VirginGalactic Soars Again

Marso · Jun 27, 2020

Alternate solutions exist.

Tuckerfan · Jun 27, 2020

Marso said: ↑

Alternate solutions exist.
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That's nice.

Tuckerfan · Jul 24, 2020

Tuckerfan · Jul 28, 2020

Tuckerfan · Jul 30, 2020

Neat detail on the seat design I just noticed:

Kind of interesting as to what they leave out.

More pics of the interior.

steve2^4 · Jul 31, 2020

Well the space shuttle wouldn't exactly inspire confidence in your spaceship.

Tuckerfan · Aug 3, 2020

Tuckerfan · Dec 4, 2020

They'll be launching soon.

Virgin Galactic targeting Dec. 11 for next SpaceShipTwo spaceflight

Virgin Galactic will fly to suborbital space next week, if all goes according to plan.

The window for the third crewed spaceflight of VSS Unity, Virgin Galactic's latest SpaceShipTwo space plane, opens on Dec. 11, company representatives announced on Tuesday (Dec. 1).

The test flight, which will lift off from New Mexico's Spaceport America, had been scheduled to take place between Nov. 19 and Nov. 23. A recent surge of COVID-19 infections across the state nixed that plan, however, and the company will take pains to ensure that safety comes first during the newly announced window.

"In accordance with local government guidelines and safety protocols, we have minimized the number of people onsite to the greatest degree possible," Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier said in a statement on Tuesday.

"While on this occasion no media or guests will be allowed onsite, our team will endeavor to capture and share the beautiful images with the world after the flight has been completed," Colglazier said. "We look forward to completing this important milestone in our test flight program in the coming weeks."

The two-pilot, six-passenger SpaceShipTwo takes off from a runway beneath the wings of a carrier plane known as WhiteKnightTwo. At an altitude of about 50,000 feet (15,000 meters), the space plane drops free and makes its own way to suborbital space with the aid of its onboard rocket motor.

VSS Unity has reached space twice to date, on test flights in December 2018 and February 2019. Both of those missions lifted off from the Mojave Air and Space Port in southeastern California, near the headquarters of The Spaceship Company, Virgin Galactic's manufacturing subsidiary.

The upcoming third test flight will be the first from Spaceport America, the hub of Virgin Galactic's coming commercial operations. The mission will also be the first human spaceflight to lift off from New Mexico, company representatives have said.

VSS Unity moved to Spaceport America earlier this year to begin the final stages of its test campaign. The spacecraft could start flying operational, passenger-carrying missions next year.

About 600 people have booked a ticket to ride SpaceShipTwo, at a price (most recently) of $250,000 per seat. Virgin Galactic is not currently selling tickets but intends to resume doing so early next year, after Virgin Group founder Richard Branson flies aboard VSS Unity. (Branson has long said he plans to be on one of Unity's early flights.)

VSS Unity won't be the only SpaceShipTwo flying for much longer. The Spaceship Company is currently building two other vehicles, one of which is expected to roll out of the factory in early 2021, Virgin Galactic representatives have said. The company's hangar at Spaceport America can accommodate five SpaceShipTwos and two WhiteKnightTwos simultaneously.
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Tuckerfan · Dec 12, 2020

Test flight aborted due to engine problems. https://apple.news/AIvsAees7Qg-cBagYAMqPTw

Tuckerfan · Jan 22, 2021

Tuckerfan · Apr 1, 2021

New ship unveiled.

Virgin Galactic Unveils New Spaceship III

Virgin Galactic has rolled out their new Spaceship III design, the VSS Imagine. It's fascinating to look at because while we've all seen spaceships since we were kids, they were fanciful versions created for movies and TV shows rather than actual physics. Here we get a look at what an actual form-follows-function spacecraft (admittedly a suborbital one) looks like:

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More pics at the link.

Tuckerfan · May 22, 2021

steve2^4 · May 22, 2021

I'd much rather go for a ride on a virgin than a dildo.

Tuckerfan · May 22, 2021

We Are Borg · May 25, 2021

Video of the launch.

Not going to pooh-pooh any effort to expand human spaceflight, but I gotta say the fact that the "astronauts" weren't even wearing spacesuits is kinda lame. (Around 1:21 in the video)

Tuckerfan · Jun 9, 2021

Is Branson butthurt over Bezos?

Branson may make a last-ditch effort to beat Bezos into space

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said on Monday he would fly on the first human spaceflight of his company's New Shepard spacecraft. This mission will launch from Blue Origin's spaceport in West Texas on July 20, which is the anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing in 1969.

With this timeline, Bezos seemed almost certain to beat his suborbital space tourism rival, Sir Richard Branson, into space. Setting aside whether Branson's VSS Unity vehicle reaches space—its maximum altitude is just below the Kármán line, or 100 km—this is nonetheless a meaningful milestone.

Both Bezos and Branson have been investing in the space industry for about two decades, and both men have made clear they intend to fly on their own spacecraft as soon as practically possible.

