{"id":18231,"date":"2018-12-14T00:10:43","date_gmt":"2018-12-13T16:10:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/virgin-galactic-sends-its-spaceshiptwo-rocket-plane-to-50-mile-space-milestone\/"},"modified":"2018-12-14T00:10:43","modified_gmt":"2018-12-13T16:10:43","slug":"virgin-galactic-sends-its-spaceshiptwo-rocket-plane-to-50-mile-space-milestone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/virgin-galactic-sends-its-spaceshiptwo-rocket-plane-to-50-mile-space-milestone\/","title":{"rendered":"Virgin Galactic sends its SpaceShipTwo rocket plane to 50-mile space milestone"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_468302\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-468302\" style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full-width wp-image-468302\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/181213-vg-630x477.jpg\" alt=\"Virgin Galactic rocket firing\" width=\"630\" height=\"477\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/181213-vg-630x477.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/181213-vg-768x582.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/181213-vg-1260x954.jpg 1260w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/181213-vg.jpg 1569w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-468302\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Virgin Galactic\u2019s SpaceShipOne rocket plane, dubbed VSS Unity, fires its hybrid rocket motor for a 51-mile-high flight. (MarsScientific.com \/ Trumbull Studios)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>MOJAVE, Calif.&nbsp;\u2014 Virgin Galactic\u2019s SpaceShipTwo rocket plane, dubbed VSS Unity, has become the first privately funded vehicle in 14 years to carry people to the edge of space \u2014 depending on how you define space.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not allowed to say this, but hopefully we\u2019re going to space today!\u201d Virgin Galactic\u2019s billionaire founder, Richard Branson, said just after the flight took off from California\u2019s Mojave Air and Space Port today.<\/p>\n<p>Over the course of almost an hour, SpaceShipTwo and its White Knight Two mothership rose to a launch altitude of about 43,000 feet. Just before 8 a.m.. PT, the rocket plane was dropped from White Knight Two\u2019s underbelly and lit up its own hybrid rocket motor.<\/p>\n<p>The rocket blasted for 60 seconds, sending Unity upward at supersonic speeds as high as Mach 2.9 and powering test pilots&nbsp;Mark \u201cForger\u201d Stucky and Rick \u201cCJ\u201d Sturckow to a height of 271,268 feet. That translates to 51.4 miles, or 82.6 kilometers.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"\ud83d\ude80Virgin Galactic sends its SpaceShipTwo rocket plane to 50-mile space milestone\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/k_Yk8_mqzrM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\" data-width=\"800\" data-height=\"450\" style=\"display: block; margin: 0px; width: 800px; height: 450px;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The internationally accepted boundary of space is currently 100 kilometers, or 62 miles, although that could soon change. Virgin Galactic favors a boundary of 50 miles, or 80 kilometers, which is the height at which military pilots get their astronaut wings. That\u2019s also the height that\u2019s written into the company\u2019s contracts with customers for future spaceflights.<\/p>\n<p>Thus, today\u2019s flight was a cause for celebration for Virgin Galactic and its sister company, The Spaceship Company, which is building more SpaceShipTwos.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWelcome to space, Unity!\u201d Enrico Palermo, president of The Spaceship Company, told the crowd watching the flight as SpaceShipTwo passed the 50-mile point.<\/p>\n<p>After Unity glided back down to its landing, Branson made a declaration that he said he had been waiting to make for nearly two decades: \u201cLadies and gentlemen, boys and girls, space is \u2026 Virgin territory!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Stucky said the plane worked like a charm.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo actually get out there and have that motor shut down, and go, \u2018Huh, we\u2019re going to space,\u2019 and see the dark sky \u2026 it\u2019s great,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Sturckow, a former space shuttle astronaut, was also impressed. \u201cIt was a great flight, and I can\u2019t wait to do it again,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=b0yle&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1073238643630759937&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.geekwire.com%2F2018%2Fvirgin-galactic-spaceshiptwo-space%2F&amp;sessionId=5f39b7f0838a2d906c23678bb70616006c8bb6e7&amp;siteScreenName=geekwire&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"1073238643630759937\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" data-twitter-extracted-i1782802045733762067=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Lovely shot of takeoff! WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo take to the skies pic.twitter.com\/JFcSDVB9jR<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Virgin Galactic (@virgingalactic) December 13, 2018<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The Federal Aviation Administration said both test pilots will get their astronaut wings in a ceremony early next year. Assuming that 50 miles up qualifies as space, today\u2019s flight marked the first time since the space shuttle fleet\u2019s retirement in 2011 that U.S. astronauts flew on a U.S.-made spacecraft launched from U.S. soil<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHuman spaceflight right here in the United States!