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Virgin Galactic

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Virgin Galactic
Company typePrivate
IndustrySpace tourism
Founded2004
HeadquartersNew Mexico, USA
Key people
Richard Branson(UK)
Will Whitehorn
Revenue238,000 United States dollar (2020) Edit this on Wikidata
−275,284,000 United States dollar (2020) Edit this on Wikidata
−273,035,000 United States dollar (2020) Edit this on Wikidata
Total assets803,990,000 United States dollar (2020) Edit this on Wikidata
OwnerVirgin Group
Number of employees
30
Websitewww.virgingalactic.com

Virgin Galactic is a company within Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group which plans to provide sub-orbital spaceflights to the paying public. Further in the future Virgin Galactic plans to offer orbital spaceflights as well.

Mission

Virgin Galactic's mission is to fly passengers who are not professional astronauts to an altitude slightly over Template:Km to mi and allow them to experience weightlessness for up to 6 minutes. Although seats on the first flights have been sold at a premium (starting at US$200,000 for the first 100,[1][2]) after the first 500 passengers, seats will be booked with a deposit of US $20,000. According to Virgin Galactic president Will Whitehorn, the company had sold nearly 200 seats as of November 2007.[3] The first passenger flight is planned for 2010.[4]

Virgin Galactic is aiming to be the first space tourism company specializing in the provision of sub-orbital flights to the public. While orbital flights can be made by budding space tourists through the Russian Space Agency, there are presently no operational craft capable of sub-orbital flight aside from SpaceShipOne. However, EADS is currently working on a competing sub-orbital craft. Given that SpaceShipOne was designed for a very specific task, Virgin Galactic has commissioned Burt Rutan to design a newer, bigger and better version of his suborbital craft, called SpaceShipTwo. It is this eight seater craft, seating 2 pilots and 6 passengers, which will be used by Virgin Galactic passengers.

Spacecraft

File:Spaceship One in flight 1.jpg
SpaceShipOne, the first private space tourism spaceship to fly above the 100-km Kármán line
See also: Scaled Composites
Main article: Scaled Composites SpaceShipTwo

Development of SpaceShipTwo

After talks throughout 2004, on September 24 2004 Virgin Galactic signed a deal worth up to US$21 million with Mojave Aerospace Ventures to license the patents behind the Tier One project for purposes of space tourism. The deal was announced by Branson and Burt Rutan on September 27 2004 at the Royal Aeronautical Society in London. The initial plan is for Rutan to design and build five suborbital tourist craft based on a scaled-up version of SpaceShipOne. Construction began in 2005, with twelve to eighteen months of intensive testing (comprising at least 50-100 test flights) planned. Actual spaceflights for ordinary citizens are expected to begin on the SpaceShipTwo VSS Enterprise in Upham, New Mexico soon. It is unknown whether a recent explosion which took place at Scaled Composites will affect the date of the maiden flight.[5][6] Virgin Galactic and Scaled Composites presented their SpaceShip Two on January 23, 2008. The required 50 test flights of SpaceShip Two, originally scheduled to begin in June 2008[7], are now planned to begin in 2009[4]

Richard Branson, on July 28, 2008, unveiled Scaled Composites White Knight Two "Eve," inside a hangar in the Mojave Desert. Flight tests were set to begin in September 2008.[8][9] The launch customer of White Knight Two is Virgin Galactic, which will have the first 2 units, and exclusive rights to the craft for the first few years. Branson prophesy the maiden space voyage will take place in 18 months: "It represents... the chance for our ever-growing group of future astronauts and other scientists to see our world in a completely new light." Virgin Galactic contracted aerospace designer Burt Rutan to build the mothership and spacecraft.[10][11]

General overview of the spacecraft flights

It is planned that the spacecraft are to be robust and affordable enough to take paying passengers. The craft is projected to be a six passenger, two pilot craft.[1] It is planned to make suborbital flights, with a short period of weightlessness. At around 16 kilometers or 52,000 ft, the rocket will separate when the plane reaches its maximum height. The time from liftoff of the White Knight II booster carrying SpaceShipTwo until the touchdown of SpaceShipTwo after the suborbital flight will be about 2.5 hours. The suborbital flight itself will only be a small fraction of that time. The weightlessness will last approximately 6 minutes.[2] Passengers will be able to release themselves from their seats during these 6 minutes and float around the cabin.[1]

SpaceShipTwo's performance

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][12] designer Philippe Starck,[13] former Jane's Addiction and Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Dave Navarro,[14] Alien star Sigourney Weaver,[15] Hollywood director Bryan Singer,[13] musician Moby,[14] socialite Paris Hilton,[16] and astrophysicist Stephen Hawking (who on January 8, 2007 announced plans to take a sub-orbital flight in 2009).[17] 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.[18] 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".[19]

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.[20] 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.[21]

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.[citation needed]

Fleet

Virgin Galactic is planning to have a fleet of two White Knight Two motherships and five or more SpaceShipTwo tourist suborbital spacecraft.[22]

