VSS Enterprise

The VSS Enterprise (Tail Number: N339SS) is the first of five commercial suborbital spacecraft being constructed for Virgin Galactic by Scaled Composites. It will also be the first ship of the Model 339 SpaceShipTwo class, based on upscaling the design of record-breaking SpaceShipOne. The VSS Enterprise's name is an acknowledgement of the USS Enterprise from the Star Trek television series. Entrepreneur Richard Branson, head of Virgin Galactic, offered William Shatner, the actor who portrayed Captain Kirk in the original Star Trek series, a free ride into space on the inaugural space launch of the VSS Enterprise, with a retail value of $200,000. However, Shatner turned it down, and said, "I do want to go up but I need guarantees I'll definitely come back." It was rolled out on December 7, 2009.

Flight test program

Projections by Virgin Galactic in 2008 called for test flights to begin in late 2009 and commercial service to start in 2011. On Monday March 22, 2010, VSS Enterprise underwent a captive carry test flight, whereby the parent VMS Eve (the first WhiteKnightTwo) performed a short flight with the SpaceShipTwo, Enterprise, being carried by Eve. On 15 July 2010 VSS Enterprise flew her first crewed mission. Two crew members were on board as she was carried by VMS Eve on a 6 hours and 12 minutes flight. The crew members evaluated onboard systems and functionality and all tests were conducted successfully.

On October 10, 2010 Enterprise completed its first successful free flight. The ship glided for 25 minutes from its mothership at 45,000 feet (13,700 meters) to the Mojave Spaceport. The crew consisted of Pete Siebold and his co-pilot Mike Alsbury.

Future

Virgin Galactic aims to become the world's first commercial space line. The test-flight program is expected to continue through 2011, and future tests will focus on rocket motor testing and powered flights. Eventually, the rocket plane will be taken 60,000 feet above the Earth by its carrier and fire rockets to propel itself into space. A total of 370 customers have already placed a deposit (totaling $50 million) for a place on the flight, and about 80,000 people have placed their names on the waiting list. The trip will cost about US$200,000, and passengers will experience a few minutes of weightlessness during the suborbital flight.

The passenger-carrying commercial launches will initially occur at Virgin Galactic's launch pad at Spaceport America, near Upham, New Mexico.

Gallery

• Virgin Galactic VSS ''Enterprise''
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  Enterprise slung underneath the "mothership" VMS Eve

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  Enterprise under construction and under wraps in 2008

See also

• Space tourism
• VSS Voyager
• VMS Eve

External links

• Enterprise construction sequence images