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  [Discuss] Virgin Galactic SS2 cabin interior

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Author Topic:   [Discuss] Virgin Galactic SS2 cabin interior
Robert Pearlman
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Posts: 44346
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 07-28-2020 09:15 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Please use this topic to discuss Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo passenger cabin design and use.

328KF
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Registered: Apr 2008

posted 07-28-2020 09:16 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for 328KF   Click Here to Email 328KF     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
What a disappointing PR event, the latest in Virgin Galactic's advertising efforts in lieu of actual flight test progress. After all of the hype leading up to it, all they offered was what appeared to be computer-generated animation of the cabin interior rather than the real thing.

A lot of glossy CEO-speak, more eye-rolling commentary of how awesome it is from Moses, and little else. And even now, they are peddling a $1000 deposit in return for a "limited number" (!) of Under Armour flight jackets.

I want to see this succeed as much as anybody, and I look forward to the day it does. But VG needs to get on with it and prove they can fly this thing safely to 100 km with a full payload before they will convince a large number of people to drop the big cash down for a flight. Their last powered test flight was February 2019 and only reached 89.9 km (55.9 miles), and only with a stripped-down cabin and one passenger.

Robert Pearlman
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Posts: 44346
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 07-28-2020 09:36 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The event was promoted as a reveal of their cabin design, and that is what they delivered. The imagery was a combination of renderings and photography.

It looks to me like they put in some good thought into the cabin's design. The aft bulkhead mirror is a nice touch, though if I ever do get the chance to fly, I am pretty sure my nose will be permanently pressed against the window, or that window, or that window over there...

I was curious as to what type of harness they would opt for and I am still curious to see how easy it is to release and then re-secure, given what might be a reluctance by some to be seated. I suppose that will be part of the pre-flight training.

(As for test flights, George Whitesides told reporters today that they have "should have one or two more flights to complete the FAA milestones, and then a final phase with "a small number of flights that will have some test passengers," before they begin commercial operations, but that's a discussion for a different thread.)

Aeropix
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Posts: 51
From: Houston
Registered: Apr 2010

posted 07-29-2020 01:15 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Aeropix   Click Here to Email Aeropix     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
About those big windows... NASA forced SpaceX to cover up 2 of four windows on Dragon ostensibly increasing safety. Concorde - the old supersonic airliner cruising at 60,000 feet had windows the size of a pack of cigarettes, in case one blew out. I guess the rewarding views are deemed valuable enough to justify the high-risk design decision of having all that panoramic glass installed.

As an aside, Will the flight crew be wearing pressure suits full time? If so, I couldn't imagine the trauma of landing that ship after a rapid decompression with a full load of passengers. Unlike an airliner, there would be no "rapid descent" procedure, they'd just have to fly the normal ballistic profile for what would feel like a very long time.

All that being said, I'd still be willing to fly on it, but knowing full well the risk of that design.

GACspaceguy
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From: Guyton, GA
Registered: Jan 2006

posted 07-29-2020 04:43 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for GACspaceguy   Click Here to Email GACspaceguy     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I am sure it is posted somewhere but are they flying 14.7psi oxygen/nitrogen or 5 psi pure oxygen? That would drive design requirements.

A Gulfstream G650 flies at 51,000 feet with a 9.8 psi differential cabin pressure and has very large windows and a lot of them.

Aeropix
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From: Houston
Registered: Apr 2010

posted 07-29-2020 07:02 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Aeropix   Click Here to Email Aeropix     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Yes, but as with all civil aircraft, the Gulfstream was certified to provide for a window blowout, by providing oxygen and demonstrating a means of rapid descent, neither of which would be available to the unsuited occupants of this spacecraft shoud one of those washing-machine windows give way.

Unless full time suits are required at least for the operating crew, it matters little what the differential is when one of this windows departs while the flight is on an unpowered ballistic trajectory. A flake of paint or grain of sand could cause a puncture even in those low altutudes. Sure the spacecraft may have a slow velocity but the orbital debris may be moving much faster. Anyone unsuited would have no chance for survival. Thus in my mind it is an interesting certification conundrum.

I have no objection to the big windows, in fact I think its really cool that they are doing this. I just hope the participants know what they are getting into, and wonder what risk assessment has been done to allow this to be certified.

328KF
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posted 07-29-2020 11:30 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for 328KF   Click Here to Email 328KF     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Virgin has promoted all along that neither the passengers nor the crew will wear pressure suits. This is probably due in large part to the weight penalty they bring to a system that is already marginally capable to perform its mission.

Those big windows are indeed a structurally weak point, and the question of the pressurization system is a good one. SpaceShipOne was a bottle, it had no pressurization for simplicity. Once the hatch was closed on the ground it took the ambient air to altitude and that was it.

Whether SpaceShipTwo has a pressurization or environmental control system has not been discussed that I've seen. The pilots obviously have supplemental oxygen through masks, which are only useful to roughly the release altitude. It also hasn't been revealed whether the passengers have any additional oxygen available or not.

At the very least, it would be useful to have an outflow valve to bleed some pressure off during the ascent to reduce stress on the structure and those windows.

GACspaceguy
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Posts: 2569
From: Guyton, GA
Registered: Jan 2006

posted 07-29-2020 11:36 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for GACspaceguy   Click Here to Email GACspaceguy     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
My Gulfstream comment was in reference to the Concord comment, I did not make that clear. There has never been a window blow out in a Gulfstream, a damaged outer ply but with the redundancy built into the window, the inner ply did its job and the masks did not drop.

Certainly in a vacuum a full breach would evacuate the cabin very rapidly. I wonder how much of a suborbital flight would be max differential and how quickly this vehicle could descend to a manageable atmosphere.

I feel certain that redundancy and all those other factors are taken into account for the required certification which would drive what type of equipment would be required to be worn.

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