Log in

View Full Version : SpaceShip One nomenclature


golf_cart_john
18-02-2004, 23:34
Has anyone wondered at the way the SpaceShip One's carrier is named? They call it the "White Knight". That makes a little sense 'cause it's white, but a knight...
Here's the other half of the picture. Has anyone seen the movie Footloose or heard the soundtrack? There's a great song by Bonnie Tyler called "Holding out for a hero". Part of it goes like this:

...Where's the street-wise Hercules to fight the rising odds? [doo-doo-doo-doo-do] Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed? Late at night I toss and I turn ...

Hey, SpaceShip One is definitely a "fiery steed", and they've got a "White Knight" on top of it. The knight's supporting the steed, but it's still odd for a coincidence.

Does anyone know anything more about this, and has anyone else noticed it? I looked around on their website, but couldn't find anything about the naming. This might be a clue to the identity of the guy who's funding the whole thing, the guy they call "The Client". Maybe he (she?) is a Bonnie Tyler fan.

The song and the aircraft could also be named after the same fairy tale. Have any of you heard a little kids' story mentioning a "white knight" on a "fiery steed"? I've looked, but haven't found any using those specific terms.

Elgin Clock
18-02-2004, 23:41
<me> totally lost...</me>

Sorry dude...

KyleGilbert45
18-02-2004, 23:43
And for those of you that are completly lost I've done us all a favor and searched it up on Google (thank you google, w/o you my life would be horrible)

This is the spacecraft designed by Burt Rutan.

Info on Rutan (http://www.isepp.org/Pages/02-03%20Pages/Rutan.html)

SpaceShip One Info (http://http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=9986)

:)

golf_cart_john
18-02-2004, 23:49
Sorry, I wasn't very clear. SpaceShip One is a program (and a vehicle) designed by Burt Rutan. He's trying to build the first privately-owned system to get a pilot and 2 passengers into space. He's built 2 vehicles. One, called the White Knight, is a weird airplane. It straddles the other (called SpaceShip One) and lifts it into the air. When they're high enough, SpaceShip One uses a rocket engine to fly into space. They then land like airplanes.