]

Whats with the fixation on Branson? This is Burt Rutan and Scaled Composit's aircraft, and I'm quite certain it would exist without some European playboy's financial involvement.

Nothing against European involvement, and not to deny Sir Richard another chance to get his image in the news, but at least give credit where credit is due please... kudos to American free enterprise.