science

Scaled Composites White Knight Two

Scaled Composites White Knight Two is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Scaled Composites White Knight Two rather than just read about it. In short: The Scaled Composites Model 348 White Knight Two (WK2) is a quadjet cargo aircraft that was used to lift the SpaceShipTwo (SS2) spacecraft to release altitude. It was developed by Scaled Composites from 2007 to 2010 as the first stage of Tier 1b, a two-stage to suborbital-space crewed launch system.

Key takeaways

Scaled Composites White Knight Two belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Scaled Composites White Knight Two to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Scaled Composites White Knight Two from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Scaled Composites Model 348 White Knight Two (WK2) is a quadjet cargo aircraft that was used to lift the SpaceShipTwo (SS2) spacecraft to release altitude. It was developed by Scaled Composites from 2007 to 2010 as the first stage of Tier 1b, a two-stage to suborbital-space crewed launch system. WK2 is based on the mothership to SpaceShipOne, White Knight, which itself was based on Proteus. The aircraft was designed for multi-purpose use, with an "open architecture" intended to enable it to operate as a zero-g aircraft for passenger training or microgravity science flights, to perform other high-altitude testing missions, or to launch payloads other than SpaceShipTwo. Another idea is to add a carbon-composite water tank to make it a forest fire water bomber. The first White Knight Two was unveiled on July 28, 2008, and first flew on December 21, 2008; it is named VMS Eve after Richard Branson's mother Eve Branson. The second was expected to be named VMS Spirit of Steve Fossett after Branson's close friend Steve Fossett, who died in an aircraft accident in 2007. As of 2024, it was not clear whether SS2 and WK2 vehicles beyond VSS Enterprise, VSS Unity and VMS Eve will be built.

History In 2008, Virgin Galactic ordered two White Knight Two vehicles. Together, WK2 and SS2 were to form the basis for Virgin Galactic's fleet of suborbital spaceplanes. In November 2010, The Spaceship Company announced that it planned to build at least three more White Knight Two aircraft plus five SpaceShipTwo rocket planes. The aircraft were to be built by Virgin after the initial prototypes of each craft are built by Scaled Composites. During 2012 through 2014, Virgin Galactic was also considering using White Knight Two as the air-launch platform for a new two-stage liquid-fueled rocket small satellite launcher called LauncherOne. By late 2015, they decided to use a larger carrier aircraft for the job.

Design

White Knight Two is roughly three times larger than White Knight in order to perform a captive flight with the larger SpaceShipTwo spacecraft. The WK2 is similar in wingspan to a Boeing B-29 Superfortress (141 ft 3 in (43.05 m)). White Knight Two is a modern aircraft, as even the flight control cables are constructed of carbon fiber, using a new patented design. WK2 was planned to provide preview flights offering several seconds of weightlessness before the suborbital event. It was intended to have a service ceiling of about 60,000 ft (18 km), offering a dark blue sky to passengers. This would have allowed tourists to practice before the real flight. White Knight Two is of twin fuselage design with four jet engines mounted two on each wing. One fuselage was planned to be an exact replica of that of SpaceShipTwo (to allow tourist training), and the other was planned to offer 'cut-rate' trips to the stratosphere. The design is quite different from the White Knight, both in size, use of tail, engine configuration and placement of cockpit(s). The White Knight used two T-tails, but the White Knight Two uses two cruciform tails. Engine configuration is also very different. White Knight Two has four engines hung underneath the wings on pylons while White Knight's pair of engines were on either side of its single fuselage.

Timeline of introduction

Virgin Galactic contracted aerospace designer Burt Rutan to build the mothership and spacecraft. On January 23, 2008 the White Knight Two design was revealed. On July 28, 2008 the completion and rollout of the first aircraft, Eve, (Tail Number: N348MS) occurred at Scaled's Mojave headquarters. Branson predicted that the maiden space voyage would take place in 18 months: "It represents... the chance for our ever-growing group of future astronauts and other scientists to see our world in a completely new light." On March 22, 2010 the VMS Eve completed its 25th flight, the first occasion it carried a SpaceShipTwo, VSS Enterprise. In a flight of 2 hours 54 minutes, it ascended to an altitude of 45,000 ft (14,000 m). The launch customer of White Knight Two was Virgin Galactic, which was planned to have the first two units, and exclusive rights to the craft for the first few years.

Flight test program

An extensive flight test program of VMS Eve, with nearly twenty flights between December 2008 and August 2009, was undertaken to validate the design and gradually expand the aircraft operating envelope. The flight tests were complete by September 2009, and testing with SpaceShipTwo began in early 2010.

Aircraft specifications

Data from Virgin Galactic Presentation 2007General characteristics Crew: 2 (flight crew) + spaceship launch crew Capacity: payload 17,000 kg (37,479 lb) to 50,000 ft (15,240 m). Planned 200 kg satellite to LEO when carrying a LauncherOne orbital launch vehicle (White Knight Two never carried a LauncherOne rocket on an orbital space launch mission, so this payload figure is theoretical). Length: 78 ft 9 in (24 m) Wingspan: 141 ft 1 in (43 m) Powerplant: 4 × Pratt & Whitney Canada PW308 turbofan engines, 6,900 lbf (30.69 kN) thrust each Performance

Service ceiling: 70,000 ft (21,300 m)

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Scaled Composites White Knight Two

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Scaled Composites White Knight Two claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Scaled Composites White Knight Two before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Scaled Composites White Knight Two ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Scaled Composites White Knight Two

In research: Scaled Composites White Knight Two appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Scaled Composites White Knight Two in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Scaled Composites White Knight Two is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2000s United States airliners, 2000s United States special-purpose aircraft, Air launch carrier aircraft, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Scaled Composites White Knight Two outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Scaled Composites White Knight Two in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Scaled Composites White Knight Two means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Scaled Composites White Knight Two out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Scaled Composites White Knight Two in simple terms?

Why does Scaled Composites White Knight Two matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Scaled Composites White Knight Two?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Scaled Composites White Knight Two.