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New York, 8:35 AM
Sun Nov 29
13 posts in the last 24 hours

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  • posts about #whiteknighttwo more →

    First Pictures of Virgin Galactic WhiteKnightTwo Interior

    Virgin Galactic's Boss Says Space Travel Will Never Be Cheap

    Video: Virgin Galactic's WhiteKnightTwo in Action

    Virgin Galactic's WhiteKnightTwo Flies For the First Time

    Virgin Galactic's WhiteKnightTwo Performing Runway Tests

    Virgin Galactic Will Help Monitor Climate As Well As Fly You to Space

    Interview: Virgin Galactic Pilot...Space Pilot
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    Dsmvwl  Admin  Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×
    Image of sinerasis sinerasis
    07/29/09

    In reply to First Pictures of Virgin Galactic WhiteKnightTwo Interior
    What's up with the hand mirror?
     Reply
    Barry99705 promoted this comment sinerasis was starred sinerasis was unstarred
    Image of Barry99705 Barry99705
    07/29/09

    @sinerasis: So they can see the wings in flight.
     Reply
    Barry99705 was starred Barry99705 was unstarred
    Image of strider_mt2k strider_mt2k
    07/29/09

    In reply to First Pictures of Virgin Galactic WhiteKnightTwo Interior
    Go Team Scaled Composites!
     Reply
    strider_mt2k was starred strider_mt2k was unstarred
    Image of DeusExMach wonders what the hell happened to his star. DeusExMach wonders what the hell happened to his star.
    07/29/09

    @strider_mt2k: Hey! they've got an asteroids machine in the lobby! And they've got a lobby!
     Reply
    DeusExMach wonders what the hell happened to his star. was starred DeusExMach wonders what the hell happened to his star. was unstarred
    Image of SinisterBill SinisterBill
    07/29/09

    @strider_mt2k: Now all you need is a Swedish murder machine to fly the thing for you.
     Reply
    SinisterBill promoted this comment SinisterBill was starred SinisterBill was unstarred
    Image of Homerjay is utterly alone. Homerjay is utterly alone.
    07/29/09

    In reply to First Pictures of Virgin Galactic WhiteKnightTwo Interior
    I wonder which one of those switches engages "Otto."
     Reply
    Homerjay is utterly alone. was starred Homerjay is utterly alone. was unstarred
    Image of bosskev bosskev
    07/29/09


    @Homerjay. Good and good for you.:.
     Reply
    bosskev was starred bosskev was unstarred
    Image of CircuitMage CircuitMage
    07/29/09

    In reply to First Pictures of Virgin Galactic WhiteKnightTwo Interior
    What's that white, stick-on counter in pic2? Looks like the toll meter in a taxi cab.
     Reply
    bosskev promoted this comment CircuitMage was starred CircuitMage was unstarred
    Image of bosskev bosskev
    07/29/09

    @CircuitMage: That's what it is. If you want to take a space walk, it's an extra charge and they have to keep the meter running.
     Reply
    bosskev was starred bosskev was unstarred
    Image of Nikkoli Nikkoli
    07/29/09

    @CircuitMage:
    its a simple timer from radio shack. Commonly used by model airplane pilots to track their time in flight.

    Apparently they have a very low budget?
     Reply
    bosskev promoted this comment Nikkoli was starred Nikkoli was unstarred
    Image of bosskev bosskev
    07/29/09

    @Nikkoli: Actually, I think you are right. They probably got a package deal on the timer and a hundred toggle switches.
     Reply
    bosskev was starred bosskev was unstarred
    Image of Geisrud Geisrud
    07/29/09

    In reply to First Pictures of Virgin Galactic WhiteKnightTwo Interior
    I don't see a single cup holder.

    /sorely dissapointed
     Reply
    Geisrud was starred Geisrud was unstarred
    Image of N@tedog N@tedog
    07/29/09

    In reply to First Pictures of Virgin Galactic WhiteKnightTwo Interior
    There isn't even a door?!? It's like they're just inviting the first space terrorists aboard.
     Reply
    N@tedog was starred N@tedog was unstarred
    Image of Yuri Dambyotch: don't need no stinkin' star Yuri Dambyotch: don't need no stinkin' star
    07/29/09

    In reply to First Pictures of Virgin Galactic WhiteKnightTwo Interior
    Is that a Tom-Tom just to the right of the left-hand yoke?
     Reply
    Yuri Dambyotch: don't need no stinkin' star was starred Yuri Dambyotch: don't need no stinkin' star was unstarred
    Image of Ultraorange Ultraorange
    07/29/09

