SpaceShipThree?

[Dr Mordrid]

Rather than up and down this configuration would be capable of transoceanic hypersonic transportation. The booster looks a lot like the artwork Scaled/Virgin showed for LauncherOne (small satellite launcher) at a conference a few months ago. Makes a lot of sense since SS2, XCOR's Lynx (another spaceplane) and the concept below are based on NASA's old X-20 Dyna-Soar, a craft initially designed for orbit....(see below)

FlightGlobal article....

As well as SS2, developed under Scaled Composites' Tier 1b programme (SpaceShipOne was developed under Tier 1), Virgin Galctic's president Will Whitehorn has spoken of a hypersonic point-to-point service. This would provide a rapid trans-Atlantic trip or the oft mooted 2h London, England to Sydney, Australia journey.

This would use a vehicle that has been called SpaceShipThree (SS3).

Although SS3 has also been referred to by Whitehorn as an orbital vehicle, and a SpaceShipFour as a possible name for a two-stage micro satellite launching rocket, at the New York SS2 and its carrier aircraft White Knight II unveil Whitehorn told me that SS3 would actually be a point-to-point vehicle travelling outside the atmosphere.

Such a point-to-point vehicle could be a stepping stone to solving the technical challenges for a manned orbital vehicle but for now, Whitehorn, tells me, he expects work to begin on SS3 soon after Virgin Galactic's commercial operations are underway.

Whitehorn envisages a 2012 timeframe for detailed SS3 work to begin using capital market financing, which Whitehorn expects to be available in the wake of a successful Virgin Galactic service.

But why do I think that SS2 could be an insight into SS3? It is because of the choice of a Dyna-Soar inspired design for the suborbital tourism vehicle.

While SS2 will likely not travel any faster than Mach 3, Dyna-Soar was designed for Mach 5. The choice of a twin-fuselage configuration for SS2's carrier aircraft White Knight II is also a potential SS3 related decision.
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X-20 Dyna-Soar


SS2


XCOR Lynx

[Evildead666]

So they'll be needing a White Knight III or mod of the WK II with extra engines.

Also, the horizontal launch of the central booster thing looks dodgy.
Its like crouching on top of a needle, and then lighting the fuse....

[Dr Mordrid]

Horizontal drop-launch of an orbit-capable booster is done all the time, and 40+ years ago that's how the manned suborbital X-15 and Dyna-Soar were launched. Orbital Sciences 3-stage Pegasus orbital launcher (below), whose wing and tail were also designed by Rutan's Scaled Composites, has been in service for a long time and launches that way. Old news.

Also; a WhiteKnightThree has been talked about for some time. Will Whitehorn, Sir Richard Branson's right hand man, said this a few months ago....

If WhiteKnightTwo works, and SpaceShipTwo works, and we make a commercial success with it, I’m pretty sure there will be a WhiteKnightThree and a SpaceShipThree.

and SpaceShipThree would be the transcontinental hypersonic transport.

Rumors about it abound, but artwork for something much like it by Scaled was created for tSpace's drop-launch CXV crew vehicle that never made it past the last round of NASA's COTS program - the one won by SpaceX and Orbital Sciences. It looked to be huge with a wingspan larger than a 747- over 200 feet vs. WK2's 141 feet.

YouTube viceo of the heavy launcher Scaled envisioned for tSpace.... (Link....)

This single hull configuration was envisioned about the time Scaled was doing WhiteKnightOne and shares its mono-hull, but I'd bet that WK3 will inherit WK2's dual-hull catamaran design.

Orbital Sciences Pegasus air-drop launcher

[Evildead666]

Horizontal drop-launch of an orbit-capable booster is done all the time, and 40+ years ago that's how the manned suborbital X-15 and Dyna-Soar were launched. Orbital Sciences 3-stage Pegasus orbital launcher (below), whose wing and tail were also designed by Rutan's Scaled Composites, has been in service for a long time and launches that way. Old news.

So the Pegasus launched flight vehicules horizontally, with the flight vehicle perched on the nose of the launcher ?

The X-1 etc were drop launched from large flying vehicules, or as for the SPace Shuttle, launched piggy-back style.

The Top image makes it look ass-heavy, and when dropped, I would expect the rocket end to drop, and then fire, making controlling the initial acsent a bit dodgy in the first few seconds...

I understand that many missile like objects have been launched horizontally, just not with a heavyish load balanced on their nose.

[Dr Mordrid]

Yup..that's how Pegasus works; a straight drop then it fires horizontally. Drop launch like Pegasus, X-15 or even SS2 is one thing, but the AirLaunch method is something else; it rotates to vertical then it fires. This composite pic shows one of their test drops using Rutan's Proteus. NO, to my knowledge Rutan/Scaled has made very few conventional looking aircraft.

BTW: did I mention that SS2 is longer than a Lear 60 business jet? 60 feet for SS2 vs. 58 feet 7 inches for the Lear. That should give you some scale as to how big WK2 is.