Tag: Virgin Galactic
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Virgin Galactic sends its SpaceShipTwo rocket plane to 50-mile space milestone
Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipOne rocket plane, dubbed VSS Unity, fires its hybrid rocket motor for a 51-mile-high flight. (MarsScientific.com / Trumbull Studios) MOJAVE, Calif. — Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo rocket plane, dubbed VSS Unity, has become the first privately funded vehicle in 14 years to carry people to the edge of space — depending on how you define…
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Virgin Galactic gets set for SpaceShipTwo flights that aim for space — but how high?
Virgin Galactic is getting VSS Unity ready for a crucial series of test flights. (Virgin Galactic Photo) Virgin Galactic says it’s beginning a series of SpaceShipTwo test flights that could cross the edge of the space frontier as early as Thursday — amid a debate over where exactly that edge kicks in. The company has…
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Virgin Galactic gets set for SpaceShipTwo flights that aim for space — but how high?
Virgin Galactic is getting VSS Unity ready for a crucial series of test flights. (Virgin Galactic Photo) Virgin Galactic says it’s beginning a series of SpaceShipTwo test flights that could cross the edge of the space frontier as early as Thursday — amid a debate over where exactly that edge kicks in. The company has…
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VSS Unity completes third powered flight – achieves Mach 2.47
Virgin Galatic took another step closer to realizing its long-fought dream of carrying paying customers on a suborbital ride into space with a third powered test flight for the VSS Unity. Thursday’s test was piloted by Dave Mackay and Mike ‘Sooch’ Masucci and appears to be another successful flight pushing the vehicle to new heights.…
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SpaceShipTwo rocket plane pushes the envelope in third supersonic test flight
Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo rocket plane, VSS Unity, fires up its hybrid rocket motor during a supersonic test flight. (MarsScientific.com and Trumbull Studios via Virgin Galactic) Virgin Galactic sent its SpaceShipTwo rocket plane, VSS Unity, to its highest-ever altitude today during its third powered test flight — setting the stage for a full-powered push across the boundary…
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Virgin Galactic signs onto a deal to bring spaceflights to future spaceport in Italy
Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo rocket plane, known as VSS Unity, is hooked onto its WhiteKnightTwo carrier airplane at Mojave Air and Space Port in California. (Virgin Galactic Photo) Virgin Galactic and a pair of Italian companies today signed a framework agreement aimed at bringing Virgin Galactic’s launch system to a future spaceport in the heel of…
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Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo completes second powered test flight
Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo fires its engine during Tuesday’s test flight. Credit: Virgin Galactic Helmed by two test pilots, Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo rocket plane set new altitude and speed records for the company’s test program Tuesday during a powered flight over California’s Mojave Desert. Tuesday’s test flight moved Virgin Galactic closer to eventually flying paying passengers…
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Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo fires up rocket for another step toward spaceflight
Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity space plane fires up its hybrid rocket motor during a test flight. (MarsScientific.com and Trumbull Studios) Virgin Galactic sent its VSS Unity space plane skyward for a second supersonic rocket-powered test flight today, bringing the company one step closer toward reaching the space frontier. “It was great to see our beautiful spaceship…
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Branson pride in VSS Unity’s test flight success
Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity conducted her second powered test flight on Tuesday, taking another step towards being ready to enter service with paying customers. That milestone is years behind schedule, further delayed by the disastrous test flight that resulted in the loss of VSS Enterprise in 2014. However, the company is now back on an…
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Photos: VSS Unity’s first powered test flight
These images captured by photographer Gene Blevins show Virgin Galactic’s second SpaceShipTwo space plane making its first rocket-powered test flight Thursday over California’s Mojave Desert, then gliding back to a runway landing. The SpaceShipTwo vehicle, named VSS Unity, dropping from the belly of a carrier jet at 9:01 a.m. PDT (12:01 p.m. EDT; 1601 GMT)…