Universe Today

March 30, 2009April 26, 2016 by Tammy Plotner

100 Hours of Astronomy Begins on April 2

Have you heard the word? In celebration of the International Year of Astronomy, there’s a worldwide event happening that will begin on April 2 and last through April 5, 2009. Public outreach activities, live science centers, research observatory webcasts and sidewalk astronomy events are only a small part of what you’ll discover when the “100 Hours of Astronomy Cornerstone Project” gets underway. Want to find out more about what’s happening? Then step inside…

What’s it all about? One of the goals of “100 Hours of Astronomy” is to get as many people as possible to look through a telescope – just as Galileo did 400 years ago. This four-day event will encompass astronomy clubs, groups, individuals, observatories, science centers and more around the world as they reach out to the public to achieve this common goal. During the opening ceremonies on April 2, Franklin Institute in Philadelphia will feature one of Galileo’s telescopes and the Director of the Institute and Museum of the History of Science in Florence, Italy, (home of the two remaining Galileo telescopes) will give a talk on the importance of Galileo’s telescopes and his discoveries. Also on April 2, select science centers will begin a live webcast featuring discussions on current topics in astronomy and remote telescope viewing. On April 3 another 24-hour webcast will begin when astronomers at professional research observatories around the world will take viewers inside their telescope domes and control rooms via camera.

One of the features of “100 Hours of Astronomy” will be a 24-hour Global Star Party on April 5, when telescopes – both solar and celestial) will be open for public viewing by astronomy clubs and observing groups around the world at no charge. And, beginning a dawn on April 5, we’ll celebrate “Sun Day” with more solar viewing! Just like our own IYA Live Telescope many observatories around the world are also offering access to their telescopes as well, where you can sign up for an opportunity to control a telescope in real time and take pictures, or have someone assist you.

Where do you find a program near you? One of the best places to start is at the official website and the “100 Hours of Astronomy – Find An Event” page. Check your local newspapers, astronomy websites, radio broadcasts and libraries. If you can’t find anything nearby – then use what you have right in front of you! Thanks to Internet Magic “Around the World in 80 Telescopes” will begin at 9:00 UT on April 3 and last until 9:00 UT on April 4. Don’t miss you chance to take off to some of the most advanced ground- and space-based observatories around the world and off the planet!

One of the highlights of this project will be an opportunity to peek into ESA’s XMM-Newton and Integral satellite control rooms in Spain. Viewers will get an insight into two space observatories, XMM-Newton and Integral, an opportunity to meet astronomers working on these missions, a sneak preview at a pretty new XMM-Newton image of Messier 82, and a chance to participate in a student competition using data from the Integral satellite. This live 24-hour video webcast is organized by the European Organization for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere (ESO) and was initiated by the International Astronomical Union and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Don’t miss this spectacular opportunity!

How can you participate? If you, or your astronomy group haven’t registered a program yet – do it! Even just a few hours of setting up a telescope is a great way to participate in this monumental global event celebrating the International Year of Astronomy. Drop a line to your local newspaper or phone your local radio station and ask them to promote your project. Even if you just set your telescope up on the sidewalk for a few hours and treat your neighbors to a view of the Moon or Saturn, you’ll be honoring Galileo and all that he stands for.

What are you waiting for? Go ahead and list your “100 Hours of Astronomy” event here, too!

Wishing you clear skies….

The “100 Hours of Astronomy” Banner is courtesy of 100 Hours of Astronomy and the “80 Telescopes Logo” is courtesy of ESA IYA 2009. We thank you!

March 30, 2009December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

More Awesome Views of the ISS; in 3-D and From the Ground

ISS in 3-D. Credit: Nathanial Burton-Bradford

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I’ve been oohing and ahhing all weekend over the stunning images taken by the Discovery space shuttle astronauts as they departed from the International Space Station. It’s the “finished” look of the space station we’ve all been waiting for. And now an amateur photographer and an amateur astronomer have gone even further with images of the ISS, causing even more shouts of delight. Photographer Nathanial Burton-Bradford took images from the high-definition video of the space station and created fantastic 3-D images! So grab your 3-D glasses and take a gander. Not only that, but astronomy enthusiast/photographer Mike Salway took this incredible image of the ISS and shuttle from the ground in Australia:

ISS from Australia on March 22. Credit: Mike Salway

ISS on March 20, 2009 from Australia. Credit: Mike Salway

Mike Salway lives on the Central Coast NSW, Australia, and he had this to say about the two recent images he took of the ISS, “On the mornings of Friday 20th and Sunday 22nd March I had a busy couple of mornings, with a bright pass of the International Space Station (ISS) over my location, as well as capturing Jupiter (20th and 22nd) and the Moon. The great thing about the ISS pass was that the Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-119) was docked at the time so I was hoping for good seeing and hoping I’d be able to track it accurately. I was able to capture reasonably detailed images during both passes, but of course you always want more!” And if you want to check out more of Mike’s photography, check out his great website, and in particular, here’s more images he’s taken of the ISS.

