Ofuna zosangalatsa zamtsogolo adzakwera chombo chonyezimira chokhwimitsa pansi pa umayi waukulu, wamapasa awiri kupita kumphepete mwa malo mumapangidwe omwe adawululidwa Lachitatu ndi Virgin Galactic.
SpaceShipTwo spacecraft ndi WhiteKnightTwo wake wonyamula ayamba kuyesa koyambirira chilimwechi kuti asokoneze njira yoyendetsa ndege yojambulidwa ndi mpainiya woyenda mlengalenga Burt Rutan ndi kampani yake ya Scaled Composites.
"Chaka cha 2008 chikhala chaka chenicheni cha sitimayo," atero a Richard Branson, wochita bizinesi yaku Britain, yemwe adayambitsa gulu la Virgin, yemwe adavumbulutsa mtundu wa 1/16 wa chombo chatsopano kuno ku American Museum of Natural History. "Ndife okondwa kwambiri ndi dongosolo lathu latsopano komanso zomwe dongosolo lathu latsopano litha kuchita."
Kutengera ndi Rutan's SpaceShipOne, ndege yoyendetsa ndege yomwe ingagwiritsidwenso ntchito yomwe idapambana $ 10 miliyoni Ansari X Prize yopita ku suborbital spaceflight mu 2004, SpaceShipTwo ndigalimoto yoyendetsa ndege yokonzedwa kunyamula okwera sikisi ndi oyendetsa ndege awiri kupita kumalo osabwerera kumbuyo ndi kubwerera.
Koma mosiyana ndi SpaceShipOne, yomwe idayambira pansi pa kanyumba kanyumba ka WhiteKnight, kampaniyo yatsopanoyo idzagwa kuchokera pa ndege yayitali kwambiri yomwe ingathe kuwirikiza kawiri ngati ntchito yophunzitsira alendo. WhiteKnightTwo ili ndi ma injini anayi ndi mapiko a mamita pafupifupi 140, yolimbana ndi bomba la B-42, ndipo amamangidwa kuti azigwira ma roketi opanda anthu omwe amatha kuyambitsa ma satelites ang'onoang'ono mumsewu, atero a Virgin Galactic.
Virgin Galactic ikupereka matikiti okwera spaceliners a SpaceShipTwo pamtengo woyamba pafupifupi $ 200,000, ngakhale Branson adati mtengo ukuyembekezeka kutsika zaka zisanu zoyambirira zikugwira ntchito. Kampani yopanga zokopa anthu mlengalenga ikukonzekera kuti pamapeto pake akhazikitse ndege kuchokera kumalo okwerera ndege ku Spaceport America ku New Mexico, ndi maulendo enanso opyola ma borearis ochokera ku Kiruna, Sweden.
“Ndizosangalatsa,” watero wamkulu wazotsatsa waku Britain Trevor Beattie, m'modzi mwa anthu 100 omwe amakhala ndi tikiti ya Virgin Galactic. "Ndikufuna kupita tsopano ... ndi gawo lililonse lofunika, likuyandikira kwambiri."
Pakadali pano, Virgin Galactic ili ndi okwera pafupifupi 200 okwera ndege mtsogolo, $ 30 miliyoni m'madipoziti ndi 85,000 yolembetsa kuchokera kwa makasitomala omwe akufuna kukwera ndege ya SpaceShipTwo.
Rutan, yemwe a Scalve wa ku Mojave, ku California, amaliza 60% ya SpaceShipTwo yoyamba, ati kampani yake ikupanga magalimoto osachepera asanu - ndi onyamula awiri a WhiteKnightTwo - a Virgin Galactic.
"Iyi si pulogalamu yaying'ono ndi malingaliro aliwonse," atero a Rutan, ndikuwonjeza kuti chiyembekezo chake chokhazikika ndikupanga 40 SpaceShipTwos ndi zombo zonyamulira 15 pazaka 12 zikubwerazi.