\u201d Bailey Edwards, the FAA\u2019s assistant administrator for policy, international aiffairs and environment, told the crowd. \u201cIt\u2019s amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If Unity\u2019s flight crews demonstrate that they can blast past the 50-mile mark repeatedly, reliably and safely in Mojave, that\u2019s sure to open the way for commercial suborbital tours to begin at Spaceport America in New Mexico next year. Virgin Galactic\u2019s team began reviewing data from the test flight almost immediately after landing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIdeally, we\u2019d want to do three more flights before we go to New Mexico,\u201d Branson said. \u201cIt just depends on the data.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Branson said he intends to be the first commercial passenger, but more than 600 other \u201cFuture Astronauts\u201d have signed up at a price of as much as $250,000 a seat.<\/p>\n<p>Branson said the price would soon go up, but he declined to say by how much. He said he expected the price to come down again once Virgin Galactic gets well into commercial operations.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to its two test pilots, Unity flew four research payloads paid for through NASA\u2019s Flight Opportunities Program. Branson said such services would help defray the considerable cost of development.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSpace is not cheap, and I\u2019ve personally invested about a billion dollars in this project,\u201d he told reporters. \u201cHaving our first money coming back is a good feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n<style>.fotorama1782802045962 .fotorama__nav--thumbs .fotorama__nav__frame{\npadding:2px;\nheight:64px}\n.fotorama1782802045962 .fotorama__thumb-border{\nheight:60px;\nborder-width:2px;\nmargin-top:2px}<\/style>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/SpaceShipTwo_takeoff_crop-1260x946.jpg\" class=\"fotorama__img\" style=\"width: 532.77px; height: 400px; left: 133.615px; top: 0px;\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\tThe SpaceShipTwo rocket plane takes off from the Mojave Desert. (GeekWire Photo \/ Alan Boyle)<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/181213-palermo3-1260x1057.jpg\" class=\"fotorama__img\" style=\"width: 476.821px; height: 400px; left: 161.589px; top: 0px;\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\tEnrico Palermo, president of The Spaceship Company, chases after his son Alessandro on the runway at California\u2019s Mojave Air and Space Port. (GeekWire Photo \/ Alan Boyle)<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/palermo-1260x945.jpg\" class=\"fotorama__img\" style=\"width: 533.333px; height: 400px; left: 133.333px; top: 0px;\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\tEnrico Palermo, president of The Spaceship Company, uses a SpaceShipTwo model to explain the flight plan for VSS Unity. (GeekWire Photo \/ Alan Boyle)<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/SpaceShipTwo_takeoff_crop-1260x946.jpg\" class=\"fotorama__img\" style=\"width: 85.2431px; height: 64px; left: -0.121564px; top: 0px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/palermo-1260x945.jpg\" class=\"fotorama__img\" style=\"width: 85.3333px; height: 64px; left: -0.166667px; top: 0px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/181213-ss2-wk22.jpg\" class=\"fotorama__img\" style=\"width: 89px; height: 64.3212px; left: 0px; top: -0.160602px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/181213-unity-1260x840.jpg\" class=\"fotorama__img\" style=\"width: 96px; height: 64px; left: 0px; top: 0px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/RichardBransonandAstronauts-1260x840.jpg\" class=\"fotorama__img\" style=\"width: 96px; height: 64px; left: 0px; top: 0px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/181213-tailx-1260x1141.jpg\" class=\"fotorama__img\" style=\"width: 71px; height: 64.2944px; left: 0px; top: -0.147222px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/181213-palermo3-1260x1057.jpg\" class=\"fotorama__img\" style=\"width: 76.2914px; height: 64px; left: -0.145695px; top: 0px;\"><\/p>\n<p>Including investments from other backers, the total for Virgin Galactic, The Spaceship Company and Virgin Orbit amounts to around $1.3 billion, he said. About $250 million more will be required to complete the development and test program, \u201cand then the cash will start coming in quite quickly,\u201d Branson said.<\/p>\n<p>The atmosphere in Mojave is much as it was 14 years ago \u2014 when the SpaceShipOne rocket plane, funded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen \u2014 rose past the 100-kilometer mark three times, winning the $10 million Ansari X Prize and blazing the trail for SpaceShipTwo. Dozens of VIPs and journalists were here to witness today\u2019s test flight, just as they were in October 2004.<\/p>\n<p>Among those in the spotlight back then was Branson, who was so impressed with SpaceShipOne that he licensed the technology from Allen and his partners at Mojave-based Scaled Composites.<\/p>\n<p>Today Branson paid tribute to Allen, who died in October at the age of 65 due to non-Hodgkin\u2019s lymphoma. \u201cPaul was an extraordinary man, and it\u2019s very sad that he was not here,\u201d Branson said.<\/p>\n<p>Much has happened since then, and not all of it good: Three of the workers on the SpaceShipTwo project were killed in 2007 when a nitrous oxide tank blew up. And one of Scaled\u2019s test pilots was killed in 2014 when the first SpaceShipTwo plane, known as VSS Enterprise, broke apart in midflight due to a cascade of errors.