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Virgin Galactic



SpaceShipTwo will fly a little higher than SpaceShipOne, to a height of 110 km in order to go beyond the defined boundary of space (100 km) and lengthen the experience of weightlessness.[1] The spacecraft will reach around Mach 3 (1000 m/s), which is slightly faster than current fighter jets are capable of attaining, however the spacecraft will not be able to sustain that speed for long periods of time. To re-enter the atmosphere SpaceShipTwo folds its wings up, and then returns them to their original position for a smooth and gentle glide back onto the runway. The craft has a very limited cross-range capability and therefore has to land in the area where it started.

[

Bookings

Virgin Galactic already has $30 million in bookings for flights. Although the initial deposit is set to be $200,000 for the first 100 to fly, the next 400 will pay a deposit between $100,000 and $175,000; all passengers after that will pay a deposit of only $20,000 each.[1]

Among those reported to have told Branson that they wished to be among the first to fly on the spacecraft are actor William Shatner,[2][7] designer Philippe Starck,[8] Former Jane's Addiction and Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Dave Navarro,[9] Alien star Sigourney Weaver,[10] Hollywood director Bryan Singer,[8] musician Moby,[9] socialite Paris Hilton,[11] and astrophysicist Stephen Hawking (who on January 8, 2007 announced plans to take a sub-orbital flight in 2009).[12] Also, Richard Branson himself and some of his family members will be launched on the VSS Enterprise's first commercial flight in 2009, before everyone else.[13] In 2006, Richard Branson offered actor William Shatner a free ride on the inaugural space launch in 2008, saving Shatner $200,000; however, Shatner turned it down, and said, "I do want to go up but I need guarantees I'll definitely come back".[14] In addition, other celebrities such as Patrick Stewart have expressed serious doubts about flying into space.[15]

In March 2005, Doug Ramsberg, a native of Northglenn, Colorado, won a free trip to suborbital space aboard Virgin Galactic, from a Volvo sweepstakes sponsored by Virgin.[16] In September 2006, Alan Watts, a British businessman, indicated that he was able to redeem 2,000,000 frequent flyer miles for a ticket aboard a 2009 Virgin Galactic space flight.[17]

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Competition

See also: Private spaceflight

There are numerous other companies actively working on commercial passenger suborbital spaceflight. Virgin Galactic's most likely competitors include EADS Astrium, Rocketplane Limited, Inc., Space Adventures, and Benson Space Company.

In addition, an international architectural competition was held for the design of the Virgin Galactic Spaceport in New Mexico. The contract was awarded to Foster + Partners architects.[18]

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Fleet

Virgin Galactic is planning to have a fleet of two White Knight Two motherships and five or more SpaceShipTwo tourist suborbital spaceplanes.[19]

White Knight Two carrier aircraft
  1. Spirit of Steve Fossett [20] [21] [22]
  2. Eve [23]
SpaceShipTwo suborbital spacecraft
  1. VSS Enterprise [24]
  2. VSS Voyager [25] [26]
  3. unnamed
  4. unnamed
  5. unnamed

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See also

[

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Virgin Galactic. virgingalactic.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-10.
  2. ^ a b c Captain Kirk signs on for Virgin Galactic Space Ride. soultek.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-14.
  3. ^ Spaceflights now for sale; scary part is price. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved on 2007-11-14.
  4. ^ OVERVIEW. virgingalactic.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-17.
  5. ^ Virgin Galactic Readies Tourist Spacecraft for 2009 Flights. spaceports.blogspot.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-17.
  6. ^ Asher, Michael (January 23, 2008). Virgin Galactic Unveils First Spaceship. DailyTech. Retrieved on 2008-01-30.
  7. ^ Shatner aims for real 'Star Trek'. CNN. Retrieved on 2008-02-16.
  8. ^ a b Virgin Galactic Aims to Fly Passengers by 2008. space.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-16.
  9. ^ a b Moby set to go into space. nme.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-16.
  10. ^ Sigourney Weaver books flight with Virgin Galactic. theregister.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-16.
  11. ^ Branson Lets Virgin Atlantic Pilots Go Galactic. forbes.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-15.
  12. ^ Stephen Hawking hopes to go into space. usatoday.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-15.
  13. ^ Richard Branson - The Rebel Billionaire and the Ultimate Multipreneur. about.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-15.
  14. ^ Captain Kirk reveals he won't go boldly into space. dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved on 2008-02-15.
  15. ^ Trek star's space travel unease. bbc.co.uk. Retrieved on 2008-02-17.
  16. ^ Spooner, John G.. "From Colorado to outer space", Today on CNET, C, 2005-03-24. Retrieved on 2006-06-02. 
  17. ^ "London man uses air miles for space trip", United Press International, September 29, 2006. 
  18. ^ Foster + Partners. fosterandpartners.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-17.
  19. ^ Malik, Tariq (2008-01-23). Virgin Galactic Unveils Suborbital Spaceliner Design. SPACE.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
  20. ^ Branson, Richard (10 October 2007). My Friend, Steve Fossett. Time. Retrieved on 2007-10-31.
  21. ^ Burack, Ari (10 October 2007). Sir Richard Branson, black robed as Father Richard for zany party inaugurating Virgin American flight from San Francisco to Las Vegas. San Francisco Sentinel. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.
  22. ^ Nizza, Mike (2007-10-11). The Legend of Steve Fossett Takes Root. New York Times. Retrieved on 2007-12-20.
  23. ^ Spaceship Company unveils design of SpaceShipTwo. Pravda Online (2008-01-23). Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
  24. ^ Virgin boss in space tourism bid. BBC News (27 September 2004). Retrieved on 2007-10-31.
  25. ^ Wilson, Simon (2005-01-21). Will space tourism ever take off?. MoneyWeek. Retrieved on 2007-12-20.
  26. ^ One small step for space tourism... Private spaceflight. The Economist (16 December 2004). Retrieved on 2007-12-20.

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