In article ,
Chad Irby writes:
In article ,
(Peter Stickney) wrote:

However, granting that - here's the list of altitude flights by X-15
#3 66672, (Which, it should be pointed out, wasn't the ablative coated
X-15A-II 66671.

Date (1963) Elapsed since Altitude Comment
previous flight
18 June 0 Days 223,700' Pilot: Rushworth
27 June 9 Days 285,000 Rushworth, (over 50 miles)
U.S. Astronaut
qualification
19 Jul 22 Days 347,800 Pilot: Walker (Over
100 Km) Intl Atro
qualification
6 Aug 17 Days Abort Weather Abort &
Computer overheat
13 Aug 7 Days Abort APU doesn't start
15 Aug 2 Days Abort weather Abort
22 Aug 7 Days 354,200 Walker: second
Intl Astro Qual

All X-15 operations postponed due to weather for 6 weeks after this
flight.

So, we've got 2 high altitude flights separated by 9 days,

Two-thirds of the height of the max alt flights needed under X-Prize.

285 is 2/3 of 328 ? Around here we use Base 10 Numbers, Podnah.
How 'bout 285 is 88% of the altitude needed.
If you look at what was done, adn how it was done, there wasn't much
difference, or any different preparation between an X-16 flight to 88
Km (50 miles), and 100 Km. It's a matter of engine run time and
flight profile.

What we have is two "qualifying" flights in July/August, separated by a
month, two hardware failures and a couple of weather failures. So, by
your own admission, they couldn't do it.

No, they _didn't do it. There wer also weather delays between the
first 100 Km flight and the second attempt.
Weather and Equipment problems are Bad Luck - NASA, or Burt Rutan, or
Raymond Orteig himself can't do anything about them. They will affect
all progrems, including Spaceship One. There was nothing in the
X-15's mission that _required_ that type of turnaround. You've been
contending that it wasn't possible. I've been pointing out that it
was possible. It just wasn't important.

I'd say that if somebody had really wanted to fly 2 over 100 Km X-15
flights somewhere around 10 days apart, they'd have certainly been
able to do it.

But, in the actual records, they *couldn't*. Computer overheat,
vulnerability to weather, bad APU... nope, they couldn't manage it, even
with the less-stringent "rules" in effect.

At this point, on this subject, I'd have to say that you are being
either blindly irrational or deliberately obtuse. C'mon Chad, you're
smarter than that.


If the Rutan craft doesn't manage to do the two flights in two weeks
because of some weather issues, will you argue that they could have done
it?


Sure. And knowing Burt Rutan, he'll keep trying until he does.
Nobody has limited teh X-Prize teams to only one try.

--
Pete Stickney
A strong conviction that something must be done is the parent of many
bad measures. -- Daniel Webster