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Virgin Galactic is going public to fund its expensive tourist spaceflights
Space tourism company Virgin Galactic has announced that it will go public via a merger with an investment firm. Its new partner, Social Capital Hedosophia (SCH), will invest $800 million in exchange for a 49 percent stake and take Virgin Galactic public later in 2019 -- a first for a spaceflight company.
Virgin Galactic sends its first passenger to the edge of space
Virgin Galactic sent its first test passenger into sub-space today. The company's chief astronaut instructor Beth Moses accompanied two pilots on a flight 55.85 miles above the Earth, just a few miles below the internationally recognized space boundary, 62 miles. This will likely come as good news to the more than 600 people from 58 countries who have paid or put down deposits for suborbital flights with Virgin Galactic -- some of those passengers have been queuing for as many as 14 years.
Virgin Galactic donates SpaceShipTwo rocket motor to the Smithsonian
You might see a piece of private spaceflight history on display when you visit Washington, DC in the future. Virgin Galactic has donated SpaceShipTwo's (VSS Unity) historic rocket motor to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. This is the powerplant that took the craft into space for the first time this past December, and represents both "technical achievement" as well as proof of what you can do through "entrepreneurial innovation," according to museum director Ellen Stofan.
Under Armour will make the space suits for Virgin Galactic flights
When Virgin Galactic sends people to space, it plans to send them style. The privacy aerospace company announced today that Under Armour will be designing and producing the space suits and footwear that will be worn by passengers and pilots during future commercial trips to space. The apparel company will also create physical training programs for astronauts to undergo in preparation for the flights.
Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo reaches space for the first time
Virgin Galactic has come a long way since its tragic 2014 crash. The company's SpaceShipTwo has reached space after months of testing, flying to an altitude of 271,268 feet before returning to Earth. The stay was brief (SST fired its rocket for all of a minute), but it was enough to both verify the spacecraft as well as conduct four NASA-backed scientific experiments that studied the effects of microgravity and devices that could handle life support and counteract vibration.
Virgin Galactic could soon reach space for the first time
Virgin Galactic is leveling up the SpaceShipTwo's test flights and is planning to burn its rocket motor for durations far longer than it has before. The aerospace company's goal? It wants to reach space for the first time. According to Virgin's announcement, the next phase of the program will have its vehicle (officially called VSS Unity) flying higher and faster than before, with much heavier loads to simulate the weight of passengers it's planning to take on suborbital flights.
Virgin Galactic breaks Mach 2 in third powered test flight
Virgin Galactic conducted another test of its VSS Unity, taking it out on a third rocket-powered supersonic flight this morning. After being released from the VMS Eve carrier craft, the VSS Unity flew higher than it has previously, reaching a peak altitude of 170,800 feet and entering the mesosphere for the first time. It also reached speeds of Mach 2.47 during its 42 second rocket burn. The first and second VSS Unity powered test flights reached altitudes of 84,271 feet and 114,500 feet and speeds of Mach 1.87 and 1.9, respectively.
Virgin Galactic plans to open a commercial spaceport in Italy
Virgin Galactic announced today that it has partnered with two Italian aerospace companies with the aim to bring commercial space flight to Italy in the future, The Verge reports. Alongside Altec, which is owned in part by the Italian Space Agency, and private space company Sitael, Virgin Galactic intends to develop an Italian spaceport from which future flights can take off. "From the Renaissance to modern space science, Italy has always been a natural home to great innovators and breakthrough ideas which have shaped the human experience," Virgin Group founder Richard Branson said in a statement. "I believe Italy's vision, which has led to this collaboration with our Virgin space companies, will provide a real impetus as we strive to open space for the benefit of life on Earth."
A beginner's guide to space tourism
The era of space tourism is nearly upon us with Blue Origin, SpaceX and Virgin Galactic each vying to be the first company to ferry clients on once-in-a-lifetime treks up to the edge of space and back. While SpaceX is the clear frontrunner when it comes to cargo and satellite launches, Blue Origin is leading the pack in terms of putting actual people into actual orbit.
Watch Virgin Galactic Unity's second rocket-powered flight
Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity recently flew its second rocket-powered flight merely a couple of months after its first. That's definitely a victory for the company, considering it designed Unity to be flown at a higher frequency than other spacecraft. To show the world its successful supersonic flight, the private space corporation has uploaded a video of the event, from the moment it took off to its landing on the runway tarmac at the Mojave Air and Space Port where Virgin Galactic chief Richard Branson was waiting.
