Scaled Composites White Knight
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The Scaled Composites Model 318 White Knight is a jet-powered carrier aircraft used to launch the SpaceShipOne experimental spacecraft. It was developed by Scaled Composites as part of their Tier One program. The aircraft is subsequently being offered by Scaled on a contract basis as a research testbed, and was also used for drop tests of the X-37 spaceplane from June 2005 until April 2006.
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[edit] History
The Scaled Composites model number of White Knight is 318. White Knight is registered with the Federal Aviation Administration as N318SL.
White Knight first flew on August 1 2002. The flight was aborted shortly after takeoff due to a problem with the outboard spoilers. These were auxiliary spoilers designed to be pneumatically actuated to improve roll control when landing with crosswind. During the first flight, low air pressure turned out to be sufficient to suck the spoilers out of their recesses. This reduced lift increased the ambient air pressure and allowed the spoilers to spring back, restoring lift. This occurred cyclically, causing vibration of the airframe, and the pilot decided to abort. The spoilers were subsequently disabled completely, rather than fixed, as they were deemed unnecessary.
White Knight next flew on August 5, 2002, and this time performed well. Development proceeded over the next few months. With White Knight developed and evaluated, on April 18, 2003 White Knight and SpaceShipOne were presented to the media.
Subsequently, White Knight flew as part of the Tier One program that won the Ansari X Prize on 2004 October 4. Afterwards White Knight was used to carry and launch DARPA's experimental X-37 spaceplane for its approach and landing tests in 2005 and 2006.
[edit] SpaceShipOne program
Flights of White Knight are numbered, starting with flight 1 on August 1, 2002. Flights where SpaceShipOne is carried also get one or two appended letters. An appended C indicates that the flight was a captive carry, and L indicates that SpaceShipOne was launched. If the flight actually flown differs in category from the intended flight then two letters are appended, the first giving the intended mission and the second the mission actually performed.
| flight | date | pilot | SpaceShipOne flight |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24C | May 20, 2003 | Peter Siebold | 01C |
| 29C | July 29, 2003 | Brian Binnie | 02C |
| 30L | August 7, 2003 | Brian Binnie | 03G |
| 31LC | August 27, 2003 | Brian Binnie | 04GC |
| 32L | August 27, 2003 | Brian Binnie | 05G |
| 37L | September 23, 2003 | Peter Siebold | 06G |
| 38L | October 17, 2003 | Peter Siebold | 07G |
| 40L | November 14, 2003 | Brian Binnie | 08G |
| 41L | November 19, 2003 | Brian Binnie | 09G |
| 42L | December 4, 2003 | Peter Siebold | 10G |
| 43L | December 17, 2003 | Peter Siebold | 11P |
| 49L | March 11, 2004 | Brian Binnie | 12G |
| 53L | April 8, 2004 | Brian Binnie | 13P |
| 56L | May 13, 2004 | Brian Binnie | 14P |
| 60L | June 21, 2004 | Brian Binnie | 15P |
| 65L | September 29, 2004 | Mike Melvill | 16P |
| 66L | October 4, 2004 | Brian Binnie | 17P |
[edit] X-37 test program
White Knight was contracted to perform both captive carry and drop test flights of the DARPA/Boeing X-37. First captive carry flight was on June 21, 2005, and first drop was on April 7, 2006 (the X-37 was subsequently damaged on landing at Edwards AFB). Initially, the flights originated from Mojave, but following the landing incident, the program was moved to Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, and at least five subsequent flights were made there.
[edit] Adaptive Compliant Wing test program
In late 2006, White Knight flew a seven-flight test program of the Adaptive Compliant Wing developed by FlexSys Inc with funding by the Air Force Research Laboratory. A laminar flow test article was mounted vertically under White Knight's centerline pylon for the 20-flight-hour research program that tested the flexible wing's aerodynamic characteristics.[1][2]
[edit] Specifications
The aircraft was developed out of the Proteus design.
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Capacity: 1
- Length: ()
- Wingspan: ()
- Height: ()
- Powerplant: 2× General Electric J85-GE-5 afterburning turbojets
Performance
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Scaled Composites' Tier One website
- White Knight's FAA registration
- WhiteKnight to launch X-37 test flights
- Photo archive of White Knight flights
[edit] Related content
| Designation sequence: | SpaceShipOne | → | SpaceShipTwo | → | SpaceShipThree |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Related development: | White Knight | → | White Knight Two | → | White Knight Three |
| Development program: | Tier One | → | Tier 1b | → | Tier Two |
| Comparable aircraft: | Scaled Composites Proteus | ||||
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