Page 18 - Aerotech News and Review Dec. 16 2016

Mojave — thinking outside the box
by Linda KC Reynolds
staff writer
To many around the world, the Ante- lope Valley is considered the epicenter of aviation. Historical flight testing at Edwards Air Force Base by aerospace giants such as Boeing, Lockheed Mar- tin, NASA and Northrop Grumman has shaped the industry for years. However, a new generation of ‘thinking outside the box’ has exploded — Mojave Air & Space Port is where it’s happening.
Established as an airport in 1935, Mojave is the first facility to be li- censed in the United States for hori- zontal launches of reusable spacecraft and was certified on June 17, 2004, as a spaceport by the Federal Aviation Ad- ministration.
Today, Mojave Air & Space Port is home to more than 60 companies in- volved in everything from designing, building and testing new aircraft and rockets, to light industry. Students from around the globe are taught to fly and engineer these new concepts by world famous, experienced test pi- lots, astronauts and engineers, as well as those you have not heard of — yet. Mojave is also a backdrop for numer- ous television commercials.
“We have such a unique environ- ment in Mojave, where companies in the New Space industry can test and operate freely. Our job is to find a way to accommodate the needs of our customers, no matter how unusual the
project may seem,” said Karina Drees, Mojave Air and Space Port CEO and general manager. “This attitude is what helps keep Mojave the ideal location for innovators.”
Starting off with a christening from a baby’s bottle, Virgin Galactic and The Spaceship Company unveiled the new- ly completed Space Ship Two, named VSS Unity, at a ceremony attended by Sir Richard Branson and his family in February.
In September, VSS Unity was pilot-
ed by Mark Stucky and Dave Mackay, while Virgin Mothership Eve was flown by Mike Masucci and Todd Er- icson. The nearly four-hour flight gave the company data to move another step closer to commercial space travel and prepared VSS Unity for its first free flight on Dec. 2, piloted by the same crew.
“Unity performed remarkably well for its first flight. Unity is the first vehi- cle The Spaceship Company has deliv- ered to flight test. Great handling quali-
ties were reported by our pilots and we can’t wait to put the vehicle through its full paces,” said TSC Executive Vice President Enrico Palermo.
Recently, Doug Shane, TSC’s Chair- man, spoke at Boom Technology’s un- veiling of its XB-1 Supersonic Dem- onstrator, a subscale prototype of the Boom supersonic passenger airliner.
TSC will partner with Boom Tech- nology and will provide engineering and manufacturing services, along with flight test support and operations.
Boom is working to build an afford- able Mach 2.2, 45-passenger aircraft. A trip from New York to London would take just over three hours compared to nearly a seven hour flight.
“Our team is excited and eager to support the Boom program. It is a great opportunity to leverage and ap- ply TSC’s end-to-end capabilities from preliminary vehicle design, through manufacturing to flight test and post- delivery support to another innovative program which has potential to change the world for good,” added Palermo.
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The National Test Pilot School celebrated its 35th anniversary at the Society of Experimental Test Pilots symposium in September and is con- tinuing to provide world class flight test education.
“We’re working to integrate new aircraft into our curriculum to further challenge the students in flight test ex- ercises,” explained Jim “JB” Brown, chief operations officer and test pilot instructor at the National Test Pilot School in Mojave. Formerly a chief test pilot for Lockheed Martin, Brown has more than 9,300 hours in more than 130 aircraft. He took his new position at Mojave in January 2016.
The greatest singular accomplish- ment for NTPS in 2016 was the
See MOJAVE, Page 19
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