Richard Branson plans to visit space in 'months'
It's no secret that Richard Branson would like to go to space aboard Virgin Galactic's ships. However, it's now clear that he's eager to hasten the process. The tycoon told BBC Radio 4 that he expects his flight to be "months away, not years away," and that he's going through astronaut and fitness training to be sure he's ready. Just when that happens isn't clear (Branson has been optimistic about Virgin's timeline the past), but it's a more realistic claim now that powered VSS Unity tests are underway.
Watch Virgin Galactic's new SpaceshipTwo take flight
As Virgin Galactic continues its quest to "open" space flight, it completed its first powered test flight since the 2014 crash that killed one of its pilots. Now we have video of the new SpaceShipTwo, VSS Unity, separating from its carry vehicle and using its rocket to reach supersonic speeds. It hit Mach 1.87 during its 30-second rocket burn and then coasted until reaching an altitude of 84,271 ft before preparing for its return.
Virgin Galactic completes first powered test flight since 2014 crash
Today, SpaceShipTwo completed its first powered test since the horrific crash in 2014 that killed one of its pilots. The craft, VSS Unity, took off from Mojave Air and Space Port aboard a plane called CMS Eve, and was piloted by two people. According to Richard Branson, the vehicle went supersonic, up to Mach 1.6. He proclaimed Virgin Galactic "back on track." Update: And now there's video! Check it out here.
Virgin Galactic’s VR-powered website lets you tour its spaceships
As Virgin Galactic gears up for commercial spaceflights and science research, the company has partnered up with Microsoft and its Edge browser to create a new website that's both mobile-friendly and WebVR optimized. The new site shows off Virgin's efforts to create a new space-based travel industry to good effect.
Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo is almost ready for powered tests
Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo might be best known for its horrific crash in 2014, which killed one of its pilots, but the company has slowly been coming back from that setback. Now, the company announced that the reusable craft, called the VSS Unity, has successfully completed its eleventh glide test. The company used used water as a ballast to replicate the conditions of a rocket-powered flight.
The new space race is postponed until 2018
Aboard the International Space Station, an A4-size flag of the United States hangs next to a 1:100 model of a space shuttle. The memento, placed there by the last crew to fly on shuttle Atlantis, is meant to be retrieved by the next batch of astronauts that launches on a US spacecraft. NASA had hoped to reach that goal in 2017 after awarding Boeing and SpaceX billion-dollar contracts under the Commercial Crew Program (CCP). However, the road back to manned missions is paved with thorns and technical challenges. We certainly won't see any astronauts ferried to Low Earth Orbit before the year ends, but both companies believe that 2018 is the year that flag will be returned to Earth.
Virgin Orbit’s new company will focus on government space launches
Three space-related companies apparently aren't enough for Richard Branson. Today, TechCrunch reported that Virgin Orbit, which was spun out from Virgin Galactic, has created a subsidiary called Vox Space. It's intended to focus exclusively on government contracts. Branson's other space companies are Virgin Galactic, which centers on space tourism, Virgin Orbit for cargo flights and The Spaceship Company, which aims to do precisely what its name suggests.
Saudi Arabia plans $1 billion investment in Virgin's space tourism
Richard Branson has gained a powerful and extremely wealthy ally that can make his space tourism dreams a reality: Saudi Arabia. The kingdom will invest $1 billion in the Virgin Group's space companies and might even add $480 million more in the future. This investment will fund three companies within the Virgin Group, starting with Virgin Galactic, which is responsible for developing the VSS Unity (also known as SpaceShipTwo) designed to fly paying tourists to suborbital space. Part of the money will also go to The Spaceship Company and Virgin Orbit. The former manufactures Virgin Galactic's spacecraft, while the latter provides launch services for small satellites.
Facebook has mapped the population of 23 countries in incredible detail (updated)
In its research into the best way to provide the internet to the entire world, Facebook has mapped where all 7.5 billion people on the planet live. By combining government census data and satellite images along with some help from Facebook's image recognition neural network, the company can now locate every single man-made structure to within just five meters. The mapping technology is being used to figure how to deliver internet to populations that currently don't have it or have poor connections to it. Along with ground networks, Facebook has determined that using drones and satellites will be most effective in pushing connectivity further. CNBC reports that Facebook's head of strategic innovation partnerships and sourcing, Janna Lewis, said at the Space Technology and Investment Forum this week, "We're trying to connect people from the stratosphere and from space."
Virgin Galactic conducts a 'dry run' for rocket-powered flights
Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo (official name VSS Unity) has just completed its sixth test glide. The reusable spaceplane still has between two to nine more staged glides to go before the aerospace company moves on to rocket-propelled tests. But this one is special because it serves as a dry run for actual rocket-powered flights. It flew with the configuration a powered flight will have, carrying propulsion components onboard, along with 1,000 pounds of water to simulate the weight of fuel casing.