Thanks RB
it supports my speculation.
- the unlock happens during rocket accel
- the tail remains pinned back by aerodynamic forces (it's not like pulling a hood release)
- transonic shockwaves dancing unsympathetic waves
Quote:
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Pivoting the tail section for descent increases the ship's surface area so
that it can float down to Earth, flying like a badminton shuttlecock. It had
been used dozens of times during SpaceShipTwo's atmospheric test flights,
including two rocket-powered flights.
As the ship is rocketing upward, the tail is held fast by a large hook that is
supposed to remain engaged until the craft reaches supersonic speed,
At that point, the pilots release the hook, though the tail remains pinned
back by aerodynamic pressures. The command to actually move the tail into
descent position comes after the rocket motor burns out, near the apex of
the ship's altitude. Unlocking the tail is done well before then so that if
the mechanism fails, the pilots can abort the flight.
"It's a great safety feature, but if you use your safety feature in a
regime that it's not designed to handle, bad things are going to happen,"
Mike Moses, Virgin Galactic vice president of operations, told Reuters. "It's
like your car airbag going off at 65 miles per hour."
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