VSS Enterprise GF23

Overview

Destination: Suborbital
Mission: Test Flight

Suborbital Mojave Air and Space Port Air launch to Suborbital flight

Free glide test flight of VSS Enterprise.

SpaceShipTwo

Family: SpaceShipTwo
Configuration:

The Scaled Composites Model 339 SpaceShipTwo (SS2) is an air-launched suborbital spaceplane type designed for space tourism. It is manufactured by The Spaceship Company, a California-based company owned by Virgin Galactic.

Specifications
  • Stages
    1
  • Length
    18.0 m
  • Diameter
    8.2 m
  • Fairing Diameter
  • Launch Mass
    9 T
  • Thrust
    310 kN
Family
  • Name
    SpaceShipTwo
  • Family
    SpaceShipTwo
  • Variant
  • Alias
  • Full Name
    SpaceShipTwo
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
  • Low Earth Orbit
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity

VSS Enterprise


Active Human Rated Crew On-board: 2 Crew Capacity: 8
Destination: Suborbital
Serial Number: N339SS

VSS Enterprise was the first SpaceShipTwo (SS2) spaceplane, built by Scaled Composites for Virgin Galactic. As of 2004, it was planned to be the first of five commercial suborbital SS2 spacecraft planned by Virgin Galactic. Enterprise was destroyed during a powered test flight on 31 October 2014, killing one pilot, Michael Alsbury, and seriously injuring another, Peter Siebold. An investigation revealed the accident was caused by premature deployment of the "feathering" system, the ship's descent device; the NTSB also faulted the spacecraft's design for lacking fail-safe mechanisms that could have deterred or prevented early deployment.

SpaceShipTwo Details

Crew


Michael Alsbury

Pilot - American - ( VG )

Status: Lost In Flight

Date of Birth: March 19, 1975
Date of Death: Oct. 31, 2014

Mark Stucky

Pilot - American - ( VG )

Status: Retired

Date of Birth: Nov. 9, 1958
Age: 64

Virgin Galactic

Circle Image
Founder: Richard Branson Founded: 2004 Successes: 58 Failures: 5 Pending: 1

Agency Type: Private

Virgin Galactic is an American spaceflight company within the Virgin Group. It is developing commercial spacecraft and aims to provide suborbital spaceflights to space tourists. Virgin Galactic's suborbital spacecraft are air launched from beneath a carrier airplane known as White Knight Two.

INFO WIKI

Air launch to Suborbital flight

Mojave Air and Space Port


Falcon 9
Success
14 hours, 38 minutes ago
Starlink Group 6-19
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

A batch of 22 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Qased
Success
3 days, 10 hours ago
Noor-3
Launch Platform - Shahrud Missile Test Site, Islamic Republic of Iran

Third flight of the Iranian Qased small launch vehicle. Delivered two objects in a 450 km Earth Orbit, one of which is the Noor-3 military satellite.


Long March 4C
Success
3 days, 20 hours ago
Yaogan 33-04
Launch Area 4 (SLS-2 / 603) - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

The Yaogan 33-04 is a Chinese military “remote sensing” satellite of unknown purpose.


Falcon 9
Success
5 days, 7 hours ago
Starlink Group 7-3
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 21 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Falcon 9
Success
6 days, 13 hours ago
Starlink Group 6-18
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

A batch of 22 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Ceres-1
Failure
1 week, 2 days ago
Jilin-1 High Resolution 04B
Launch Area 95A - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

New high resolution Earth observation satellite for the Jilin-1 commercial Earth observation satellites constellation.


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 3 days ago
Starlink Group 6-17
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

A batch of 22 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Electron
Failure
1 week, 4 days ago
We Will Never Desert You (Capella Acadia 2)
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1B - Onenui Station, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

Payload consists of a single SAR Earth-imaging Acadia satellite, a new generation satellite designed, manufactured, and operated by Capella Space.


Long March 2D
Success
1 week, 6 days ago
Yaogan 39 Group 02
Launch Complex 3 (LC-3/LA-1) - Xichang Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Chinese reconnaissance satellites.


Falcon 9
Success
2 weeks ago
Starlink Group 6-16
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

A batch of satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.