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Virgin Galactic is a company within Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group, which plans to offer sub-orbital spaceflights and later orbital spaceflights to the paying public.
MissionVirgin Galactic plans to fly 500 passengers a year at about US$200,000 each, to an altitude of slightly over 100 km, with a total weightless time of 6 minutes.[1][2]
Space tourism companies such as Virgin Galactic would increase the number of people flying higher than the defined boundary of space, adding thousands of new "astronauts". Today, the only possible way for private citizens to reach an altitude over 100 km and therefore cross the defined space boundary is through commercial orbital spaceflights provided by the Russian Space Agency, costing roughly US$20 million for a six-day flight.[3] SpacecraftImage:Vss.JPG Richard Branson (right) presents the Govenor of New Mexico Bill Richardson with a scale model of Virgin SpaceShip (VSS) aka SpaceShipTwo Development of SpaceShipTwoAfter 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 intellectual property 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 six months of intensive testing (comprising at least 50-100 test flights) planned for 2007. Actual spaceflights for ordinary citizens are expected to begin on the SpaceShipTwo VSS Enterprise in Upham, New Mexico in 2009.[4][5] General overview of the spacecraft flightsIt is planned that the spacecraft are to be robust and affordable enough to take paying passengers. Initially planned to be a piloted craft accommodating five passengers, it is now projected to be a six passenger, two pilot craft.[1] It is planned to make suborbital flights, with a short period of weightlessness. The time from liftoff of the White Knight II carrying SpaceShipTwo until the touchdown of SpaceShipTwo after the suborbital flight will be about 2.5 hours. The suborbital flight itself will be only a fraction of that time. The weightlessness will last approximately 6 minutes.[2] It is intended that passengers will be able to release themselves from their seats during these 6 minutes and float around the cabin.[1] SpaceShipTwo's performance
Name of spacecraftSpaceShipTwo is the name of the prototype of the Virgin craft. Virgin Galactic has contracted with The Spaceship Company (owned by Virgin Group and Scaled) to build five SpaceShipTwos and two WhiteKnightTwos (Tier 1b). The spacecraft are to be named using the prefix VSS ("Virgin SpaceShip"). The first craft is to be VSS Enterprise, in an acknowledged nod to Star Trek's USS Enterprise;[6][7] the second, possibly named after the Star Trek craft or the spaceprobe, is expected to be named VSS Voyager. Current statusThe full-size model of the interior of SpaceShipTwo was revealed during a technology show in New York on September 28, 2006.[8] The spaceship will hold six passengers and two pilots, and the mock-up featured a spacious cabin with reclining seats and large windows for people to look out 1,000 miles in any direction.[1] Unlike commercial air carriers, Virgin Galactic is likely to be an spaceline with the same place of origin and destination - for now, at least. BookingsBranson has suggested an initial ticket price of US$200,000 for a suborbital tourist flight, as part of a three day experience which includes flight training. 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] Following an email survey sent to a Virgin Galactic mailing-list, including the question, "Would you consider putting down a deposit for a ride when we are ready for you to do so?", the company has stated that at this price they estimate a market of between 7,000 and 15,000 potential passengers (a claim disputed by some), to fly over a five-year period starting as early as 2009.[citation needed] Furthermore, they believe that over a five-year period only 5,000 passengers would be needed in order to be profitable.[citation needed] Profits from early flights would be reinvested to make space tourism more affordable. Among those reported to have told Branson that they wished to be among the first to fly on the spacecraft are Star Trek actor William Shatner,[9][2][10] designer Philippe Starck,[11] The Panic Channel guitarist Dave Navarro,[12] Alien star Sigourney Weaver,[13] Hollywood director Bryan Singer,[11] Musician Moby,[12] socialite Paris Hilton,[14] and astrophysicist Stephen Hawking (who on January 8, 2007 announced plans to take a sub-orbital flight in 2009[15]). Moby would be the first pop star in history to travel to space.[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.[16] 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".[17] In addition, other celebrities such as Patrick Stewart have expressed serious doubts about flying into space.[18] 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.[19] On April 20 2005, Virgin Galactic president Will Whitehorn told a U.S. congressional hearing that 100 people had put down deposits for their space flights.[citation needed] 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.[20] Flight personnel and trainingAt the 2005 Oshkosh Airshow, it was stated that Virgin Galactic had received over 4000 applications for the role of spaceship pilot. Approximately 75 pilots will be required to operate the SpaceShipTwo fleet.[21] The first announcements regarding Virgin Galactic flight personnel were made in late March 2006.[22]