For Branson, that flight was expected to come during the second half of this year. As recently as one week ago, Sirisha Bandla—vice president of government affairs for Branson's Virgin Galactic—told Ars that the company's plan next called for a test flight with four employees in the passenger cabin. That test, she added, would be followed by a flight carrying Branson.

"We've got three test flights left," Bandla said. "We've got a flight with employees in the cabin. A flight with our founder, Sir Richard Branson, after that, and then to round out our flight test program, we are flying the Italian Air Force."

However, the Bezos spaceflight scheduled for July 20 may have scrambled those plans. According to a report by Doug Messier on his Parabolic Arc website, "Virgin Galactic is working on a plan to send Branson on a suborbital flight aboard the VSS Unity SpaceShipTwo rocket plane over the July 4 holiday weekend."

This would beat Bezos by a couple of weeks.

The report seems plausible. A space reporter based in Mojave, California, Messier has long been critical of Virgin Galactic's operations, and he certainly has a jaded view of the company's business prospects. However, as Messier is based where Virgin Galactic was founded and operated for more than a decade, he is not without credible sources. And given Branson's penchant for showmanship and willingness to take personal risk, this report could very well be true.

Ars and other media outlets asked Virgin Galactic for a response to Messier's report on Tuesday, and the company returned a non-answer answer. "We are in the process of analyzing the data from our successful May 22nd flight," the company's statement said. "As previously announced, we expect to complete the final test flights this summer through to early fall. At this time, we have not determined the date of our next flight."

Everything in the statement is true. However, given the opportunity to shoot down Messier's report—and the company probably would like nothing more than to knock down a reporter who has been critical of Branson and his space efforts—Virgin Galactic's communications team chose not to do so.

In recent years, and especially following a fatal accident with a prototype of its space plane in 2014, Virgin Galactic has said it would not fly until its vehicles are ready. Moreover, the plan had been to fly Virgin employees on the next mission.

"One has to hope that, whatever previous plans and schedule Virgin Galactic had, things aren't going to be rushed to secure bragging rights on who goes first," Alan Ladwig, author of See You In Orbit?, a book on human space tourism, told Ars. "The speculation about flying before Bezos seems rushed. Let's hope safety remains the top priority and triggers aren't pulled too soon."

So is Virgin Galactic rushing things here? It is plausible that, if the May 22 flight went well (and it seems to have), the VSS Unity spacecraft and its carrier aircraft could be ready again by early July. Only a little more than two months passed between the first (December 13, 2018) and second (February 22, 2019) spaceflights of VSS Unity. This time, the turnaround would be about 1.5 months. As Messier notes, to fly Branson, Virgin Galactic must also obtain a commercial reusable spacecraft operator's license from the Federal Aviation Administration.

So, to get Branson into space, perhaps it is just a little juggling of the manifest, some paperwork, and moderately accelerating work on the vehicles. Perhaps.
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We Are Borg · Jun 11, 2021

Tuckerfan said: ↑

Is Branson butthurt over Bezos?
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I get that VirginGalactic technically meets the threshold for going into space, but they are by far the lamest of the big three private sector space companies.

SpaceX is kicking ass and taking names.

Blue Origin is about to shift into high gear.

VirginGalactic barely qualifies as entering space.

Again, don't want to poo-poo any effort to advance spaceflight, but Branson needs to dial it back a notch.

Tuckerfan · Jun 11, 2021

We Are Borg said: ↑

Tuckerfan said: ↑

Is Branson butthurt over Bezos?
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I get that VirginGalactic technically meets the threshold for going into space, but they are by far the lamest of the big three private sector space companies.

SpaceX is kicking ass and taking names.

Blue Origin is about to shift into high gear.

VirginGalactic barely qualifies as entering space.

Again, don't want to poo-poo any effort to advance spaceflight, but Branson needs to dial it back a notch.
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Eh, I understand Branson's business model (not saying that it's the right one, mind you). There are about half a dozen private spaceship company startups out there (though not all of them are building crewed vehicles), and so far as I know, VirginGalactic is the only one ran by someone who also runs (or ran) an airline. Branson is a slightly more ethical billionaire than Bezos or Musk, so he's not resorting to some of the things that they're doing to make his company profitable. Will it pay off? I don't know. If Bezos and Musk weren't players, then I'd happily bet on VG.

Tuckerfan · Jun 25, 2021

Tuckerfan · Jul 2, 2021

Branson to take to the skies on July 11th.

In Big Middle Finger to Bezos, Richard Branson Set to Become the First Billionaire in Space

Virgin Galactic founder and billionaire Richard Branson announced Thursday he will travel beyond the Earth’s atmosphere in a test flight set for July 11. If the launch goes according to plan, he’ll be the first billionaire in space, setting the record just nine days ahead of the first planned spaceflight of another obscenely rich astronaut wannabe—Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Talk about stealing the show.

“I’ve always been a dreamer,” Branson said on Twitter. “My mum taught me to never give up and to reach for the stars. On July 11, it’s time to turn that dream into a reality aboard the next Virgin Galactic spaceflight.”

