While some are having life/death issues in Haiti,
Richard Branson of Virgin Atlantic has a new toy to share.
The Virgin
Galactic
(open to full screen) which may come as early as
2011.
It will make available spaceflight for the wealthy consumer.
07.12.09
Virgin Galactic unveils SpaceShipTwo, the world's first
manned commercial spaceship
SpaceShipTwo (SS2) and its mothership, VMS Eve
(WhiteKnightTwo) herald a new era in commercial space flight with daily
space tourism flights set to commence from Spaceport America in New
Mexico after test program and all required US government license
Virgin Founder, Sir Richard Branson and SpaceshipOne
(SS1) designer, Burt Rutan, today reveal SS2 to the public for the
first time since construction of the world’s first manned
commercial spaceship began in 2007. SS2 has been designed to take many
thousands of private astronauts into space after test programming and
all required U.S. government licensing has been completed.
The unveiling represents another major milestone in
Virgin Galactic’s quest to develop the World’s
first commercial space line providing private sector access to space
using an environmentally benign launch system for people, payload and
science. The spaceship draws on the experience developed during the
successful flights of SS1 in 2004, which won the Ansari X-Prize for
completing the world’s first manned private space flights.
The SS2 design will be refined and completed during an extensive test
flying program to commence shortly, and it will be an entirely new
vehicle capable of carrying up to 6 passenger astronauts and up to 2
pilot astronauts into space on a sub-orbital flight.
The unveil itself will take place at Mojave Air and
Spaceport as darkness falls on the famous aviation and spaceflight
location. Subject to certain U.S. regulatory requirements that will
guide the unveiling, SS2 will be attached to her WK2 mothership which
was last year unveiled and named EVE
after Sir Richard Branson’s mother. In the future, WK2 will
carry SS2 to above 50,000 feet (16 kilometres) before the spaceship is
dropped and fires her rocket motor to launch into space from that
altitude. In honour of a long tradition of using the word Enterprise in
the naming of Royal Navy, US Navy, NASA
vehicles and even science fiction spacecraft, Governor Schwarzenegger
of California and Governor Richardson of New Mexico will today christen
SS2 with the name Virgin Space Ship (VSS)
ENTERPRISE. This
represents not only an acknowledgement to that name’s
honorable past but also looks to the future of the role of private
enterprise in the development of the exploration, industrialisation and
human habitation of space.
The emergence of new commercial space companies like
Virgin Galactic will be an engine for employment, growth and the
creation of a new technology and science base in the United States.
Recent research has indicated that 12,500 jobs have already been
created by the new space companies; the Virgin Galactic project alone
is creating significant opportunities for employment in both the
company itself and with suppliers in both California and New Mexico.
Approximately 600 people are now working on activities relating to the
project and it is estimated that this figure will rise to over 1,100
jobs during the peak of the construction phase at the space port and
through the introduction of the commercial space vehicles into regular
astronaut service.
Both WK2 and SS2 represent state of the art
environmentally sensitive industrial development in their use of carbon
composite materials technology, which has now been identified as a key
future contributor to the increasingly urgent requirement by the
commercial aviation sector for dramatically more fuel efficient
aircraft. WK2 is powered by four Pratt and Whitney PW308A engines,
which are amongst the most powerful. economic and efficient commercial
jet engines available making it a mould breaker in carbon efficiency.
SS2 will be powered by a unique hybrid rocket motor, which is currently
under development.
The twin fuselage and central payload area configuration
allow for easy access to WK2 and to the spaceship for passengers and
crew; the design also aids operational efficiencies and turnaround
times. The mothership has now also completed a year of rigorous and
successful first phase flight testing prior to today’s
attachment of SS2.
Commenting on the unveiling, Sir Richard Branson,
Founder of Virgin Galactic said: “This is truly a momentous
day. The team has created not only a world first but also a work of
art. The unveil of SS2 takes the Virgin Galactic vision to the next
level and continues to provide tangible evidence that this ambitious
project is not only moving rapidly, but also making tremendous progress
towards our goal of safe commercial operation”.
Burt Rutan, Founder of Scaled Composites added:
“All of us at Scaled are tremendously excited by the
capabilities of both the mothership and SS2. Today is the culmination
of a dream that began many decades ago, was stimulated by Paul
Allen’s funding of our X-Prize winning SS1 and then moved
forward to commercial reality by Sir Richard and Virgin’s
visionary investment in a new future for space
transportation”.
SpaceShipTwo will be unveiled after darkness has fallen
over the Mojave Desert to the sound of a space-themed anthem from
Britain’s biggest DJs, Above & Beyond. Fittingly
titled “Buzz” the track will sample Buzz
Aldrin’s original moon landing dialogue. Following the naming
by Governors Richardson and Schwarzenegger, the DJs will also perform
an exclusive set at the celebration cocktail party which will follow
and feature the first ever IceBar in the desert hosted by Absolut and
the world famous Swedish IceHotel. All the guests will be protected
from the desert cold by designer space jackets supplied by PUMA. Finally, to close off the
celebrations, all the guests will have the opportunity to view the
stunning night skies using specialist telescopes supplied by Ron
Dantowitz of the Clay Observatory whose unique tracking cameras
followed SS1 into space during the epic flights of 2004.
If Space Travel were not enough excitement for you, Branson will have
you going to depths of the ocean, diving for treasure, for about $25k a
week.
The Necker
Nymph: Richard Branson unveils new plaything
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