Chombo chilichonse chimapangidwa kuti chizitha kuwuluka kawiri patsiku, ndi zoyendetsa zawo za WhiteKnightTwo zomwe zimatha kutulutsa maulendo anayi tsiku lililonse, Rutan adati. Kwa zaka 12, anthu opitilira 100,000 amatha kuthawira mgalimoto zazing'ono, adaonjeza.
Ndege yotakasuka
Anthu okwera ma Virgin Galactic ngati Beattie ndi ena ayesedwa kale ma centrifuge kuti ayese kuyambitsa ndi kuyambiranso, komwe kumatha kuchititsa mphamvu mpaka kasanu ndi kawiri mphamvu ya Dziko lapansi pathupi la munthu.
A Whitehorn, a Virgin Galactic CEO, ati aliyense wonyamula SpaceShipTwo azikhala ndi suti yothanirana ndi chitetezo, akhale omasuka kuyendayenda kanyumba kakang'ono kofanana ndi ndege ya Gulfstream ndikuyang'ana padziko lapansi, 18-inchi (46- cm) m'maola angapo osalemera omwe amaperekedwa paulendo uliwonse.
"Chifukwa momveka bwino, ngati mupita mlengalenga, mufuna kuwona mawonekedwe," adatero Whitehorn.
Nyumba ya SpaceShipTwo ndi yayikulu kwambiri kuposa kapisozi wa anthu atatu omwe agwiritsidwa ntchito pa SpaceShipOne, ndipo iliyonse yamakampani awiri onyamula ma WhiteKnightTwo ndi ofanana ndi a spacecraft kuti ikhale chida chothandiza pophunzitsira, adatero.
Achibale kapena okwera malo ena amatha kuwonera SpaceShipTwo kuchokera mkati mwa kanyumba ka WhiteKnightTwo, kamene kamakhala mamita 25 (7.6) mita kuchokera pachombo chokwera chapakati.
Pomwe mayeso oyambilira adakonzedwa kwakanthawi chilimwe ndipo ndege zoyambilira zoyambirira zidakhomerera 2009, Whitehorn adanenetsa kuti chitetezo ndichofunika kwambiri.
"Tili pa mpikisano wopanda aliyense, kupatula mpikisano wokhala ndi chitetezo," adatero Whitehorn.
Rutan adati akufuna chitetezo chofanana ndi ndege zoyambilira zam'ma 1920, zomwe zikuyenera kukhalabe zabwino koposa 100 kuposa chitetezo chamlengalenga zamasiku ano zogwiritsidwa ntchito ndi maboma akulu masiku ano.
"Musakhulupirire aliyense amene angakuuzeni kuti mulingo wachitetezo wa ndege zatsopano ndiwotetezeka ngati ndege yapamtunda," adatero Rutan.
Kapangidwe ndi kuyesa kwa SpaceShipTwo ndi kampani yake yonyamula kwachepetsedwa ndi kuphulika kwangozi komwe kunapha antchito atatu a Scaled Julayi watha ku Mojave Air ndi Space Port. Sabata yatha, oyang'anira ntchito zachitetezo ku California adatinso Scaled polephera kupereka maphunziro okwanira kwa ogwira ntchito ndikulipiritsa kampaniyo ndalama zoposa $ 25,000.
Rutan adati kampani yake yakhala ikugwira ntchito ndi oyang'anira maboma ndi akuluakulu kuti ateteze ogwira ntchito, koma chomwe chimayambitsa kuphulika panthawi ya kuyesa kwa rocket oxidizer sikunadziwikebe. Injini ya SpaceShipTwo silingamalizidwe mpaka gwero la kuphulikalo litakanikizidwa, adatero.
A Patricia Grace Smith, omwe amathandizira nawo pa FAA pakuyendetsa malo, adayamika kudzipereka kwa Virgin Galactic ndi Scaled ku chitetezo pambuyo povumbulutsa SpaceShipTwo.
"Ndi mzimu wochita bizinesi womwe upititse dziko lino patsogolo," adatero Smith. "Izi zigwira ngati moto wolusa womwe sitinawonepo."
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