And here’s a few more 3-D images by Nathanial Burton-Bradford, who does his handiwork with Photoshop. Check out more of Nathanial’s photography at his Flickr page:

More ISS in 3-D. Credit: Nathanial Burton-Bradford

Thanks to Nathanial and Mike for sharing their photography skills with Universe Today!

March 30, 2009December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Another Meteor? No, Russian Rocket

A meteor falls to Earth. Credit: Spaceweather.com

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Residents of Virginia in the US reported hearing booms and seeing flashes of light Sunday night, and originally, it was reported to be another possible meteor. But now officials from the U.S. Naval Observatory say it was likely the second stage of the Russian Soyuz rocket falling back to Earth. Parts of the rocket from last Thursday’s launch to the International Space Station would have fallen to Earth about that same time. “I’m pretty convinced that what these folks saw was the second stage of the Soyuz rocket that launched the crew up to the space station,” Space.com quoted Jeff Chester of the Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C.

Several people called 911 reporting streaks of light and loud booms, according to news reports. (Spaceweather.com has compiled several eyewitness accounts.)

Chester heard about the incident this morning and checked the listing for debris expected to enter the lower atmosphere during that time and found that second stage of the Soyuz rocket that launched last Thursday was re-enter Earth’s atmosphere during a window that started at 8 p.m. on March 29.

Chester ran a satellite tracking program that showed that the rocket debris should have come down exactly in the area where the fireball was spotted.

“This is just too much of a coincidence to be coincidence,” he said.

Chester said that U.S. Space Surveillance Network had not yet confirmed that this was the case, but said that he was “99 and four one-hundredths [percent] convinced that this is what it is.”

The descriptions of the boom and streak of light reported by local residents were “entirely consistent with re-entering space junk, especially something this big,” Chester said.

Space.com also reported that Delta airline pilot Bryce Debban reported seeing the streak of light on a flight from Boston to Raleigh-Durham when his plane was about 31,000 feet in the air.

The Soyuz rockets jettison their second stage after entering orbit in such a way that the second stage will slowly fall back to earth in a few days. But “you can control precisely where these things are going to come down,” Chester said.

It’s possible that some fragments of the rocket made it to the Earth’s surface, but they would likely have a couple of hundreds of miles east of Cape Hatteras, Chester said.

Source: Space.com

March 30, 2009December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Still Learning to Live Together in Space?

U.S. spaceflight participant Charles Simonyi (left), cosmonaut Gennady Padalka (center), Expedition 19 commander, and astronaut Michael Barratt. Credit: NASA

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A Russian cosmonaut spoke out last week before boarding the Soyuz and heading to the International Space Station, saying that while astronauts and cosmonauts have no problems getting along on board the ISS, the bureaucracies on the ground may still be experiencing a bit of cold war bickering. Gennady Padalka told the Novaya Gazeta newspaper that officials from Russia, the United States and other countries require cosmonauts and astronauts to eat their own food and follow stringent rules on access to other facilities, like toilets. “What is going on has an adverse effect on our work,” said Padalka, now on board the ISS, who will be taking over command of the space station for Expedition 19 and 20. Padalka, American astronaut Michael Barratt and spaceflight participant Chalres Simonyi reached the ISS on Saturday. “Cosmonauts are above the ongoing squabble, no matter what officials decide. We are grown-up, well-educated and good-mannered people and can use our own brains to create normal relationship. It’s politicians and bureaucrats who can’t reach agreement, not us, cosmonauts and astronauts.”

Padalka, a veteran of two previous missions to the ISS said the squabbles are hurting the crew’s morale and complicating work in space.

Russian space agency spokesman Alexander Vorobyov didn’t have an immediate comment to Padalka’s views.

Padalka said the arguments began back in 2003, when Russia started charging other space agencies for the resources used by their astronauts. Other partners in space station responded by requiring similar rules.