    @3Djesus: Forget that why do they need a personal mirror ceiling on the right, and it's like the super cheap one from a drug store
     Reply
    EBone promoted this comment Ultraorange was starred Ultraorange was unstarred
    Image of HerbertGaloolie HerbertGaloolie
    07/29/09

    In reply to First Pictures of Virgin Galactic WhiteKnightTwo Interior
    Is that a vanity mirror on the top right?
     Reply
    EBone approved this comment HerbertGaloolie was starred HerbertGaloolie was unstarred
    Image of EBone EBone
    07/29/09

    @HerbertGaloolie: I guess it's to look out the window to see if the orbiter is still attached...
     Reply
    EBone promoted this comment EBone was starred EBone was unstarred
    Image of Hello Mister Walrus Hello Mister Walrus
    07/29/09

    @HerbertGaloolie: It's to deflect enemy laser beam attacks.
     Reply
    Hello Mister Walrus was starred Hello Mister Walrus was unstarred
    Image of DeusExMach wonders what the hell happened to his star. DeusExMach wonders what the hell happened to his star.
    07/29/09

    @Hello Mister Walrus: Our shaving mirrors can't deflect blasts of that magnitude!
     Reply
    DeusExMach wonders what the hell happened to his star. was starred DeusExMach wonders what the hell happened to his star. was unstarred
    Image of bosskev bosskev
    07/29/09

    In reply to First Pictures of Virgin Galactic WhiteKnightTwo Interior
    Toggle switches? Are you kidding me? You want to blast me into space in a contraption controlled by 89¢ Radio Shack toggle switches?

    Please. At least have the decency to camouflage them with a series of colorful, randomly blinking diodes.
     Reply
    Edited by bosskev at 07/29/09 2:12 PM bosskev was starred bosskev was unstarred
    Image of AEchinoderm AEchinoderm
    07/29/09

    @bosskev: Oh, no those aren't 89¢ Radio Shack switches. They are $27.50 Aeronautical grade toggle switches. Much higher quality: titanium stems, gold-plated contacts, the works. Maybe Virgin Galactic couldn't afford Military-grade switches, but those will do.
     Reply
    bosskev promoted this comment AEchinoderm was starred AEchinoderm was unstarred
    Image of bosskev bosskev
    07/29/09

    @AEchinoderm: And the difference between Aeronautical-grade toggles and Military-grade toggles would be moving the price's decimal point two places to the right?
     Reply
    bosskev was starred bosskev was unstarred
    Image of met2art met2art
    07/29/09

    @bosskev: All kidding (and sarcastic snarking) aside, toggle switches have more resilience to flight stress and provide definitive tactile response. They are also less likely to be accidently "momentarily" actuated as a short-throw button, and can used with or without gloves with less chance of causing a problem. Furthermore, with a single glance the flight crew can instantly determine the status of a given switch without the need for a additional power-draining hardware. The pole sin the toggle switch also provide a hard-contact power connection which is less likely to arc or decay in the event of loss of pressurization or atmospheric contaminants (such as corrosive gases released from potential onboard fire).

    While it may not look sexy, there's a damn good reason why certain hardware remains in use: reliability, safety and simplicity.

    Sadly, most people simply think it's "outdated" tech that isn't as good, while the opposite is actually true. Glass touchscreens and flush-mount "momentary" buttons would be extremely detrimental, highly counter-productive, energy intensive and exceedingly dangerous.

    I'm amazed by the amount of armchair-aeronautical engineers who think they could do better, and I wonder why they didn't claim the $10 million Ansari X Prize. Things to ponder.
     Reply
    bosskev promoted this comment met2art was starred met2art was unstarred
    Image of OMG! Ponies! OMG! Ponies!
    07/29/09

    @bosskev: Would you prefer capacitive touchscreens?
     Reply
    OMG! Ponies! was starred OMG! Ponies! was unstarred
    Image of bosskev bosskev
    07/29/09

    @OMG! Ponies!: You mean, like an iPhone? Maybe. But with my luck, I'd be in mid-flight when the app that controls everything would be unapproved and yanked.
     Reply
    bosskev was starred bosskev was unstarred
    Image of Barry99705 Barry99705
    07/29/09

    @AEchinoderm: They use the same parts.
     Reply
    Barry99705 was starred Barry99705 was unstarred
    Image of jepzilla jepzilla
    07/29/09

