Mon, Jan 09, 2006
Ultimate Flight Still On!
After getting slightly banged up in a ground incident last week,
the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer is expected to fly to Kennedy Space
Center, FL on Thursday, January 12 -- six days later than
originally planned.
Sources at NASA tell Aero-News the GlobalFlyer will arrive at
KSC at 4 pm EST Thursday, barring any unforeseen circumstances --
which could almost be the unofficial
theme for the nevertheless highly successful
program.
As was reported in Aero-News,
the original cross-country flight to KSC (a relative hop around the
pattern for the long-legged GlobalFlyer) was sidelined last week
after the aircraft collided with a fuel truck prior to a test
flight. At the time, the extent of the damage was unknown.
The aircraft will be piloted by Steve Fossett, and is being
relocated from Salina, KS, to Kennedy's Space Shuttle Landing
Facility to begin preparations for an attempt to set a new world
record for the longest flight made by any aircraft. An exact
takeoff date for the Ultimate Flight has not been determined, and
is contingent on weather and jet-stream conditions.
The window for the attempt opens in mid-January -- making the
flight possible anytime between then and the end of February.
NASA agreed to let Virgin Atlantic Airways use Kennedy's Space
Shuttle Landing Facility as a takeoff site. The facility use is
part of a pilot program to expand runway access for non-NASA
activities.
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