Zpat

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for being the first private enterprize to fly in outer space.

J_R

Not bad for an old modeler and receipent of the AMA Distinguished Service Award.

P-51B

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[sm=thumbup.gif][sm=thumbup.gif]

Wish I could have gone to see it "in person".

ZAGNUT

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but will he do it again within 2 weeks?


dave

ZAGNUT

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forget the flight....check out burt's sideburns!!!


dave

cwesh

And don't forget, this was just! a test flight, not a run at the X-Prize!

(Burt Rutan has had those sideburns forever!)

Later!
Chuck...

Joe Ortiz

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Yeah!, way to go[sm=thumbup.gif]

ballgunner

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Bert has proved that some things that were thought to be impossible can be done if the right science is applied. Sort of like the so called aeronautical engineers of the early 40"s who determined that the very design of the bumblebee made it impossible for it to fly. Fortunately for the bee Lockheed engineers proved in the late 40's that the thing could fly. We can all learn if the proper techniques are applied.

raptor5900

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burt has awsome planes also.....now he has rockets too[>:]

MinnFlyer

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Hmmm... Wonder who'll be the first to do an RC version???

Cactus.

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i keep hearing about it "blasting" into space, but i thought it had a plane based look with a weird capsule in the middle.

anyone got pics of todays achievement?


and is flying to the edge of space cheating? arn't you supposed to go straight up and orbit about for a while

P-51B

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The guys who flew the X-15 earned their astronaut wings.

ChuckAuger

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The "blasting" part was carried to about 55,000 ft before it "blasted".

It flew into space, that is called a sub-orbital space flight. If it goes around the Earth, then it is also in space, but orbiting.

Cactus.

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just seen the report on tv, that pod is great for RC gliding or something. weird design as per Rutans normal efforts but it pays off.

200km short of Shuttle height.. it's a start

ChuckAuger

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Well, with all due respect, NASA (or its predecessor) has about a 40 year head start on Burt Rutan. I'll lay odds that in 40 years, they get a bit further out into space.

Cactus.

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thats what we all thought 40 years ago lol

so whos gonna make mars first?

ChuckAuger

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Who's gonna make the moon second??

What I meant was..in 45 years, we (the US) have gone from launching a satellite, to sub-orbital manned flights (Alan Shepherd) to the moon to a shuttle to 2 active un-manned Mars rovers at once.

Burt Rutan's crew has just made their first sub-orbital flight. Test flights are always carried out in gradual steps. I'm sure the pilot of this flight would have loved to made a few orbits, but I bet that was not the flight plan. It might be years before a private concern makes orbital flights. To show disdain for their efforts because it does not live up to your expectations of "space flight" begs the question, "Can you do better??" The Rutan group is not the only effort by private enterprise trying to make it into space, but one must walk before they run.

Cactus.

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3 mins with floating M&M's in the cockpit was what i heard

moon second... umm i'm gonna go with China on that one, right now it wants to spend it's money on proving it's self, not on it's people which us Western countrys do a little bit too much when it comes to certian groups.

the other private group i like the look of right now is the one that autorotates back to earth.. you better hope those rotors didn't burn through on the way back[X(]

splatt

I wonder how much CA he has in that thing. His around the world plane was made of kevlar and CA

Jim Thomerson

Plans for an RC version of the carrier ship were published in Flying Models.

Jim

GrnBrt

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My 1st wife if I ever find out where she is in Arkansas!!!!!![:'(][:@]

iatemydingo

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I woke up at midnigh and drove 4 hours to watch this and it was worth every minute of lost sleep!! Pics show it with the motor burning, entering space, and right before landing.

stomper

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Here you go >

Sport_Pilot

Right now they are using copies of Russian designs. Unless they start creating original designs they they won't make Mars till after the country they copy.

Sport_Pilot

Those photo's were not from yesterdays launch. Must have been an earlier test launch. Fox news clearly showed the craft landing and stopped sitting on all three gear. The nose gear looks like a skid, or roller skate sized wheels.