There are two Farnborough videos that they haven’t included in the playlist, at least as of my writing this post.

LauncherOne is akin to a somewhat smaller Orbital Sciences Corporation’s Pegasus XL, or perhaps a much smaller version of the planned Stratolaunch Systems launcher, in that it is a winged, air-launched booster. LauncherOne is designed to be launched from the same White Knight Two carrier aircraft as SpaceShipTwo, and to carry up to 500 pounds to low earth orbit.

LauncherOne is also most likely Virgin Galactic’s entry into Darpa’s Airborne Launch Assist Space Access (Alasa) program, as reported in Aviation Week. Virgin Galactic is one of three companies awarded contracts to develop and air-launched system for placing sub-100-pound payloads into orbit for under $1 million, the other two companies being Boeing and Lockheed Martin. That alone is something of a coup, being a much smaller company. LauncherOne is a bit over-sized for Darpa’s sub-100-pound goal, with its stated capability of up to 500 pounds, but if they can hit the other project goals, including the price point, I hardly expect Darpa to complain about having too much capability. And it is possible that LauncherOne could be scaled by varying the fuel load, or having single- versus dual-stage variants, etc.

And while I’m posting about Virgin Galactic, they also recently published a couple of videos on their SpaceShipTwo program.

This first video compiles footage from the SS2 flight test program:

And this second one is basically a marketing pitch for Virgin Galactic – I’m sold, now I just need the money. Anyone want to give me a couple hundred grand for a ticket?

The post has several photos of the facility, in addition to the videos below. The first video is a look around the facility, while the second is a video of an icing test run. The test stand in the middle, wrapped in plastic, is where the engine being tested would be mounted during an actual test.

I spotted a couple of additional videos in Aviation Week’s Turnaround Time blog. Lufthansa shared a video of one of their new Boeing 747-8 Internationals being painted. This latest member of the B747 family will enter service with Lufthansa in early 2012.

And finally, Delta airlines mounted six cameras in a piece of luggage and flew it from Atlanta to New York. The resulting video gives us a little peak behind the scenes at what happens to our bags when we travel. Of course, I’m sure everyone was briefed on this exercise and were on their best behavior. It is still an interesting little video.

The concept combines a massively scaled up version of the White Knight Two carrier aircraft for SpaceShipTwo with a rocket that looks like the love child of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and Orbital Sciences’ Pegasus XL. This isn’t just a pie-in-the-sky idea, they have some serious leadership on board. And Scaled Composites and SpaceX both have proven track records of success, and of pulling of audacious plans that many expected to fail, so I wouldn’t bet against them. And I wouldn’t expect them to be involved if they weren’t serious.

The design of the system is no coincidence, Paul Allen worked with Burt Rutan and Scaled Composites to build the original White Knight One and SpaceShipOne, so they’re adapting a design they have experience with. The rocket actually is a variant of the Falcon 9, known as the Falcon 9 Air. Based on the renderings it looks a bit more like the stillborn Falcon 5 with a wing – given it is shown with five motors and not nine. But if you’re going to launch from altitude you don’t need as much initial thrust as you’re already part of the way ‘up hill’ and have less atmosphere to push through as well.

They haven’t released many specifics, but they did release some general information. The carrier aircraft is to weigh 1.2 million pounds – one has to expect that’s the loaded weight – with a 385 foot wingspan. It will use six “747 engines”, which is quite vague as the B747 has used a variety of engines over its life. It could be the B747-8′s new GEnx-2B engines, which have 66,500 pounds of thrust, or the next most logical would seem to be the B747-400′s GE CF6-80 or P&W 4062 with 62-63k. It strikes me as oddly specific and yet vague at the same time really. I’m sure there is some design consideration driving it and not, say, four GE90s of the B777. The carrier will be able to carry the rocket up to 1,300 miles from the departure point which allows for optimal positioning for the launch. Though the selection of departure points will be limited, as it requires a runway 12,000 feet long – minimum.

The rocket, as I said, is a derivative of the Falcon 9. It will way approximately 500,000 pounds at launch and will be approximately 120 feet long. Launch will happen at around 30,000 feet. Lots of approximates.

Flight testing is expected to begin in 2016, so we have a few years before we’ll see this beast flying. Initial launches will be for cargo, but they plan to use the system for manned orbital launches eventually. I really hope they pull it off because, well, damn.

Now let’s scale this up to air launch a Falcon Heavy.

Spotted via Aviation Week’s On Space blog.

The different posts are:

• STOVL Challenges
• Lift Fan
• Swivel Nozzle
• Roll Posts
• Driveshaft
• Clutch
• Doors (Part 1)
• Doors (Part 2)
• Bulkhead

I thought it was quite an interesting read, and I recommend it to anyone interested in aerospace topics.

Edit: There is even more over in the Ares blog with posts on F-35 testing, engine development, and a bit of a status check ten years in.

Via the Aviation Week Turnaround Time blog.

I need to attend AirVenture again someday. I went twice during my teens with my family, and was fortunate to be there the year the SR-71 Blackbird made its last show appearance before its (first) retirement. I got a front row view of the Blackbird making a low pass down the flight line, just barely subsonic. The only word for it is ‘awesome’.

The B787 has suffered quite a few manufacturing delays, but it looks like it will finally enter service this fall as the newest and most advanced airliner in the world. Composite construction, all electric architecture, new ultra-high-efficiency turbofans, all kinds of high tech options for the cabin – from LED lighting to entertainment systems, etc. A flying collection of gadgets and gizmos. I hope I get to fly one before too long.

Via Aviation Week’s Things With Wings blog.