Rutans' X-prize Entry Tested In Re-Entry Configuration 27
evenprime writes "Burt Rutan's X-Prize entry has completed another drop test. This is the second drop over-all, and the first with its wings locked into their re-entry position. The flight results are here."
Pictures! (Score:5, Informative)
Scoll down to the bottom to get to the newest pictures. Hope the server doesn't get hammered.
Re:Pictures! (Score:3, Informative)
"The windows must be small to keep the weight of the vehicle down and they must be round to minimize the structural loads. This configuration is also the least expensive to manufacture. Each portal consists of two windows to provide redundancy for the integrity of the pressure vessel should one window
Drop-test? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Drop-test? (Score:2)
NASA (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:NASA (Score:2, Insightful)
If you read it really quickly... (Score:2)
"Lock your X-foils in attack position"...
I don't think Carmack is going to win the X-prize (Score:1)
Steamrolling (Score:2, Insightful)
the others are keeping too quiet (Score:3, Insightful)
Is it because it's the only one that's doing anything? Or is it more like it's the only one that's making all their results public?
(or quite possibly, in true slashdot tradition, it could be just because it's the one that looks the coolest?
Re:the others are keeping too quiet (Score:3, Insightful)
Won't make a lot of money betting agains Rutan (Score:2)
My mother
A nun
Paul MacCready
Gene Krantz
Steve Case until 2001
Steve Jobs 1977-1983 & 2001-2003
Any of the Rutans
It just ain't smart.
Re:the others are keeping too quiet (Score:1)
Are you kidding? How about Carmack's Armadillo Aerospace [google.com]?
Re:the others are keeping too quiet (Score:2, Insightful)
To address your last point first, I'd say that, on slashdot anyway, Carmack is getting a lot more coverage & support than Rutan. I think mostly because he's famous for videogames, th
Re:the others are keeping too quiet (Score:2)
They are trying to be number one and since they are coming from a neuratic business world, they think they have to be quiet here. Burt and John thrive on info and know that you need ppl to participate to some degree. Once these companies are off the ground, they will need customers.
Remember that all of these guys are trying hard to create a business. I am guessing that Rutan is thinking ahead and almost certainly will be going up to orbit on the scaled up
Not quite... (Score:2)
Carmack because of his fame within the community, Rutan because of his track record in aviation.
Burt Rutan is aviation's equivalent of John Carmack. A genius who is a leader and driving force within his field.
Someone else commented that he would not ever bet against either of the Rutans. (Burt is an amazing designer, Dick Rutan is an amazing test pilot.)
XCor also gets coverage on
My early aerospace career (Score:2)
With that childhood memory, I always wonder about the Rutans and about sibling rivalry and all that.
The Trials of Space Exploration (Score:5, Funny)
24 geeks, 2 super duper flying machines, one hot chick.
All Geeky Chics (Score:3, Insightful)
Can't Wait! (Score:2, Interesting)
From the mission summary:
I wouldn't bet on success (Score:2, Informative)
1) They are low altitude flights
2) They are low airspeed flights
This is the easy corner of the flight envelope. The spacecraft will eventually have to go Mach 2+ and handle re-entry conditions. That will be the real test. The reasons I don't have a high degree of confidence they'll pull it off are:
1) Only CFD was used for design and analysis, no wind tunnel testing. This is a cardinal sin. Orbital Sciences has been burned twice for doing this, once
Re:I wouldn't bet on success (Score:1)
Cardinal sin? (Score:2)
It's a known fact that Rutan is not in any way a proponent of windtunnel testing, and I'm not sure if ANY of his designs were windtunnel tested before first flight.
Despite this, his track record is stellar. Burt Rutan is someone you don't want to bet against.