Powers WK2 To FL520 En Route To AirVenture 2009
Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) today joined Virgin
Galactic in celebrating the PW308A-powered WhiteKnight Two (WK2)
launch aircraft reaching an altitude of over 52,000 feet on its way
to the 2009 EAA AirVenture Oshkosh air show and convention.
The revolutionary WK2, launch platform for the world's first
commercial passenger suborbital spaceship, arrived at the show on
Monday and performed an impressive demonstration flight
Tuesday.
"The WhiteKnightTwo has now successfully completed 17 flights
powered by four leading-edge PW308A engines, each time bringing the
dream of commercial space flight closer to reality," said John
Saabas, President, P&WC. "The demonstration flight at Oshkosh
is another important milestone for the aircraft's development
program and the entire team at P&WC is proud to be an integral
part of this visionary project."
The fully-certified PW308A engine, rated at 6,900 pounds of
normal takeoff thrust and equipped with full-authority digital
engine control (FADEC), was selected in 2007 to power the WK2
launch aircraft by The Spaceship Company (TSC) - a jointly-owned
Virgin Galactic and Scaled Composites company. The engine provides
class leading cruise thrust, fuel consumption and power-to-weight
ratio.
The WK2 launch aircraft will take off like an airplane, with the
world's first commercial suborbital spacecraft, SpaceShipTwo (SS2),
attached underneath. It will launch SS2 into suborbital space from
about 50,000 feet
"The Virgin Galactic space launch system is the most
environmentally friendly developed to date for the purpose of human
spaceflight, science or payload," said Will Whitehorn, President,
Virgin Galactic. "Our global leadership is built on technology
innovation and we look forward to leveraging our expertise to
further reduce the overall carbon footprint of a flight into
space."
Pratt & Whitney Canada, based in
Longueuil, Quebec, is a world leader in the design, manufacture and
service of aircraft engines powering business, general aviation and
regional aircraft and helicopters. The company also manufactures
auxiliary power units and industrial gas turbines. United
Technologies, based in Hartford, Conn., USA, is a diversified
company providing high technology products and services to the
global aerospace and building industries.