White Knight Two carrier aircraft
Virgin MotherShips
  1. Spirit of Steve Fossett [23] [24] [25]
  2. VMS Eve [26]
SpaceShipTwo suborbital spacecraft
Virgin SpaceShips
  1. VSS Enterprise [27]
  2. VSS Voyager [28] [29]
  3. unnamed
  4. unnamed
  5. unnamed

Base

Test launches are taking place from the Mojave Spaceport, where Scaled Composites is constructing the spacecraft. Virgin Galactic expects that initial passenger flights will take place there, as well.[30]

An international architectural competition was held for the design of Virgin Galactic's operating base, Spaceport America in New Mexico. The contract was awarded to URS and Foster + Partners architects.[31] Upon the completion of the spaceport, flight operations will transfer from the California desert to the new bases.[30]

Virgin Galactic also announced on April 3, 2008 that in future they will operate in Europe out of Spaceport Sweden.[32]

Will Whitehorn stated in an interview with Space.co.uk on 29th April 2008 that the company was considering flying from a UK base: RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland, during the summer months only.[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Virgin Galactic". virgingalactic.com. Retrieved 2008-02-10.
  2. ^ a b c "Captain Kirk signs on for Virgin Galactic Space Ride". soultek.com. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
  3. ^ "Spaceflights now for sale; scary part is price". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 2007-11-14.
  4. ^ a b c "Will Whitehorn (Virgin Galactic) and Heather MacRae (Venture Thinking) at the RAeS". space.co.uk. Retrieved 2008-07-26.
  5. ^ "OVERVIEW". virgingalactic.com. Retrieved 2008-02-17.
  6. ^ "Virgin Galactic Readies Tourist Spacecraft for 2009 Flights". spaceports.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2008-02-17.
  7. ^ Asher, Michael (January 23, 2008). "Virgin Galactic Unveils First Spaceship". DailyTech. Retrieved 2008-01-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ "2008 AirVenture Oshkosh schedule". Retrieved 2008-07-19.
  9. ^ Leonard David (June 6, 2008). "Virgin Galactic Spaceline: Mega-Mothership Set for Rollout Debut". SPACE.com. Retrieved 2008-06-10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ bbc.co.uk, Branson unveils space tourism jet
  11. ^ space.newscientist.com, Virgin Galactic rolls out SpaceShipTwo's 'mothership'
  12. ^ "Shatner aims for real 'Star Trek'". CNN. Retrieved 2008-02-16.
  13. ^ a b "Virgin Galactic Aims to Fly Passengers by 2008". space.com. Retrieved 2008-02-16.
  14. ^ a b "Moby set to go into space". nme.com. Retrieved 2008-02-16.
  15. ^ "Sigourney Weaver books flight with Virgin Galactic". theregister.com. Retrieved 2008-02-16.
  16. ^ "Branson Lets Virgin Atlantic Pilots Go Galactic". forbes.com. Retrieved 2008-02-15.
  17. ^ "Stephen Hawking hopes to go into space". usatoday.com. Retrieved 2008-02-15.
  18. ^ "Richard Branson - The Rebel Billionaire and the Ultimate Multipreneur". about.com. Retrieved 2008-02-15.
  19. ^ "Captain Kirk reveals he won't go boldly into space". dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved 2008-02-15.
  20. ^ Spooner, John G. (2005-03-24). "From Colorado to outer space". Today on CNET. C. Retrieved 2006-06-02. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Text "net CNET.COM" ignored (help)
  21. ^ "London man uses air miles for space trip". United Press International. September 29, 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  22. ^ Malik, Tariq (2008-01-23). "Virgin Galactic Unveils Suborbital Spaceliner Design". SPACE.com. Retrieved 2008-01-25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  23. ^ Branson, Richard (10 October 2007). "My Friend, Steve Fossett". Time. Retrieved 2007-10-31. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  24. ^ 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 2008-02-28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  25. ^ Nizza, Mike (2007-10-11). "The Legend of Steve Fossett Takes Root". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-12-20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  26. ^ "Spaceship Company unveils design of SpaceShipTwo". Pravda Online. 2008-01-23. Retrieved 2008-01-25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  27. ^ "Virgin boss in space tourism bid". BBC News. 27 September 2004. Retrieved 2007-10-31. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  28. ^ Wilson, Simon (2005-01-21). "Will space tourism ever take off?". MoneyWeek. Retrieved 2007-12-20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  29. ^ "One small step for space tourism... Private spaceflight". The Economist. 16 December 2004. Retrieved 2007-12-20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  30. ^ a b "Virgin Galactic FAQ: Where Will I Fly From?". Retrieved 2008-06-26.
  31. ^ "Foster + Partners". fosterandpartners.com. Retrieved 2008-02-17.
  32. ^ "News Release 03.04.2008 / Spaceport Sweden and Virgin Galactic". Retrieved 2008-06-26.

29 Virgin Galactic Rolls Out Mothership "Eve“ Retrieved on 29.07.08

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