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI found myself questioning seriously for the first time, whether in fact it was right to be backing the development of something that could result in such tragic circumstances,\u201d Branson said at the time<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s taken four long, tough years for Virgin Galactic to finish work on its second SpaceShipTwo and bring the flight test program its spaceworthy climax. And no one\u2019s happier about that than Branson.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is the milestone we\u2019ve been aiming for, for 14 years,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was just a really, really upbeat, joyous day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Update for noon PT Dec. 13:<\/strong> Virgin Galactic tweeted out some amazing views from VSS Unity\u2019s flight. Here\u2019s how things looked from the cockpit, with the curving Earth visible through the front windows:<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-1\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=b0yle&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-1&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1073273884831408128&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.geekwire.com%2F2018%2Fvirgin-galactic-spaceshiptwo-space%2F&amp;sessionId=5f39b7f0838a2d906c23678bb70616006c8bb6e7&amp;siteScreenName=geekwire&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"1073273884831408128\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" data-twitter-extracted-i1782802045733762067=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">SpaceShipTwo looking back on Spaceship Earth \ud83c\udf0e pic.twitter.com\/ynr31mKzzf<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Virgin Galactic (@virgingalactic) December 13, 2018<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-2\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=b0yle&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-2&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1073291538518687744&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.geekwire.com%2F2018%2Fvirgin-galactic-spaceshiptwo-space%2F&amp;sessionId=5f39b7f0838a2d906c23678bb70616006c8bb6e7&amp;siteScreenName=geekwire&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"1073291538518687744\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" data-twitter-extracted-i1782802045733762067=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Today, for the first time in history, a crewed spaceship built to carry private, paying passengers reached space https:\/\/t.co\/B17Fc3l7HI @virgingalactic @thespaceshipco pic.twitter.com\/R0cgkp95g6<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Richard Branson (@richardbranson) December 13, 2018<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>This video, captured by a camera on one of Unity\u2019s wings, documents the gliding plane\u2019s \u201cvictory roll\u201d:<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-3\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=b0yle&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-3&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1073299871610720256&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.geekwire.com%2F2018%2Fvirgin-galactic-spaceshiptwo-space%2F&amp;sessionId=5f39b7f0838a2d906c23678bb70616006c8bb6e7&amp;siteScreenName=geekwire&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"1073299871610720256\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" data-twitter-extracted-i1782802045733762067=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Victory roll for SpaceShipTwo. Planned test point and mission accomplished pic.twitter.com\/3dI1fipoCW<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Virgin Galactic (@virgingalactic) December 13, 2018<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>And here\u2019s a picture looking back over VSS Unity\u2019s shiny butt:<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-4\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=b0yle&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-4&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1073294311234498560&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.geekwire.com%2F2018%2Fvirgin-galactic-spaceshiptwo-space%2F&amp;sessionId=5f39b7f0838a2d906c23678bb70616006c8bb6e7&amp;siteScreenName=geekwire&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"1073294311234498560\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" data-twitter-extracted-i1782802045733762067=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Our SpaceShipTwo traveling among the moon and stars \ud83c\udf17 \ud83d\udcab \ud83d\ude80 pic.twitter.com\/fDKdguHWoW<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Virgin Galactic (@virgingalactic) December 13, 2018<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Virgin Galactic\u2019s SpaceShipOne rocket plane, dubbed VSS Unity, fires its hybrid rocket motor for a 51-mile-high flight. (MarsScientific.com \/ Trumbull Studios) MOJAVE, Calif.&nbsp;\u2014 Virgin Galactic\u2019s SpaceShipTwo rocket plane, dubbed VSS Unity, has become the first privately funded vehicle in 14 years to carry people to the edge of space \u2014 depending on how you define [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1693,493,1973,492,1600],"class_list":["post-18231","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-richard-branson","tag-space-tourism","tag-spaceshiptwo","tag-virgin-galactic","tag-vss-unity"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18231"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18231"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18231\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}