Padalka on the ISS: Sharing food is good in space. Credit: NASA

While sharing food in the past helped the crew feel like a team, new rules require the Russian cosmonauts and U.S. and other astronauts to eat their own food, Padalka said. Also, he said he asked before the current mission whether he could use an American exercise equipment to help stay in shape in the microgravity environment in space.

“They told me: ‘Yes, you can.’ Then they said no,” he was quoted as saying. “Then they hold consultations and they approve it again. And now, right before the flight, it turns out again that the answer is negative.”

“They also recommend us to only use national toilets,” Padalka was quoted as saying.

Padalka was also quoted as criticizing the Russian portion of the station, saying it looks backward compared to other sections.

“It’s built on technologies dating back to the mid-1980s, at the very latest,” he said. according to the report. “We are lagging seven to 30 years back in various space technologies.”

Russia’s space program has been known to be in financial troubles, and they have been selling seat on its Soyuz spacecraft to bring space tourists to the space station. However, with the increase in crew size on the ISS from three to six, every every spare seat on the Soyuz are spoken for, with no room for any additional tourists in the coming years.

Credit: Yahoo News

March 30, 2009December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Experiment Performed on Shuttle Heat Tiles During Discovery’s Re-Entry

Raw image of the turbulent airflow behind the modified heat tile on Discovery. Credit: NASA

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In an experiment, one of space shuttle Discovery’s exterior heat tiles was deliberately altered and monitored during the shuttle’s high-speed return to Earth on Saturday. Data was collected to help understand airflow, and provided information for engineers designing the heat shield for the Orion spacecraft. One tile on the bottom of the shuttle’s left wing, about 10 feet behind the leading edge, included a 0.25-inch-high ridge that was expected to cause the airflow to go from smooth to turbulent, causing a rise in temperature of the tiles behind the altered tile. A Navy plane flew below Discovery as it returned home, monitoring the shuttle with an infrared camera. What did the experiment reveal?

Engineers were looking to better understand how smooth, laminar airflow, which provides a thin layer of insulation during peak heating, can change to the disturbed, turbulent flow — called boundary layer transition –which can cause downstream temperatures to climb, possibly affecting aerodynamics and causing damage.

A Navy P-3 Orion aircraft flying over the Gulf of Mexico captured infrared images of the shuttle’s underside when the orbiter had slowed to about 8.5 times the speed of sound. The temperature data and infrared imagery confirmed that the airflow was changed by the modified tile. The insulating layer of air changed to turbulent between mach 12 and 14. That, in turn, caused a rise in the temperatures of downstream tiles, but not as much as was expected.

What the altered tile looked like. Credit: NASA

The tiles in that area of the wing normally experience maximum temperatures of 815-870 degrees C (1,500 to 1,600 degrees F) when the re-entry airflow across the wing is smooth. The preliminary data that NASA received indicated the maximum temperature experienced by the “protuberance tile” was around 1090 degrees C (2,000 F), somewhat less than expected. If those measurements are confirmed, engineers may request a slightly higher protuberance for a future flight.

As for the large area of turbulence seen in the top P-3 image, engineers said said the image likely reflected a “typical” shuttle boundary layer transition during peak heating.

Engineers reported the protuberance tile looked normal and undamaged on the runway after Discovery’s landing, although superficial markings were seen on several downstream tiles. No such markings were seen on tiles behind a protruding gap filler that was spotted during an on-orbit inspection on one of Discovery’s elevons.

The shuttle’s transition from smooth to turbulent flow occurs naturally as the spacecraft slows down, typically at velocities around mach 8, or eight times the speed of sound, about 20 minutes after atmospheric entry begins. In some cases, however, the transition can occur earlier than that because of surface roughness or defects in the heat shield.

The area of increased heating on Discovery. Credit: NASA

For example, a protruding tile spacer called a “gap filler” can shake loose during launch and extend up into the airflow, triggering an early, asymmetric boundary layer transition during re-entry. When that happens, the shuttle’s aerodynamics can be affected and downstream tiles can be subjected to more extreme heating.

During shuttle mission STS-28 in 1989, the boundary layer “tripped” 15 minutes after entry, at around mach 18. During shuttle mission STS-50 in 1992, one side of the shuttle’s belly went turbulent more than a minute ahead of the other side, causing a change in aerodynamics that prompted autopilot flight control inputs.

This experiment that could lead to improved heat shield designs for the Orion spacecraft which will bring astronauts to the ISS and the Moon, along with providing insights into shuttle aerodynamics.

