Tag: Virgin Galactic
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Point-To-Point transportation gains boost via NASA/Virgin Galactic SAA
A Space Act Agreement (SAA) between NASA, Virgin Galactic and The Spaceship Company (TSC) has been announced, raising the hope that spacecraft could one day become a future high-speed civilian transportation system. Utilizing the “Point-To-Point” method, Virgin Galactic – and as previously envisioned by SpaceX – is aiming for a transportation option that would vastly…
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Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo makes its first gliding test flight over New Mexico
SpaceshipTwo Unity flies free in New Mexico airspace for the first time. (Virgin Galactic Photo) For the first time, Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo rocket plane flew free in the skies over New Mexico’s Spaceport America, its new base of operations. The SpaceShipTwo plane, known as VSS Unity, has made rocket-powered flights beyond the 50-mile space milestone…
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Virgin Galactic resumes taking deposits for SpaceShipTwo suborbital trips
Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo rocket plane and its WhiteKnightTwo mothership arrive at Spaceport America in New Mexico. (Virgin Galactic via YouTube) Virgin Galactic says it’s letting customers pay $1,000 refundable deposits toward suborbital trips on its SpaceShipTwo rocket plane, resuming spaceflight sales after a hiatus of more than a year. In a news release, Virgin Galactic…
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VSS Unity Arrives at Spaceport America for Commercial Operations
Carried by her mothership VMS Eve, Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity has arrived at Spaceport America in New Mexico. The move from Mojave, California, signals the beginning of the end of SpaceShipTwo’s test campaign, moving ever closer to operational missions for paying customers. The WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft and SpaceShipTwo spaceplane departed Mojave Air and Space Port…
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WOW! Virgin Galactic’s next SpaceShipTwo rocket plane reaches ‘Weight on Wheels’ milestone
The rocket plane that’s due to become Virgin Galactic’s second commercial suborbital spaceship can now stand on its own two feet — or to be more precise, on its own landing gear. Virgin Galactic Holdings’ manufacturing subsidiary, known as The SpaceShip Company, reached the “Weight on Wheels” milestone when it assembled all of the SpaceShipTwo…
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Virgin Galactic soars and then levels off on first day as publicly traded space company
British billionaire Richard Branson rings the New York Stock Exchange’s First Trade Bell to celebrate the listing of Virgin Galactic Holdings as a publicly traded company. (Virgin Galactic Photo / Courtney Crow) Like the rocket plane it operates, Virgin Galactic’s stock price blasted off on its first day as a publicly traded company, and then…
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Suborbital spacefliers will get pinned by the Association of Space Explorers
Virgin Galactic’s chief astronaut trainer, Beth Moses, gets her suborbital spaceflier pin from Michael Lopez-Alegria of the Association of Space Explorers. (GeekWire Photo / Alan Boyle) WASHINGTON, D.C. — Will the customers who fly on the suborbital spaceships operated by British billionaire Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic and Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin get astronaut…
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Virgin Galactic and Under Armour reveal spacewear clothing line for suborbital trips
Virgin Galactic’s billionaire founder, Richard Branson, joins the younger set in modeling the line of spacewear created in partnership with Under Armour. (Virgin Galactic Photo / Stephen Counts) It’s a bit of a stretch to call them spacesuits, but the “spacewear” clothing line unveiled today by Virgin Galactic and Under Armour looks comfortable enough to…
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Boeing to invest $20M in Virgin Galactic, marking a milestone team-up in commercial space
Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity fires its rocket motor to head to the edge of space in 2018. (Virgin Galactic Photo) Boeing says it’s planning to invest $20 million in Virgin Galactic once it goes public, potentially unlocking a new level of synergy for commercial space travel. For Virgin Galactic, the deal will provide an extra…
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Virgin Galactic assemble primary structures for second SpaceShipTwo
Virgin Galactic and The Spaceship Company have announced new milestones in the assembly of the primary structures for the second SpaceShipTwo in its current fleet. A sister to VSS Unity, the yet-unnamed vehicle is set to launch customers into suborbital space in the 2020s. VSS Unity is being prepared for that first customer flight, although…