A news story today reports that cracks have been discovered in the wings of WhiteKnightTwo.
More problems for Virgin Galactic: A news story today reports that cracks have been discovered in the wings of WhiteKnightTwo.
Sources tell me the cracks are along the spars that run the length of the wings. Specifically, they are located where the spars connect with the fuselage. My sources tell me the cracks have caused quite a bit of concern among the engineers at Virgin and Scaled. One particularly worrisome aspect is that nobody knows why or when they occurred.
I’m told there is some comfort in the repairs being made based on previous Scaled experience in patching composites. However, since the cause of the cracks is uncertain and WhiteKnightTwo is unique in terms of its size and the stresses placed on it by SpaceShipTwo, the engineers are in uncharted territory. They don’t know if they have addressed the root cause, or whether the problem will reoccur.
If this story turns out to be trie, it will likely be a disaster for Virgin Galactic. Not only can they not yet fly SpaceShipTwo because of engine issues, the mother ship that puts the spacecraft into the air can’t fly either.
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More problems for Virgin Galactic: A news story today reports that cracks have been discovered in the wings of WhiteKnightTwo.
Sources tell me the cracks are along the spars that run the length of the wings. Specifically, they are located where the spars connect with the fuselage. My sources tell me the cracks have caused quite a bit of concern among the engineers at Virgin and Scaled. One particularly worrisome aspect is that nobody knows why or when they occurred.
I’m told there is some comfort in the repairs being made based on previous Scaled experience in patching composites. However, since the cause of the cracks is uncertain and WhiteKnightTwo is unique in terms of its size and the stresses placed on it by SpaceShipTwo, the engineers are in uncharted territory. They don’t know if they have addressed the root cause, or whether the problem will reoccur.
If this story turns out to be trie, it will likely be a disaster for Virgin Galactic. Not only can they not yet fly SpaceShipTwo because of engine issues, the mother ship that puts the spacecraft into the air can’t fly either.
The support of my readers through the years has given me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Four years ago, just before the 2020 election I wrote that Joe Biden's mental health was suspect. Only in this year has the propaganda mainstream media decided to recognize that basic fact.
Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Even today NASA and Congress refuse to recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are five ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation:
5. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above. And if you buy the books through the ebookit links, I get a larger cut and I get it sooner.
Not good news considering how little it is used.
This is a major setback in time consuming studies of just what did cause the cracks and the conditions that induced them
Just because its made of composite, polymer carbon fiber or Some other new fangled substance does not make it magical.
Voids in laminates are a major problem in manufacturing them. Its the main reason that autoclaves are used to cure them. The autoclave uses pressure to squeeze out the air bubbles.
Which is fine for parts that fit into the autoclave. But when you have to stick two large parts together and together they do not fit into the autoclave then you have almost no way to remove the voids and have to rely on hand application to hope the voids can get squeezed out.
And I can guarantee you that there are always voids in joints like this. All you can do is make the joint far larger than the models say you need to and hope that its enough to compensate.
They know what caused the cracks. They just don’t know exactly what event started them. Stress. Stress if takeoff, or landing, or releasing the space ship, or landing with the spaceship. or excessive turbulence in flight.
In any event it was stress and that is not something they can avoid. So now they have to both repair the cracks and beef up the joints in some way.
They are not flying this year.
And they are not going to be carrying any superstars to space. The superstars insurance companies will not let them. Do you really think that Brad Pits insurance company wants to risk a billion dollar payout on some joy ride?
I think if these cracks run perpendicular to the length of the spar that I would never trust any repair to that spar, if indeed these cracks run longways with the spar that may be it could be voids with the adhesives, maybe not so bad, with all that is known with composits and with Burt Rutan’s reputation, I am surprised at this outcome. Perhaps some refinements to this airframe are in order, tis the nature of EXPERIMENTAL aircraft.
If the cracks in any way or direction go all the way through the material then forget it. That whole section needs replacement.
If its just a few layers of material that are delaminating or cracking then they can be repaired pretty well and more than likely made even stronger in the end.
The fact that they are trying to gloss over it does not look good. If it was something small and easily fixed they would just fix it and move on telling all potential customers everything. But this has the beginnings of a coverup.
Virgin reportedly said they are NOT cracks, merely glue delaminating. This is likely true, since given the spar is the prime structural element holding the wings on – you couldn’t just repair it if it was cracked.
De-laminating layers is caused by air bubbles between the layers.
They do not glue the sections together so much as melt them together. Just like model glue. It liquifies the surface a little and allows the two parts to ‘mix’ together creating a very strong bond. Almost a single piece.
Unless there is air keeping the two parts from touching.
They will have to grind off the delaminating area and add on new material. If possible due to space limitations.