Source: CBS News

March 29, 2009December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

STS-119: A Mission in Pictures

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If this isn’t one of the most breathtaking space pictures ever, I don’t know what is. It’s the ISS at its full and final length, with all four sets of solar arrays unfurled, against the limb of Earth. The STS-119 mission successfully did its job of bringing up and installing the final set of solar array wings, giving the ISS the “finished” look we’ve all been waiting for. There are a few more modules to bring up, but none so big as the solar arrays. And now the space station is the second brightest object in the night sky, second only to the Moon. Click on the image to download a hi-resolution version.

Space shuttle Discovery returned home on Saturday, March 28 landing at 3:14 pm EDT. The weather and winds cooperated, allowing the spacecraft to land on the second opportunity of the day. Enjoy more images from the highly successful mission below.

Astronaut Richard Arnold during an EVA. Credit: NASA

An astronaut at work. Ricky Arnold, STS-119 mission specialist, works outside the space staton during the mission’s third extravehicular activity (EVA), doing a few construction and maintenance tasks during the six-hour, 27-minute spacewalk.

A view during the 3rd EVA of STS-119. Credit: NASA

This is a great image that makes you appreciate how big the space station is. Ricky Arnold (right) and Joseph Acaba worked during the third EVA of the mission to help robotic arm operators relocate the Crew Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) cart from the Port 1 to Starboard 1 truss segment, lubricated the space station’s robotic arm and performed a few other “get ahead” tasks.

John Phillips flies through the ISS. Credit: NASA

I think almost everyone dreams of doing this: flying. But this was no dream for astronaut John Phillps — he really was flying through the ISS. It sure looks like fun!

Crews of the ISS and STS-119. Credit: NASA

Group photo of the crews from the ISS and STS-119. From the left (bottom row) are NASA astronauts Tony Antonelli, STS-119 pilot; Lee Archambault, STS-119 commander; and Joseph Acaba, STS-119 mission specialist. From the left (middle row) are NASA astronauts Sandra Magnus, STS-119 mission specialist; and Michael Fincke, Expedition 18 commander; along with cosmonaut Yury Lonchakov and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut (JAXA) Koichi Wakata, both Expedition 18 flight engineers. From the left (top row) are NASA astronauts Steve Swanson, Richard Arnold and John Phillips.

Discovery appoaches the ISS. Credit: NASA

Here’s a nice image of the space shuttle approaching the space station, backdropped by a blue and white Earth, as the shuttle gets ready for rendezvous and docking with the ISS.

Commander Lee Archambault nails the landing as Discovery touches down on the runway at Kennedy Space Center.

The STS-119 crew post landing. Credit: NASA

Discovery crew members spoke after the landing on Saturday, and after the traditional walk-around of the spaceshuttle. Commander Lee Archambault introduced five of the seven members of the STS-119 mission crew. Ricky Arnold remained in the crew quarters, as well as returning ISS crewmember Sandy Magnus, taking things a little slower after her 130-day stint in space.

More images of the mission are available in our previous article, and find all the mission images at NASA’s Human Spaceflight webpage. Here’s another article that has a video of the ISS as the shuttle Discovery departed last week.

March 28, 2009December 24, 2015 by Tammy Plotner

IYA Live Telescope Today – Alpha Crucis: Split! and M11

If you didn’t get a chance to watch the IYA telescope “live” on Galactic TV today, don’t worry. We took a video capture for you. Step inside to enjoy today’s view of Alpha Crucis, better know as Acrux. Thanks to a little “fine tuning” we’ve learned how to split the doubles on video! As an added weekend treat we’ve even done a little duck hunting, too… Double your pleasure, double your fun… Catch a double star and two videos – instead of just one!

The following information is a cut and paste from Wikipedia to accompany the video:

Alpha Crucis – Acrux: CRUX

Acrux (Alpha Cru / Alpha Crucis) is the brightest star in constellation Crux, the Southern Cross and, at visual magnitude 0.77, is the twelfth brightest star in the night time sky. Acrux is the southernmost first-magnitude star, just a bit more southerly than Alpha Centauri.

Acrux is a multiple star located 321 light years from the solar system. Only two components are visually distinguishable, Alpha 1 and Alpha 2, separated by 4 arcseconds. ?1 is magnitude 1.40 and Alpha 2 is magnitude 2.09, both hot class B (almost class O) stars, with surface temperatures of about 28,000 and 26,000 kelvins respectively. Their luminosities are 25,000 and 16,000 times that of the Sun. Alpha 1 and Alpha 2 orbit over such a long period that motion is only barely seen. From their minimum separation of 430 astronomical units, the period is at least 1,500 years, and may be much longer.