Virgin Galactic flight assignments will last twenty-seven months: pilots will receive nine months of aerobatic, fast jet and executive jet training to prepare them for zero gravity flight. The next nine months will be spent in flying the White Knight Two mothership and participating in Mission Control work. The final nine months will be spent flying Virgin Galactic spacecraft into space. By 2008, Virgin Galactic expects to have around thirty astronaut pilots recruited from the various Virgin Group airlines, trained with NASA assistance.[23] SpaceportsVirgin Galactic will locate its primary launch and operational activities at Spaceport America, near Upham in Sierra County in southern New Mexico, and its worldwide headquarters in New Mexico. It signed an MOA to this effect with the New Mexico Spaceport Authority in March 2007. Virgin Galactic has also announced that it will investigate the feasibility of flying from Kiruna (Esrange) in northern Sweden.Image:Olofsson2.jpg Will Whitehorn, president of Virgin Galactic with Maud Olofsson, Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden, after the signing the agreement between Virgin Galactic and Spaceport Sweden. On December 13 2005, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and Virgin Founder Richard Branson announced that Virgin Galactic would work with the New Mexico state government on a project named Spaceport America, a $198 million facility to be located near Upham, New Mexico. The venture was approved by the state legislature and the funding plans signed into law by governor Bill Richardson on March 1, 2006. Virgin Galactic will be the anchor tenant, and is expected to be the first to operate manned spacecraft from this facility. On January 26, Virgin Galactic signed a deal with Spaceport Sweden on working towards starting commercial space flights from the city of Kiruna in 2012. Kiruna is deemed particularly suitable, due to the possibility of in-flight views of the aurora borealis and because of its long tradition of space research at the Swedish Institute of Space Physics and Esrange.[24] Virgin is also considering launches from Scotland.[25] It was announced in August 2006 that Virgin Galactic was also considering RAF St. Mawgan in Cornwall as a possible contender for a launch site. RAF St. Mawgan at present faces an uncertain future because of next year's withdrawal of the Ministry of Defence.[26] Branson has also said that Cape Canaveral's Kennedy Space Center could serve as an East Coast spaceport.[citation needed] Spacecraft technologySpaceShipTwo will reach a speed of roughly 4000 km/h (2500 mph) as it is heading for space, using a single hybrid rocket-motor; SpaceShipTwo uses a feathered re-entry system, which results in a low speed of re-entry -- by contrast, space shuttles and other orbital spacecraft re-enter at orbital speeds, which requires the use of heat shields. SpaceShipTwo will carry 6 passengers and 2 pilots and launch in midair at 50,000 feet from its mother ship, WhiteKnightTwo. In the future, it is believed the space vehicles will be bigger and able to carry more passengers. Further technical detail is not yet publicly available. The ships are being built by Scaled Composites, at the Mojave Spaceport in California, USA. Virgin Galactic is in negotiations with Lloyd's of London for flight insurance. This will cover risks to people and structures on the ground near the launch site. Passengers on suborbital flights are expected to travel at their own risk, at least initially. Future plansAccording to the Virgin Galactic website, Branson has plans for orbital space tourism and proposes putting a hotel in space. It is expected that some of the future spacecraft will be able to dock with a space hotel. CompetitionThere are numerous other companies actively working on commercial passenger suborbital spaceflight (see: Private spaceflight). Virgin Galactic's most likely competitors include Rocketplane Kistler, Space Adventures, and Benson Space Company. TriviaIn the 2006 movie Superman Returns, during the maiden flight of a new fictional commercial Space Shuttle the Virgin Galactic brand can be seen in the inflight presentation. One of the shuttle pilots is portrayed by Sir Richard Branson himself. The movie's director, Bryan Singer, is amongst those reported to want to fly on the real Virgin Galactic maiden flight. See also
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