Two pilots and four missions specialists will travel aboard the VSS Unity with Branson, who will be “testing the private astronaut experience,” Virgin Galactic said in an announcement Thursday. The so-called Unity 22 mission will be the space tourism firm’s fourth crewed test flight of its spaceplane and marks an important milestone in the race to commercialize travel beyond Earth’s atmosphere.

“I truly believe that space belongs to all of us,” Branson said in a statement alongside the company’s announcement. “After 17 years of research, engineering and innovation, Virgin Galactic stands at the vanguard of a new commercial space industry poised to open the universe to humankind and change the world for good.”

Meanwhile, Blue Origin announced last month that Bezos, the company’s founder, will travel to space aboard its first crewed flight of its New Shepard suborbital vehicle on July 20. Alongside several crewmembers, he’ll be joined by his brother, Mark, and a mysterious bidder who dropped $28 million for the honor of tagging along.

Reuters recently reported that Branson was considering fast-tracking his own mission to beat out Bezos’ planned trip. Virgin Galactic made a significant step toward making that a reality last week when it obtained an upgraded license from the Federal Aviation Administration to include paying customers on its space flights.

To date, the VSS Unity, which is designed to carry up to six passengers and two pilots, has completed 21 test flights. Following Branson’s trip, two additional test flights are still on the schedule before Virgin Galactic expects to begin commercial service in 2022, the company said Thursday. It has some 600 reservations for seats on future flights, each ticket going for between $200,000 and $250,000.
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Tuckerfan · Jul 9, 2021

Tuckerfan · Jul 10, 2021

Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!

How to Watch Virgin Galactic Launch Billionaire Richard Branson to Space on Sunday

As billionaire Richard Branson prepares to launch into the stratosphere on Sunday, Virgin Galactic is pulling out all the stops to make its founder’s first flight a spectacle worth tuning into.

The Late Show’s Stephen Colbert is hosting a livestream of the event, and singer-songwriter Khalid announced he’ll be debuting a new single live on stage after the spaceplane’s landing. Branson has also teased plans to “announce something very exciting to give more people the chance to become astronauts” once he comes back down to Earth.

The livestream will begin at 9 a.m. ET on Sunday on Virgin Galactic’s Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. The company’s website is also running a countdown to launch.

Branson will join three crew members and two pilots on Virgin Galactic’s rocket-powered spaceplane, the VSS Unity, for its first fully crewed flight test to the edge of space on Sunday. If everything goes smoothly, the flight is expected to last about 90 minutes based on previous tests, both launching and landing at Spaceport America in New Mexico.

This mission marks the VSS Unity’s 22nd test flight and Virgin Galactic’s fourth crewed mission beyond Earth’s atmosphere, according to a company announcement. More importantly, though, it will give Branson bragging rights for beating his rival Jeff Bezos to space. The billionaire Amazon founder is scheduled to make the journey aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket on July 20.

It’s worth noting that Bezos first announced these plans back in June. Branson was initially scheduled to travel to space on a later flight, but last week he declared the launch window had been moved up to July 11, just nine days ahead of Bezos. Of course, the two spaceflights are completely unrelated, Branson told the Washington Post, calling it just a “wonderful coincidence that we’re going up in the same month.”

Part of me hopes that with Branson making it to space this weekend, it will finally put this thinly veiled dick-measuring contest to rest. But then I remember that this launch is just the first of many milestones in the so-called billionaire space race to stake out a claim in the space tourism industry. Yippee...
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Tuckerfan · Jul 11, 2021

We Are Borg · Jul 11, 2021

I'm not excited.

And I just can't hide it.

We Are Borg · Jul 11, 2021

They didn't show takeoff. Fake.

We Are Borg · Jul 11, 2021

This is one hell of an infomercial for Richard Branson.

Gotta say, I've lost a bit of respect for Stephen Colbert.

We Are Borg · Jul 11, 2021

Honestly, as I've said earlier upthread, I'm glad VirginGalactic is advancing flight but there are serious questions as to whether what they actually do qualifies as true spaceflight.

Neither VirginGalactic nor Blue Origin currently have the ability to actually enter orbit, and they barely meet the height requirements for entering actual space.

The article linked in my post also indicates that VirginGalactic's method of flight does some serious damage to the ozone layer.

We Are Borg · Jul 11, 2021

Jesus Christ. 60 seconds at 80km and then reentry. Also, their live feed didn't work.

What a lot of hype for basically a nothing sandwich.

Calling this "space travel" is pretty insulting to the hundreds of astronauts who came before.

Alan Shepard did it better in 1961.

Tuckerfan · Jul 11, 2021

They're on their way back. That was a quick flight.

We Are Borg · Jul 11, 2021

You know what?

Now that I've thought about it for a few minutes, fuck Richard Branson and fuck VirginGalactic.

They're not advancing spaceflight.

They're a cheap carnival sideshow compared to the real work that NASA, JPL and SpaceX are doing.

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VirginGalactic Soars Again

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