SpaceShipTwo Engine Test

Woo, finally some space tourism news!

It has been a while, hasn't it? And it's not for a lack of trying; there just hasn't been much news out there. Well, now there is, and it's a doozie.

In a surprise announcement, Virgin Galactic released video of the first test of SpaceShipTwo's engine. And here it is, narrated by none other than Sir Richard Branson.



Around the same time, Virgin Galactic's Will Whitehorn announced the first long-distance flight of VMS Eve, SpaceShipTwo's carrier aircraft. The flight will occur June 19, during the groundbreaking ceremony of Spaceport America. The aircraft will fly from Mojave to the event and then back without stopping. Whitehorn also suggested that SpaceShipTwo's first unpowered tests will begin by the end of the year, and also hinted at was that the first paying customers may fly in one and a half to two years.

It couldn't come soon enough!

Hey, look at that. As if in an omen, my trip to space savings reached 5%.

Trip to Space

Progress: 5.03%  Flight Time: 0:07:33

Solar Array

Progress: 4.05%  Power: 60W

New Informaion on WhiteKnightTwo

Space.com has released new details about Virgin Galactic's WhiteKnightTwo aircraft, learned in an interview with Will Whitehorn, President of Virgin Galactic. The original Space.com article can be read here.

In short, we already knew that the first WhiteKnightTwo aircraft, named Eve, would be unveiled next month after Scaled Composites completes its construction. New details include the makeup of the craft and it's planned flight test program. Except for the blades and undercarriage, WhiteKnightTwo is made entirely of carbon composite - right down to the wiring. This material, from which the name Scaled Composites is derived, is incredibly light while also being as strong as or stronger than the metal alternative.

Will Whitehorn admitted that when the construction of WhiteKnightTwo was beginning, the company still wasn't sure that it would follow through with a tourist spaceflight program. They apparently justified this through the fact that WhiteKnightTwo potentially has many other uses besides space tourism. The light structure, massive payload, and high-altitude capabilities of the craft make it ideal for the launch of microsatellites to low earth orbit, as a platform to perform microgravity experiments, or as a "water bomb" craft to fight fires.

However, it seems that Virgin Galactic has had a goal of selling a year's worth of tickets before its first tourist spaceflight is launched, and it is well on its way to exceeding that goal. They have apparently sold 254 tickets, with initial payments of anywhere from $20,000 to $200,000. This gives Virgin Galactic about $36 million in the bank and the go-ahead to move forward with the space program.

The first WhiteKnightTwo, once it is rolled out, will undergo extensive flight testing before tourist flights begin. Right now, they're looking at 130 to 150 test flights, though that number may be reduced if everything goes well. Once the first WhiteKnightTwo rolls out, it will be ground tested until September, when its first flights should begin.

And I'm sure looking forward to seeing that on the TV.

Progress: 3.73%  Flight Time: 0:05:35