Tag: Virgin Galactic
-
SpaceShipTwo’s test flight makes a splash
A long contrail extends behind Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity rocket plane as it releases about 1,000 pounds of water from a ballast tank. (Virgin Galactic Photo) Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo rocket plane took another step toward lighting up its engine in flight today, by simulating the shift in its weight with water instead of rocket fuel.…
-
Virgin Galactic’s new SpaceShipTwo space plane flexes its wings in flight for first time
Long-range imagery shows the SpaceShipTwo plane known as VSS Unity with its wings in the feathered position for braking. (MarsScientific.com / Trumbull Studios via Virgin Galactic) Virgin Galactic passed another essential milestone today in the flight test program for VSS Unity, its upgraded SpaceShipTwo rocket plane, by bending its wings into a “feathered” position for…
-
Blue Origin and other space companies urge Congress to boost FAA’s funding
Blue Origin’s New Shepard prototype spaceship blasts off in January 2016. (Blue Origin Photo) When senators asked executives from Blue Origin and other commercial space ventures what they could do to help them at a Senate hearing today, they received an unusual reply: Give more money to the regulators at the Federal Aviation Administration. “”It may…
-
Virgin Orbit satellite launch spin-off created with ex-Boeing exec at the helm
An artist’s conception shows Virgin Orbit’s carrier airplane, Cosmic Girl, deploying a LauncherOne rocket for a high-altitude orbital launch. (Virgin Galactic Illustration) Virgin Galactic says it’s spinning off its satellite launch operation, including the LauncherOne rocket development program, as a new commercial space company called Virgin Orbit. The newly created company’s first president, Dan Hart,…
-
Star-studded cast watches Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo glide through test flight
SpaceShipTwo is nestled between the two fuselages of its White Knight Two carrier airplane before the glide test. (Virgin Galactic Photo) Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo rocket plane glided through its third free-flying test run today, and although it hasn’t yet lit up its engine, there was a high-powered crowd to fuel the excitement at California’s Mojave…
-
Virgin Galactic sneaks in just one more SpaceShipTwo glide test to cap off 2016
Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity glides through the skies over California’s Mojave Desert. (Virgin Galactic Photo) Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo craft, VSS Unity, took its second free-flying test run today, closing off a rebuilding year for the space venture. At the start of the year, the company was still finishing up work on its second SpaceShipTwo rocket plane,…
-
Virgin Galactic’s second spaceship aces first glide flight
Virgin Galactic’s second SpaceShipTwo rocket plane, christened VSS Unity, glided to a runway landing after dropping from its carrier aircraft over California’s Mojave Desert on Saturday. Credit: Virgin Galactic Virgin Galactic’s second SpaceShipTwo rocket plane glided to a runway landing after dropping from its carrier aircraft over California’s Mojave Desert on Saturday. With two pilots…
-
Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity SpaceShipTwo plane takes its first free-flying test glide
Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity glides through its first free-flying flight. (Virgin Galactic Photo) Virgin Galactic’s second SpaceShipTwo rocket plane, dubbed VSS Unity, successfully glided through its first free-flying test run today. The flight comes more than two years after the first SpaceShipTwo broke up during a rocket-powered test. The hybrid rocket engine wasn’t switched on…
-
Winds get too wild to let Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo Unity plane go gliding
An aerial view shows the SpaceShipTwo rocket plane known as VSS Unity and its White Knight Two mothership from the rear. (Credit: Virgin Galactic) Virgin Galactic had to scale back what it hoped would be its first free-flying test of VSS Unity, its second SpaceShipTwo rocket plane, due to unacceptably high crosswinds. Instead of releasing…
-
Virgin Galactic’s new SpaceShipTwo gets off the ground, two years after fatal mishap
The SpaceShipTwo rocket plane known as VSS Unity and its WhiteKnightTwo mothership are seen from below. (Credit: Virgin Galactic) Virgin Galactic sent its second SpaceShipTwo rocket plane, VSS Unity, into the air for the first time today – tucked securely beneath its WhiteKnightTwo mothership for the entire three-hour-plus flight. The captive-carry test flight, conducted from the…