Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo (SS2) took to the skies for a surprise (at least to the public) second captive carry test suspended beneath WhiteKnightTwo Sunday morning, almost two months after its 23 March first flight. pictured at left.
Photographer Alan Radecki, up early to capture the moment, took some photos that reveal some new fins on inboard faces of SS2's vertical fins.
Pictured below is a picture from the first captive carry test, followed by a similar picture from the second flight. Both photos were taken by Alan Radecki / MojaveWest Media Works
The new fins, the right one just above the "irg" in Virgin, are so new that there didn't appear to be the time or need to fix the paint job before the flight, so possibly this was a test fix.
What might the extra horizontal stabilizers be meant for?
A close look at Virgin Galactic's video from the first captive carry flight does show some flexibility in the twin tailbooms, which perhaps required some balancing of the previously one-sided fins on the SS2's twin vertical booms.
Check out the time period between 1:36 and 1:44 on the video below and judge for yourself.
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