Tag: SpaceShipTwo
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VSS Unity conducts first powered flight since Branson’s trip in 2021
After a nearly two-year pause in flights, starting after a deviation from controlled airspace during Sir Richard Branson’s flight in July 2021, the Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo VSS Unity made its first powered flight since the eventful Unity 22 mission. The Unity 25 mission, like Unity 22, had a full crew complement of six. Two pilots…
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VSS Unity conducts first powered flight since Branson’s trip in 2021
After a nearly two-year pause in flights, starting after a deviation from controlled airspace during Sir Richard Branson’s flight in July 2021, the Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo VSS Unity made its first powered flight since the eventful Unity 22 mission. The Unity 25 mission, like Unity 22, had a full crew complement of six. Two pilots…
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With Blue Origin passengers set, suborbital tourism arrives after decades of work
After years of development, suborbital space tourism looks ready to lift off after Virgin Galactic successfully launched its first fully-crewed suborbital mission to space on July 11 following several prior crewed suborbital tests. The Unity 22 mission came just days before Blue Origin is scheduled to make its first passenger suborbital mission no earlier than Tuesday,…
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With Blue Origin passengers set, suborbital tourism arrives after decades of work
After years of development, suborbital space tourism looks ready to lift off after Virgin Galactic successfully launched its first fully-crewed suborbital mission to space on July 11 following several prior crewed suborbital tests. The Unity 22 mission came just days before Blue Origin is scheduled to make its first passenger suborbital mission no earlier than Tuesday,…
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A tale of two spaceships: How Seattle tech titans helped launch suborbital space tours
Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity and its mothership (left) are modeled after the SpaceShipOne launch system (right) that was built with Seattle billionaire Paul Allen’s backing. (Photos by Virgin Galactic and Michael Pereckas) The suborbital spaceships built by Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture and Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic spaceline may look totally different, but financially…
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Virgin Galactic’s Richard Branson takes suborbital space trip, stealing the spotlight from Jeff Bezos
Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo rocket plane, VSS Unity, fires up its hybrid rocket motor to head spaceward. (Virgin Galactic via YouTube) Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson rode his company’s SpaceShipTwo rocket plane into the skies over New Mexico today and did something that no billionaire has done before. In the company of five crewmates, Branson became…
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Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin fuels feud with Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic over suborbital space trips
How serious could the suborbital space race between Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos get? (GeekWire Photos) Jeff Bezos has a longstanding rivalry with SpaceX’s Elon Musk, but now his Blue Origin space venture is upping the ante in its spat with fellow soon-to-be space traveler Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic — and the Twitterverse is not…
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Virgin Galactic’s Richard Branson plans July spaceflight to upstage Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin trip
Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson says he’ll be Astronaut 001 on the July flight. (Virgin Galactic Photo) The billionaire space race is on: Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson is on the crew for the next test flight of the company’s SpaceShipTwo rocket plane, which is scheduled to cross the 50-mile space frontier as early as…
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Virgin Galactic downplays rumblings about a suborbital Branson vs. Bezos space race
How serious could the suborbital space race between Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos get? (GeekWire Photos) Would Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson try to steal a march on Blue Origin (and Amazon) founder Jeff Bezos when it comes down to which billionaire flies first on their own suborbital spaceship? There’s been some buzz about that…
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Virgin Galactic successfully makes first human spaceflight from New Mexico
Virgin Galactic has successfully performed the first human spaceflight from Spaceport America, just south of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, today, using the VSS Unity SpaceShipTwo spacecraft. The WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft VMS Eve climbed to an altitude of 44,000 feet before releasing VSS Unity for a rocket-powered flight to space. Flight restrictions in the airspace…