Page 3 - Aerotech News and Review, Dec. 6, 2019

Virgin Galactic

places main

oxidizer tank

into next

spaceship

Virgin Galactic has completed a major milestone in the build
of the next spaceship in its fleet.
The team has placed the Main Oxidizer Tank into the fuselage
— moving this vehicle a step closer to beginning its flight test
program.
The MOT forms part of the structure of the vehicle, connecting
the forward and aft part of the spaceship. It also holds the oxidizer
for the rocket motor which powers the spaceship to space. The
Virgin Galactic rocket motor is a hybrid system which uses a solid
fuel along with a liquid oxidizer and holds the record of being the
most powerful hybrid rocket motor to be used in crewed flight.
During a spaceflight, the oxidizer in the MOT allows the solid
fuel to burn. “To ignite the rocket motor and burn the fuel an
oxidizer is needed,” explains Jose Stevens, chief engineer, Pro-
pulsion, at The Spaceship Company. “On Earth, most fuel burns Virgin Galactic photograph
using the plentiful supply of oxygen found in the atmosphere, but Virgin Galactic has placed the Main Oxidizer Tank into the fuselage — moving this vehicle a step closer to beginning its flight test
at very high altitudes and in space, the lack of oxygen means we program, a major milesteon in the build of the next spaceship in its fleet.
have to bring an oxidizer along with us to allow the rocket motor
fuel to burn and generate the required thrust.” three times the speed of sound. ships and carrier aircraft for the Virgin Galactic operations in
During the most recent Virgin Galactic spaceflight, the rocket The Virgin Galactic fleet is being built by its development New Mexico. The first SpaceshipTwo, VSS Unity, is progress-
motor burned for a duration of 60 seconds and created enough and manufacturing arm, The Spaceship Company, in Mojave, ing through its flight test program, with the next two vehicles in
energy to propel the spaceship VSS Unity into space at almost Calif. The team is building and assembling a fleet of space- course of production.
TANKER, from 1

tween the test assets at the same time,” dual WARP testing would be executed B-1B tests with KC-46
planning process to focus on how the
Montoya said. “This is something that
is rarely done in test, as boom and to maintain a safe test environment
centerline drogue operations only re- and ensure the proper data is collect-
fuel one receiver at a time. “ ed,” Montoya said.
Having three airplanes being able to “It’s an honor to be participating in
fly at the same time also provided a lo- this testing and being able to provide
gistical challenge, said Capt. Andrew the operators with the necessary infor-
Novak, KC-46 experimental test pilot, mation to utilize the KC-46 WARP
418th FLTS. Various factors, such as system to the max extent possible. It
manning and crew availability due to has been a pleasure working with all
other test missions can affect when the U.S. Air Force pilots and boom
particular flights can occur. operators as well as Navy pilots and
“The biggest change was the in-
creased coordination and planning re- engineers throughout all the testing.”
quired to have three airplanes flying Lambach said he felt privileged to
together at the same time,” he said. support the warfighter through the
“At that point in the testing, we al- KC-46 testing and to add to the Ed-
ready knew both aircraft could safely wards legacy of test.
receive fuel on either WARP. It was “It’s a privilege to be involved
just a matter of refueling two aircraft with testing a system that will help
at the same time. Both aircraft were the warfighter,” Lambach said. “The
successfully able to fill up.” KC-46 brings some unique new capa-
As part of the Air Force Test Cen- bilities to the fight, but before we can
ter enterprise, safety is paramount to really benefit from those, we have to
the 418th and 412th Test Wing’s mis- prove that it has all the capabilities
sions. that legacy tankers such as the KC-10
“A larger effort was put in the pre- and KC-135 have.”
EDWARDS, from 2
• Our team continues to make great strides in creating and developing a novel
Virtual Reality Maintenance training concept for the entire F-35 fleet. Air Force photograph by Don Allen
• We continue to plan, support, execute, and report on 139 test programs worth The B-1B Lancer conducted aerial testing with the KC-46 Pegasus in the skies over Edwards Air Force Base,
$1.1 billion for our nation and her allies. Calif., recently. The Boeing-built tanker is currently undergoing testing at Edwards. The KC-46A is the first phase
in recapitalizing the U.S. Air Force’s aging tanker fleet. With greater refueling, cargo and aeromedical evacuation
capabilities compared to the KC-135, the KC-46A will provide next generation aerial refueling support to Air Force,
And that is just a small subset of the important activity going on around this Navy, Marine Corps and partner-nation receivers. The KC-46A represents the beginning of a new era in air-to-air
amazing base as we make history today here at The Center of the Aerospace Test- refueling capability for the joint force. The aircraft has been in development since Feb. 24, 2011, and its initial
ing Universe. Thank you for continuing to be a world class team that has a passion flight occurred in Dec. 2014. The current contract, with options, provides Air Mobility Command an inventory of
179 KC-46A tankers. The first KC-46A was delivered to McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas, on Jan. 25, 2019.
for shaping and molding our nation’s arsenal for the warfighter.

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