Virgin Galactic finally admitted to its engine troubles on Friday.
Virgin Galactic finally admitted to its engine troubles on Friday.
They have dumped the original engine, switching to a different engine design that the rumors have said they have been testing for the past year.
The company press release is here, with commentary here.
Though it is a good thing that the company has finally come clean and made the switch, they probably waited far too long to do it, as the problems with the old engine likely caused several years delay in their schedule, allowing other companies to catch up with them and thus losing the significant technological advantage that they once held.
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Virgin Galactic finally admitted to its engine troubles on Friday.
They have dumped the original engine, switching to a different engine design that the rumors have said they have been testing for the past year.
The company press release is here, with commentary here.
Though it is a good thing that the company has finally come clean and made the switch, they probably waited far too long to do it, as the problems with the old engine likely caused several years delay in their schedule, allowing other companies to catch up with them and thus losing the significant technological advantage that they once held.
I must unfortunately ask you for your financial support because I do not depend on ads and rely entirely on the generosity of readers to keep Behind the Black running. You can either make a one time donation for whatever amount you wish, or you sign up for a monthly subscription ranging from $2 to $15 through Paypal or $3 to $50 through Patreon.
Your support will allow me to continue covering science and culture as I have for the past twenty years, independent and free from any outside influence.
Your support is even more essential to me because I not only keep this site free from advertisements, I do not use the corrupt social media companies like Google, Twitter, and Facebook to promote my work. I depend wholly on the direct support of my readers.
You can provide that support to Behind The Black with a contribution via Patreon or PayPal. To use Patreon, go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation. For PayPal click one of the following buttons:
If Patreon or Paypal don't work for you, you can support Behind The Black directly by sending your donation by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman, to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
Or you can donate by using Zelle through your bank. You will need to give my name and email address (found at the bottom of the "About" page). The best part of this electronic option is that no fees will be deducted! What you donate will be what I receive.
The first step is admitting there is a problem
The whole of the engine design is flawed. Just changing the solid fuel will not help much. It will never correct the real problem.
Adding He to the mix is not a solution either. Just a patch job.
By adding the oxidizer to the top of the engine away from the nozzle you create a situation in which the burn chamber is ever changing and changing in unpredictable ways.
I bet they added a few knock sensors to the side of the engine and tried adding He as needed to keep the vibrations down. Sort of like they add less or more fuel and change the ignition timing to keep knocks out of internal combustion car engines. It works but only to a point. While stopping knocks it lowers engine power.
Since VG has recently stated they will not be able to reach space even with the new engines I bet they found that out.
This could impact Dream Chaser as well. The company that makes it also makes the SS2 engines – and uses the same kind of engines on the DC. ….with issues they don’t like to admit to.
Well really, hybrids are a dump system. You kinda mix the problems with solids, liquids, and pressurized feed systems, with out really getting the best of any of them.