Alpha 1 is itself a spectroscopic binary star, with its components thought to be around 14 and 10 times the mass of the Sun and orbiting in only 76 days at a separation of about 1 AU. The masses of Alpha 2 and the brighter component of Alpha 1 suggest that the stars will someday explode as supernovae. The fainter component of Alpha1 may survive to become a massive white dwarf.

Another class-B subgiant lies 90 arcseconds away from triple Acrux and shares Acrux’s motion through space, suggesting it may be gravitationally bound to Acrux. However, if it is indeed located near Acrux, it is under-luminous for its class. It is probably just an optical double star, most likely several hundred light years beyond Acrux.

(Information Source: Wikipedia)

Wild Duck Cluster (M 11): SCUTUM

The Wild Duck Cluster (also known as Messier 11, or NGC 6705) is an open cluster in the constellation Scutum. It was discovered by Gottfried Kirch in 1681. Charles Messier included it in his catalogue in 1764.

The Wild Duck Cluster is one of the richest and most compact of the known open clusters, containing about 2900 stars. Its age has been estimated to about 220 million years. Its name derives from the brighter stars forming a triangle which could represent a flying flock of ducks.

(Information Source: Wikipedia)

As always, you can visit the remote telescope by clicking on the IYA “LIVE Remote Cam” Logo to your right. We’ll be broadcasting whenever skies are clear and dark in Central Victoria! Enjoy….

March 27, 2009December 24, 2015 by Ian O'Neill

Was the Tunguska Fireball a Comet Chemical Bomb?

It was an energetic event that occurred over Tunguska, but what caused it? (Don Davis)

[/caption]Over a century ago, on June 30th, 1908 a huge explosion detonated over an unpopulated region of Russia called Tunguska. It is probably one of the most enduring mysteries of this planet. What could cause such a huge explosion in the atmosphere, with the energy of a thousand Hiroshima atomic bombs, flattening a forest the area of Luxembourg and yet leaving no crater? It is little wonder that the Tunguska event has become great material for science fiction writers; how could such a huge blast, that shook the Earth’s magnetic field and lit up the Northern Hemisphere skies for three days leave no crater and just a bunch of flattened, scorched trees?

Although there are many theories as to how the Tunguska event may have unfolded, scientists are still divided over what kind of object could have hit the Earth from space. Now a Russian scientist believes he has uncovered the best answer yet. The Earth was glanced by a large comet, that skipped off the upper atmosphere, dropping a chunk of comet material as it did so. As the comet chunk heated up as it dropped through the atmosphere, the material, packed with volatile chemicals, exploded as the biggest chemical explosion mankind had ever seen…

12,000 years ago, a large object smashed into North America, causing global destruction. Dust and ash was released into the atmosphere, triggering global cooling and possibly causing the extinction of a number of large mammals around this time. The Tunguska event was of a similar energy to that catastrophic impact, but fortunately for us, Tunguska had a benign effect on the world. It simply exploded high in the atmosphere, flattened a region of Russia and vaporized.

“Significantly, the energy of the chemical explosion is substantially lower than the kinetic energy of the body,” says Edward Drobyshevski of the Russian Academy of Sciences in St Petersburg, who has published his research into the Tunguska event. The fact that the Tunguska explosion energy is lower than what is expected of the kinetic energy of an object that hit the Earth from space is key to his work. Drobyshevski therefore concludes that the event must have been caused not by an asteroid or whole comet, it was actually caused by a fragment of comet material that fell off as the main cometary body skipped off the Earth’s upper atmosphere. This means that the Earth was hit on a tangent and the fragment dropped comparatively slowly toward the surface.

Sounds reasonable so far, but how did the fragment explode? Using our new understanding as to what chemicals comets contain, Drobyshevski surmises the fragment was rich in hydrogen peroxide. This is where the magic happened. The explosion was not due to a rapid release of kinetic energy, it was in fact a hydrogen peroxide bomb. As the fragment descended, it heated up. As the reactive chemicals in the material got hot, they explosively disassociated to form oxygen and water, ripping the fragment apart. The Tunguska event was therefore a huge chemical bomb and not a “regular” comet-hits-Earth impact.

An interesting study. Not content with dropping asteroids on our planet, the Universe has started throwing hydrogen peroxide explosives at us too. Whatever next?

