from wikipedia

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Overview of the spacecraft flights

It is planned that the spacecraft are to be robust and affordable enough to take paying passengers ($200,000 per person with a $20,000 deposit). The craft is projected to be an eight passenger, two pilot craft.[1] Its planned trajectory will overlap the Earth’s atmosphere at 70,000 feet (21,000 m), which will make it a sub-orbital journey with a short period of weightlessness. At around 16 kilometers or 52,000 ft (16,000 m), 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]
In addition to the suborbital passenger business, Virgin Galactic will market SpaceShipTwo for suborbital space science missions and market WhiteKnightTwo for "small satellite" launch services. They plan to initiate RFPs for the satellite business in early 2010.[3]
[edit] SpaceShipTwo's performance

SpaceShipTwo will fly 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 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. It has double the crew (2) and can carry triple the passengers (6) of its predecessor. In honour of the science fiction series "Star Trek", the first two ships are named in honour of the fictional starships "Enterprise" and "Voyager". To re-enter the atmosphere SpaceShipTwo folds its wings up, and then returns them to their original position for a smooth and gentle glide[citation needed] back onto the runway. The craft has a very limited cross-range capability and until other planned spaceports are built worldwide has to land in the area where it started. Further "Spaceports" are planned in Dubai and elsewhere, with the intention that the spaceline will have a world-wide availability and commodity in the future.
[edit] SpaceShipTwo

Sir Richard Branson unveiled the rocket plane on Monday 7th December 2009. SpaceShipTwo was presented to the world in the Mojave desert, in California. The vehicle will undergo testing over the next 18 months before being allowed to take ticketed individuals on short-hop trips just above the atmosphere. Sir Richard, who heads the Virgin Group, intends to run the first flights out of New Mexico before extending operations around the globe. Built from lightweight carbon composite materials and powered by a hybrid rocket motor, SS2 is based on the X-Prize-winning SpaceShipOne concept - a rocket plane that is lifted initially by a carrier vehicle before blasting skywards. SS1 became the world's first private spaceship with a series of high-altitude flights in 2004.[citation needed]
Its successor, however, is twice as large, measuring 18m (60ft) in length. And whereas SpaceShipOne only had a single pilot (and the ballast equivalent of two passengers), SS2 will have a crew of two and room for six passengers. About 300 individuals are reported to have signed up for a flight. They are all willing to pay about $200,000 (£121,000) for the privilege of experiencing six minutes of weightlessness during what will be a two-hour end-to-end flight. Many of those future "astronauts" have attended the VIP unveiling at the Mojave Air and Spaceport. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson christened the spaceliner Virgin SpaceShip (VSS) Enterprise. The New Mexico authorities are investing almost $200m (£121m) in a purpose-built facility in Upham. It will have a 3,000m (10,000ft) runway and a suitably space-age terminal and hangar building designed by Foster and Partners. Sir Richard's Virgin Galactic enterprise will have competitors but he is almost certain to be the first to market, barring any problems arising in the test campaign. SpaceShipTwo's carrier plane is called WhiteKnightTwo. It was finished last year and has already begun its own trials.[citation needed]

I never realised how far along Virgin are with making space flights available to those who can afford the £125k price tag. They already have bookings & unveiled Spaceship2 to to paying customers @ Mojave spaceport.

It seems that pushing the boundaries in passenger air/space travel does not warrant much air time these days?

Latest: http://www.virgingalactic.com/ ... enterprises-first-flight/

Lets hope one of the wings dosen't snap off and go under the wheels.

don't be surprised if the first comercial flight takes place on April 12th, 2011. branson won't be able to resist making the first comercial space flight on the 50th aniversary of the first space flight if it's at all possible.

£121k for 6 minutes of weightlessness? Not worth it imo.

if its just the weightlessness your concerned about you can experience that for a lot less.

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$4,950 + 5% tax: Register yourself and/or others for a ZERO-G Experience.

http://www.gozerog.com/index.c ... action=Experience.welcome

Quote from brandons48 :

£121k for 6 minutes of weightlessness? Not worth it imo.

A lot of things are crazy expensive to start with. If you go back 10-15 years and look at the specs of a standard desktop for the prices they were selling at to see my point.

I'd say it's worth it considering all the technology and experience of the whole thing. This programme could develop in several years time to be available to the average Joe.

£125k to experience something so exclusive is a pretty good deal. People pay more for pointless paintings!

Quote from brandons48 :

£121k for 6 minutes of weightlessness? Not worth it imo.

There are plenty of people mad enough.

I love how it looks. It's a beautiful, beautiful aircraft.

Is it a plane?, Is it a spacecraft? Yes its both.

Quote from Intrepid :

£125k to experience something so exclusive is a pretty good deal. People pay more for pointless paintings!

You just said it'll get cheaper, so why not just wait and have an exclusive painting and a cheaper experience later with better/more tech?

Lets hope the fuel tank it big enough to get there and back.

Quote from BlakjeKaas :

You just said it'll get cheaper, so why not just wait and have an exclusive painting and a cheaper experience later with better/more tech?

Because if you have the money, why not go for both?

Quote from BlakjeKaas :

You just said it'll get cheaper, so why not just wait and have an exclusive painting and a cheaper experience later with better/more tech?

You could say that for any piece of new technology that comes out and in the end you'd be 70 before you actually decided to buy anything.

And if everyone had that attitude then nothing would ever get developed because their would be no revenue streams.

As long as you can afford it then go for it! Experience of a lifetime! If I had a few million sitting in a bank account I'd got for it!

i wonder if Virgin Galactic will ever make a profit...

