Virgin Gallactic - non starter?

[isee]

I am not sure I understand the busness model well but the way I see it, they plan to charge 100k ish for a trip that lasts minutes in near space. We are not talking an orbit here without atmosphere, we are talking outer edges of atmoshpere but not quite space right?

I could probably rent a mig 31 for about 5k and achieve almost the same results, plus it would all be for me and I would not need to be sharing the plane with other space tourists.

It just ssems like a flawed idea... Paying 100k for a couple of proper orbits around earth, i could understand but paying an equivalent of a very very desireable car or a cheap house for essentially a very high flight???

EDIT: topic name messed up. can't edit

Edited by isee on Thursday 25th June 16:03

[GingerNinja]

In a Mig you wouldn't reach space or get anywhere near the altitude, you wouldn't escape the earth's atmosphere and you wouldn't experience zero g.

So basically, it's a sound idea and I'm sure there are plenty of wealthy individuals willing to pay for the pleasure.

ETA - you'll be escaping earths atmosphere and reaching heights of over 350,000 feet (approx 66 miles). In the U2 spyplane that James May flew in the other night, they reached 70,000 feet and I don't think there are any other aircrafte (apart from the Blackbird) that can fly that high.

The US definition of spaceflight is 50 miles, the FAI as 62 miles. With Virgin, you're officially an astronaut.

Edited by GingerNinja on Thursday 25th June 16:24

[isee]

GingerNinja said:

In a Mig you wouldn't reach space or get anywhere near the altitude, you wouldn't escape the earth's atmosphere and you wouldn't experience zero g.

So basically, it's a sound idea and I'm sure there are plenty of wealthy individuals willing to pay for the pleasure.

but from what I have read, you don't quite do it in the virgin spacecraft either.

[Mattygooner]

After watching james May do it at the weekend, it looked quite fun.

[escargot]

Is it similar to that thing James May did with the US air force?

[GingerNinja]

isee said:

GingerNinja said:

In a Mig you wouldn't reach space or get anywhere near the altitude, you wouldn't escape the earth's atmosphere and you wouldn't experience zero g.

So basically, it's a sound idea and I'm sure there are plenty of wealthy individuals willing to pay for the pleasure.

but from what I have read, you don't quite do it in the virgin spacecraft either.

Yes you do, see my above edits.

[escargot]

GingerNinja said:

In a Mig you wouldn't reach space or get anywhere near the altitude, you wouldn't escape the earth's atmosphere and you wouldn't experience zero g.

So basically, it's a sound idea and I'm sure there are plenty of wealthy individuals willing to pay for the pleasure.

ETA - you'll be escaping earths atmosphere and reaching heights of over 350,000 feet (approx 66 miles). In the U2 spyplane that James May flew in the other night, they reached 70,000 feet and I don't think there are any other aircrafte (apart from the Blackbird) that can fly that high.

The US definition of spaceflight is 50 miles, the FAI as 62 miles. With Virgin, you're officially an astronaut.

Edited by GingerNinja on Thursday 25th June 16:24

How high do the lowest satellites orbit?

[isee]

GingerNinja said:

In a Mig you wouldn't reach space or get anywhere near the altitude, you wouldn't escape the earth's atmosphere and you wouldn't experience zero g.

So basically, it's a sound idea and I'm sure there are plenty of wealthy individuals willing to pay for the pleasure.

seems pretty high to me...

EDIT: saw your edit. I guess it makes a huge difference then

Edited by isee on Thursday 25th June 16:31

[dwilkie]

GingerNinja said:

In a Mig you wouldn't reach space or get anywhere near the altitude, you wouldn't escape the earth's atmosphere and you wouldn't experience zero g.

So basically, it's a sound idea and I'm sure there are plenty of wealthy individuals willing to pay for the pleasure.

ETA - you'll be escaping earths atmosphere and reaching heights of over 350,000 feet (approx 66 miles). In the U2 spyplane that James May flew in the other night, they reached 70,000 feet and I don't think there are any other aircrafte (apart from the Blackbird) that can fly that high.

The US definition of spaceflight is 50 miles, the FAI as 62 miles. With Virgin, you're officially an astronaut.

Edited by GingerNinja on Thursday 25th June 16:24

English Electric Lightning

But your point is correct, no passenger planes are capable of getting anywhere near that and there aren't many lightnings flying these days

[escargot]

isee said:

GingerNinja said:

In a Mig you wouldn't reach space or get anywhere near the altitude, you wouldn't escape the earth's atmosphere and you wouldn't experience zero g.

