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goobster · 1827 days ago · link · · parent · post: Stratolaunch, world's largest plane, takes to the air without turning into a twisted heap of scrap
I got to see Space Ship One and White Knight's X-Prize winning flight, live, in the desert. It was a thing to behold, for sure. The key thing is that Space Ship One's engine doesn't fire until it detaches from White Knight. It free-falls for a bit while White Knight gets out of the way, and then the rockets fire and it WHOOOSHES away. So spindling around the wing is a concern during flight, but not during launch, and these big pig platforms like the Stratolaunch just kinda lumber up into the air, drop some payload, and then make a wide flat turn to return to base. I think of them more of an escalator than a plane... But yeah... flying these things must be An Experience. Gentle inputs only! :-)