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Virgin Galactic Conducts Successful Test Firings of LauncherOne Liquid Rocket Engine
“As part of a rapid development program, Virgin Galactic has now hot-fired both a 3,500 lbf thrust rocket engine and a 47,500 lbf thrust rocket engine, called the “NewtonOne” and “NewtonTwo” respectively. Further, the NewtonOne engine has successfully completed a full-mission duty cycle on the test stand, firing for the five-minute duration expected of the upper stage engine on a typical flight to orbit.”
Biologist, Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA Space Biologist and Payload integrator, Editor of NASAWatch.com and Astrobiology.com, Lapsed climber, Explorer, Synaesthete, Former Challenger Center board member... More by Keith Cowing
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I hope they get this part of their business plan up and running right away. If there is pressure on the FAA to hold up lic. of commercial space at least they can start generating reveues.
I keep forgetting about Virgin Galactic. No news for a while and then bang, another seemingly major step forward. Could they be the dark horse coming up on the outside? With these engines they would no longer be quite so dependent on the space tourism market, if there in fact really is a space tourism market.
What would be the other markets? Maybe you are talking about sounding rockets and the like?
I’m not thinking anything specific at his point, Michael, but once any major player starts making their own major components, like engines, they have the option of selling or licencing those components to other companies, along with the follow-on maintenance, parts, etc. VG/Composite have some interesting proven patents that others might pay well to use, such as the feathering concept and WK2. Branson learned early on to diversify on a regular basis, so it just seems likely to me that they’re looking beyond tourist flights, and probably have been since the start of VG. Strictly conjecture on my part.
Besides tourist flights Virgin Galactic will also be offering research flights. Standard space experiment racks (CubeSat, etc.) will replace the passenger seats. Up to 1,300 pounds can be flown.
The researcher can go along for the ride, or if they are too squeamish a Virgin Galactic astronaut will ride along with the experiments and do any monitoring that is required.
Thanks, Steve. That sounds to me like a sensible diversification on their part; it may even prove more profitable, and long-term, than the tourist rides. I wonder if they’ve been planning it right from the start. At one point, some years ago, I remember quite a few people thought tourist flights were going to be a boom industry any time now. I think more see it now as too much enthusiasm for too little market. Maybe someday, though.
The liquid engines are both simple pressure-fed LOX/RP-1 single-chamber units and intended for an expendable rocket launched from the WK2 that will launch a small satellite into LEO. And maybe also to upgrade SpaceShip2 to all liquid propulsion, something its needed for awhile. But nothing on the nuts and bolts of the design seems to be available.