So basically, it's a sound idea and I'm sure there are plenty of wealthy individuals willing to pay for the pleasure.

seems pretty high to me...

EDIT: saw your edit. I guess it makes a huge difference then

Edited by isee on Thursday 25th June 16:31

Bloody hell, are those pics real?

[Famous Graham]

isee said:

GingerNinja said:

In a Mig you wouldn't reach space or get anywhere near the altitude, you wouldn't escape the earth's atmosphere and you wouldn't experience zero g.

So basically, it's a sound idea and I'm sure there are plenty of wealthy individuals willing to pay for the pleasure.

seems pretty high to me...

EDIT: saw your edit. I guess it makes a huge difference then

Edited by isee on Thursday 25th June 16:31

I can't believe those pics are legit (in terms of being in a Mig at the altitudes being talked about). The pilot's not wearing a suit, for a start. And the curvature in the first one is way too much to be from a Mig.

Edited by Famous Graham on Thursday 25th June 16:35

[isee]

escargot said:

isee said:

GingerNinja said:

In a Mig you wouldn't reach space or get anywhere near the altitude, you wouldn't escape the earth's atmosphere and you wouldn't experience zero g.

So basically, it's a sound idea and I'm sure there are plenty of wealthy individuals willing to pay for the pleasure.

seems pretty high to me...

EDIT: saw your edit. I guess it makes a huge difference then

Edited by isee on Thursday 25th June 16:31

Bloody hell, are those pics real?

Don't want to dissapoint anyone out there thinking that anything american made has to be the best and if May flew at 70k feet then that must mean no other plane can fly that high, but...


The Altidude record for a combat aircraft of 123,524 ft (37,650 m) is held by the Mig-25

Fair enough it's nowhere near as high as virgin gallactic then, but 66km at £100k vs 33km at £10k, I really don't think i'd struggle with choosing here...

Edited by isee on Thursday 25th June 16:55

[escargot]

isee said:

escargot said:

isee said:

GingerNinja said:

In a Mig you wouldn't reach space or get anywhere near the altitude, you wouldn't escape the earth's atmosphere and you wouldn't experience zero g.

So basically, it's a sound idea and I'm sure there are plenty of wealthy individuals willing to pay for the pleasure.

seems pretty high to me...

EDIT: saw your edit. I guess it makes a huge difference then

Edited by isee on Thursday 25th June 16:31

Bloody hell, are those pics real?

Don't want to dissapoint anyone out there thinking that anything american made has to be the best and if May flew at 70k feet then that must mean no other plane can fly that high, but...


The Altidude record for a combat aircraft of 123,524 ft (37,650 m) is held by the Mig-25

Fair enough it's nowhere near as high as virgin gallactic then, but 66km at £100k vs 33km at £10k, I really don't think i'd struggle with choosing here...

I couldn't give a toss whether the yanks make a plane that can fly higher than anyone else, I just cannot believe those pics are real. It's a plane. In space. A plane. In space.

[GingerNinja]

isee said:

The Altidude record for a combat aircraft of 123,524 ft (37,650 m) is held by the Mig-25

Fair enough it's nowhere near as high as virgin gallactic then, but 66km at £100k vs 33km at £10k, I really don't think i'd struggle with choosing here...

Where did you find that fact, as the record in the Blackbird was only 85,000 Ft. I'd be suprised if a Russian fighter plane could go 50% higher than that.

[isee]

Famous Graham said:

isee said:

GingerNinja said:

In a Mig you wouldn't reach space or get anywhere near the altitude, you wouldn't escape the earth's atmosphere and you wouldn't experience zero g.

So basically, it's a sound idea and I'm sure there are plenty of wealthy individuals willing to pay for the pleasure.

seems pretty high to me...

EDIT: saw your edit. I guess it makes a huge difference then

Edited by isee on Thursday 25th June 16:31

I can't believe those pics are legit (in terms of being in a Mig at the altitudes being talked about). The pilot's not wearing a suit, for a start. And the curvature in the first one is way too much to be from a Mig.

Edited by Famous Graham on Thursday 25th June 16:35

Can't remember where I read it but there was a story about a pilot who was taking the plane to the max altitude and the canopy popped due to it being pressurised. The guy's suit is the only thing that saved his life by tightening up around his body. He was saying that his wife would not let him join her in bed until he switched the bedroom lights off first, because his body was 100% covered in one continious bruise.