Source: The Physics arXiv Blog

March 27, 2009December 24, 2015 by Tammy Plotner

Countdown to Earth Hour 2009…

There’s less than 24 hours left before Earth Hour 2009 will begin. While you may hotly debate whether or not turning out your lights for one hour can impact our global climate – it’s not about what actually happens to our planet during that hour, but about showing you care. 3,900 cities and towns in 84 countries around the world will be shutting down the lights at 8:30 pm local time in one of the biggest events in history. Even if you don’t care, take the time to read just a little bit more… Where will you be when the lights go out?

According the latest Earth Hour bulletin: “More than 300 cities and towns in the U.S. representing 43 states and the District of Columbia are going dark as part of the largest global climate event in history. Before the rooster crows in most American cities on Saturday morning, lights will already have gone dark in cities like Christchurch, Sydney and Brisbane. By breakfast time on the U.S. East Coast, the cities of Beijing, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Singapore and Manila will be celebrating the arrival of the largest global climate event in history. Just before lunchtime in America, the lights will be dimming in Mumbai, Amman and Dubai. And by early afternoon in New York, it will be lights out in Paris, Istanbul, London and Copenhagen.”

Can you imagine places that you would never dream of going dark participating in such an event? During Earth Hour you’ll find The European Union Headquarters in Brussels, St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, Bird’s Nest Olympic Stadium in Beijing, Washington, D.C, The Pyramids in Egypt, the Acropolis in Athens, the Broadway Theater District, the Space Needle in Seattle, and the Chrysler Building will all go dark for Earth Hour.

Read the Earth Hour Mission: “For the first time in history, people of all ages, nationalities, race and background have the opportunity to use their light switch as their vote – Switching off your lights is a vote for Earth, or leaving them on is a vote for global warming. WWF are urging the world to VOTE EARTH and reach the target of 1 billion votes, which will be presented to world leaders at the Global Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen 2009.

This meeting will determine official government policies to take action against global warming, which will replace the Kyoto Protocol. It is the chance for the people of the world to make their voice heard. We all have a vote, and every single vote counts. Together we can take control of the future of our planet, for future generations.”

VOTE EARTH by simply switching off your lights for one hour, and join the world for Earth Hour – Saturday, March 28, 8:30-9:30pm.

With much love to all of those who took the time to care and spread the word. Special thanks to Kim B. for all of her hard work in promoting Earth Hour!

March 27, 2009December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

WhiteKnightTwo Makes Longest and Fastest Test Flight

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The mothership for Virgin Galactic’s commercial space flights recently completed its third successful test flight, going faster and farther than any previous flights. The WhiteKnightTwo (WK2) flew for over two and half hours, at a maximum speed of 140 knots and an altitude of over 18,000 ft. “This is a truly remarkable aviation vehicle,” said test pilot Peter Siebold, “and, although it might look unique from the ground it is not strange to fly in any way and is in fact a great piloting experience. Now the stratosphere is the limit as we will continually test Eve (WK2) for the next few months up to her ceiling of above 50,000 ft.”

A video of WK2 and the flight is available below.

The flight also saw a 7 other tests successfully completed including in flight engine restarts, engine thrust asymmetry assessment and continued expansion of WK2’s operating envelope and evaluation of WK2’s handling qualities.

In addition to launching SS2, the WK2 also has a range of science payload and training applications including the potential to launch an unmanned rocket capable of putting a satellite into low Earth orbit.

“This is a fabulous airplane, it really is,” said Burt Rutan, founder of Scaled Composits, who built WK2. “It showed its potential today. We’ve got a couple of minor things to work on, but in general its going to do its job very well.”

WhiteKnightTwo in flight. Credit: Virgin Galactic

“It really has performed flawlessly,” said Wil Whitehorn, president of Virgin Galactic. “You’d expect far more glitches in any normal experimental program. It looks like the guys at Scaled have got it right the first time.”

WK2 is the world’s largest all carbon composite aircraft and many of its component parts have been built using composite materials for the very first time. At 140 ft, the wing spar is the longest single carbon composite aviation structural component ever manufactured.

An all carbon composite vehicle allows for better fuel efficiency. The twin fuselage and central payload area configuration allow for easy access to WK2 and to the spaceship for passengers and crew; the design also aids operational efficiencies and turnaround times. WK2 will be able to support up to four daily space flights, is able to carry out both day and night time operations.

Sources: Virgin Galactic, FlightGlobal