    In reply to First Pictures of Virgin Galactic WhiteKnightTwo Interior
    Wow, that's a much more complex cockpit than SS1. If you don't remember, SS1's cockpit was basically a joystick and a single LCD multifunction display.
     Reply
    Barry99705 promoted this comment jepzilla was starred jepzilla was unstarred
    Image of Barry99705 Barry99705
    07/29/09

    @jepzilla: That's because this does more than space ship one. It also holds more people.
     Reply
    Barry99705 was starred Barry99705 was unstarred
    Image of Kaiser-Machead Kaiser-Machead
    05/05/09

    In reply to Virgin Galactic's Boss Says Space Travel Will Never Be Cheap
    Forget what this guy says. Virgin won't be the only ones trying this in the future. Other more visionary engineers and designers and industrialists will eventually try an approach that works. These assumptions always stem from our limited understanding of technology, and then some ambitious crazy person/people in a laboratory, or a workshop, will come up with something that blows our minds away and we move forward.


    I think we'll always need to explore. If not, well we'll need to rely on the mentalists to retain knowledge for us while we fall into a Dark Age.

     Reply
    Kaiser-Machead was starred Kaiser-Machead was unstarred
    Image of frigg frigg
    05/05/09

    In reply to Virgin Galactic's Boss Says Space Travel Will Never Be Cheap
    A catastrophic event in the next few thousand years sounds alarmist. The sun will blow up in 5 billion years, some other life-imperiling natural catastrophe will almost certainly happen before that, and could technically happen at any time. But the chances of it happening in the next few thousand years is as unlikely as our ability to respond to it with this kind of nascent technology.


    I wonder how many years it would take to develop space exploration to the point where it could conceivably shuttle our species to another home if the Earth became a big hot mess? Given that space flight is only 50 years old, I wonder what the practical goals could be in 500 years (outposts on all planets?), 5,000 years (travel beyond solar system?) or 50,000 years (wormholes, universal wifi with happy meals, etc.)?

     Reply
    frigg was starred frigg was unstarred
    Image of Geisrud Geisrud
    05/05/09

    @frigg: Universal Wi-Fi wil NEVER be a reality.
     Reply
    Geisrud was starred Geisrud was unstarred
    Image of fuzz54 fuzz54
    05/05/09

    @frigg: Within 500 years (probably more like 100) we will have created AI that is smarter than us and getting smarter. At that point I think all bets are off.
     Reply
    fuzz54 was starred fuzz54 was unstarred
    Image of frigg frigg
    05/05/09

    @fuzz54: I take it you've read "The Singularity."


    @radarskiy: you wouldn't necessarily have to transport the whole population to save the species. You're also assuming birth rates will continue to accelerate. It's possible with dramatically longer life spans, birth rates will dramatically decrease.

     Reply
    frigg was starred frigg was unstarred
    Image of Gann Gann
    05/05/09

    In reply to Virgin Galactic's Boss Says Space Travel Will Never Be Cheap
    It'll be expensive until I finish building my space ladder.
     Reply
    Gann was starred Gann was unstarred
    Image of norfizzle norfizzle
    05/05/09

    In reply to Virgin Galactic's Boss Says Space Travel Will Never Be Cheap
    I think 'never' was the wrong choice of words.
     Reply
    norfizzle was starred norfizzle was unstarred
    Image of Lite: hates Illinois Nazis Lite: hates Illinois Nazis
    05/05/09

    @norfizzle: At the rate we're going, 10,000 will be "cheap in about 10 years.
     Reply
    Lite: hates Illinois Nazis was starred Lite: hates Illinois Nazis was unstarred
    Image of aerospaceman aerospaceman
    05/05/09

    In reply to Virgin Galactic's Boss Says Space Travel Will Never Be Cheap
    what is 'cheap' supposed to mean?
    Airline travel isn't cheap and yet many people do it, mainly because they have to.
    We will have extensive space travel when we actually need it, when there is a military or economic purpose to it. Governments and corporations lack foresight beyond five years, so by the time we really need to send tons of cargo and hundreds of people up there ASAP we will be completely unprepared for it, in typical human fashion.
     Reply
    aerospaceman was starred aerospaceman was unstarred
    Image of ripfire ripfire
    05/05/09

    @aerospaceman: Cheap is %2 of your annual salary.
     Reply
    ripfire was starred ripfire was unstarred
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