Rutan 339 Space Ship Two
SpaceShipTwo is a rocket-powered spaceplane designed to carry paying passengers above the conventional atmosphere from a carrier aircraft. Its distinctive feathering tail rotates upward during re-entry, creating drag and stability without complex computer control. The first SpaceShipTwo, VSS Enterprise, was lost in a 2014 test accident; the later VSS Unity completed suborbital flights. The design’s rare flights make it one of the most unusual aircraft a flight tracker could ever identify.
Did you know?
It launches mid-air from beneath a purpose-built carrier aircraft, WhiteKnightTwo, rather than taking off under its own power from a runway.
Specifications
| Length | 18.3 m (60 ft) |
|---|---|
| Wingspan | 8.2 m (27 ft) |
| Height | 5.1 m (17 ft) |
| Maximum passengers | 6 |
| Crew | 2 |
| Range | 1,200 NM (2,222 km) |
| Service ceiling | 51,500 ft (15,697 m) |
| Rate of climb | 15,500 ft/min (78.7 m/s) |
| Engines | 1x hybrid rocket motor |
| Units built | 2 |
Curated by CatchFlights from manufacturer documents, ICAO Doc 8643 and reference works; values are left out where no source could confirm them. Sources are listed on our credits page.
In CatchFlights
In CatchFlights the Rutan 339 Space Ship Two starts as a Legendary catch. The tier is an editorial judgement of how special a sighting of this type is. The more often you catch it, the closer it moves to Common for you. The first catch of a legendary type pays a bonus of its own.
A catch counts for the manufacturer Rutan, the 339 Space Ship Two family and the model in your collection, and the daily Type Rating quiz asks about the types of each family.
Catch it yourself.CatchFlights shows the aircraft flying near you on a radar, so a type like this one is only a catch away when it passes overhead. Explore CatchFlights.
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