[Famous Graham]

GingerNinja said:

isee said:

The Altidude record for a combat aircraft of 123,524 ft (37,650 m) is held by the Mig-25

Fair enough it's nowhere near as high as virgin gallactic then, but 66km at £100k vs 33km at £10k, I really don't think i'd struggle with choosing here...

Where did you find that fact, as the record in the Blackbird was only 85,000 Ft. I'd be suprised if a Russian fighter plane could go 50% higher than that.

It was a year later, according to wikipedia, but it wasn't "controlled flight" it was a ballistic trajectory, however that was achieved (I guess just giving it beans straight up until momentum ran out and it arced over for the fall back to earth?)

wiki said:

Jet plane
The highest altitude obtained by a manned air-breathing jet propelled aircraft following an uncontrolled ballistic trajectory is 37,650 meters (123,523 feet) set by Alexandr Fedotov, in a Mikoyan Gurevitch E-266M (MiG-25M), on 31 August 1977.
The highest altitude obtained by a manned air-breathing jet propelled aircraft in controlled horizontal flight is 25,929 m (85,069 ft) set by Robert C. Helt and Larry A. Elliott, in a Lockheed SR-71, on 27th/28 July 1976.
[edit]Rocket plane
The highest altitude obtained by a manned aeroplane (launched from another aircraft) is 111,996 m (367,441 ft) by Brian Binnie in the Scaled Composites SpaceShipOne (powered by a Scaled Composite SD-010 engine with 18,000 lb of thrust) on 4 October 2004 at Mojave, CA. The previous (unofficial) record was 107,960 m (354,199 ft) set by Joseph A. Walker in an X-15 on August 22, 1963.

[isee]

GingerNinja said:

isee said:

The Altidude record for a combat aircraft of 123,524 ft (37,650 m) is held by the Mig-25

Fair enough it's nowhere near as high as virgin gallactic then, but 66km at £100k vs 33km at £10k, I really don't think i'd struggle with choosing here...

Where did you find that fact, as the record in the Blackbird was only 85,000 Ft. I'd be suprised if a Russian fighter plane could go 50% higher than that.

just googled for it.

first two sites i clicked seem to have that info

here is oen of them:

http://www.globalaircraft.org/planes/mig-25_foxbat...

[Eric Mc]

GingerNinja said:

isee said:

The Altidude record for a combat aircraft of 123,524 ft (37,650 m) is held by the Mig-25

Fair enough it's nowhere near as high as virgin gallactic then, but 66km at £100k vs 33km at £10k, I really don't think i'd struggle with choosing here...

Where did you find that fact, as the record in the Blackbird was only 85,000 Ft. I'd be suprised if a Russian fighter plane could go 50% higher than that.

The true capabilities of the Blackbird are still classified.

[Famous Graham]

isee said:

Famous Graham said:

isee said:

GingerNinja said:

In a Mig you wouldn't reach space or get anywhere near the altitude, you wouldn't escape the earth's atmosphere and you wouldn't experience zero g.

So basically, it's a sound idea and I'm sure there are plenty of wealthy individuals willing to pay for the pleasure.

seems pretty high to me...

EDIT: saw your edit. I guess it makes a huge difference then

Edited by isee on Thursday 25th June 16:31

I can't believe those pics are legit (in terms of being in a Mig at the altitudes being talked about). The pilot's not wearing a suit, for a start. And the curvature in the first one is way too much to be from a Mig.

Edited by Famous Graham on Thursday 25th June 16:35

Can't remember where I read it but there was a story about a pilot who was taking the plane to the max altitude and the canopy popped due to it being pressurised. The guy's suit is the only thing that saved his life by tightening up around his body. He was saying that his wife would not let him join her in bed until he switched the bedroom lights off first, because his body was 100% covered in one continious bruise.

That incident wouldn't be any higher than 60k feet then, or whatever the point is that water boils due to lack of pressure. No way would you survive more than a few seconds with just a flight suit and helmet.

[isee]

Eric Mc said:

GingerNinja said:

isee said:

The Altidude record for a combat aircraft of 123,524 ft (37,650 m) is held by the Mig-25

Fair enough it's nowhere near as high as virgin gallactic then, but 66km at £100k vs 33km at £10k, I really don't think i'd struggle with choosing here...

Where did you find that fact, as the record in the Blackbird was only 85,000 Ft. I'd be suprised if a Russian fighter plane could go 50% higher than that.

The true capabilities of the Blackbird are still classified.

That and I was under the impression that blackbird's engines do not classify as air breathing. due to special fuel. will go google this now.