VSS Enterprise Makes First Crewed Flight

15th July 2010, Mojave Air and Spaceport CA


http://www.virgingalactic.com/ ... -its-first-crewed-flight/

this pic is just freezingly cool, I love the Voyager

Virgin Galactic taking your space virginity since 2010

If i could spend that kinda money, i would. Like intrepid said, people spend more on paintings! This is space!

The future of space is privatized. Even NASA thinks so.

NASA will probably be piggybacking on Virgin spacecraft post-2020.

Quote from AstroBoy :

Virgin Galactic taking your space virginity since 2010

Virgin atlantic slogan.

More experience than our name suggests.

I have been following this for a while, I think it's marvellous!

I hope that in 10 years or so we'll be seeing orbital flights, and maybe, just maybe, before my death there will be the first deep space passenger flights - maybe to the moon or some such.

When I first descovered this I was astounded that it was going to happen in my own lifetime, and from this beginning who knows how fast the technology will develop.

It's incredible, I love it, and I can't afford it.

Quote from Becky Rose :

I have been following this for a while, I think it's marvellous!

I hope that in 10 years or so we'll be seeing orbital flights, and maybe, just maybe, before my death there will be the first deep space passenger flights - maybe to the moon or some such.

When I first descovered this I was astounded that it was going to happen in my own lifetime, and from this beginning who knows how fast the technology will develop.

+1 though i thought the same when i was just 6 when they landed on the moon and it's taken a while to get to this stage

Quote from Becky Rose :

It's incredible, I love it, and I can't afford it.

but if you really want it you'll find a way, some way, any way to raise the cash, after all who needs a house ?

Quote from tinvek :

but if you really want it you'll find a way, some way, any way to raise the cash, after all who needs a house ?

I dont have one of those. My total assets include 1x10 year old computer, a guitar, a sword, some assorted mommentoes from my travels, a bed with handcuff compatible headrest, some old clothes, a car owned on the basis of an IOU and a bank loan.

Do you think Branson would take part exchange?

I did speak to somebody today who was originally in the first 100 people on the list, but since changed his mind and pulled out. He said he couldn't justify spending that much money and because he did not know whereabouts in the first 100 he was he could not guarantee he'd be able to make the money back by selling the story.

Amazing how the rich approach pleasure spending isn't it .

Quote from ACCAkut :

this pic is just freezingly cool, I love the Voyager

Two starships

Old news but:

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Early on Wednesday 4th May 2011, in the skies above Mojave Air and Spaceport CA, SpaceShipTwo, the world’s first commercial spaceship, demonstrated its unique re-entry ‘feather’ configuration for the first time. This test flight, the third in less than two weeks, marks another major milestone on the path to powered test flights and commercial operations.
SpaceShipTwo (SS2), named VSS Enterprise, has now flown solo seven times since its public roll-out in December 2009 and since the completion of its ground and captive -carry test program.


This latest flight saw a 6:43AM (local) runway take off for VSS Enterprise, attached to its WhiteKnightTwo (WK2) carrier aircraft, VMS Eve. At the controls of the of the spaceship were Scaled Composites’ test pilots Pete Siebold and Clint Nichols whilst Mark Stucky, Brian Maisler and Brandon Inks crewed the purpose built, all composite, twin fuselage WK2.
After a 45 minute climb to the desired altitude of 51,500 feet, SS2 was released cleanly from VMS Eve and established a stable glide profile before deploying, for the first time, its re-entry or “feathered” configuration by rotating the tail section of the vehicle upwards to a 65 degree angle to the fuselage. It remained in this configuration with the vehicle’s body at a level pitch for approximately 1 minute and 15 seconds whilst descending, almost vertically, at around 15,500 feet per minute, slowed by the powerful shuttlecock-like drag created by the raised tail section. At around 33,500 feet the pilots reconfigured the spaceship to its normal glide mode and executed a smooth runway touch down, approximately 11 minutes and 5 seconds after its release from VMS Eve.


All objectives for the flight were met and detailed flight data is now being analysed by the engineers at Scaled Composites, designers and builders of Virgin Galactic’s sub-orbital spacecraft.
George Whitesides, CEO and President of Virgin Galactic, said: “This morning’s spectacular flight by VSS Enterprise was its third in 12 days, reinforcing the fast turnaround and frequent flight-rate potential of Virgin Galactic’s new vehicles. We have also shown this morning that the unique feathering re-entry mechanism, probably the single most important safety innovation within the whole system, works perfectly. This is yet another important milestone successfully passed for Virgin Galactic, and brings us ever closer to the start of commercial operations. Credit is due to the whole Scaled team, whose meticulous planning and great skill are changing the course of history.”


Pete Siebold, who along with Clint Nichols piloted the spaceship added:
“In all test flight programs, after the training, planning and rehearsing, there comes the moment when you have to go up there and fly it for real. This morning’s flight was a test pilot’s dream. The spaceship is a joy to fly and the feathered descent portion added a new, unusual but wonderful dynamic to the ride. The fact that it all went to plan, that there were no surprises and that we brought VSS Enterprise back to Mojave safe and sound is a great testament to the whole team.”
Wing Feathering for Re-Entry
Perhaps the most innovative safety feature employed by SpaceshipOne and now SpaceShipTwo is the unique way it returns into the dense atmosphere from the vacuum of space. This part of space flight has always been considered as one of the most technically challenging and dangerous and Burt Rutan was determined to find a failsafe solution which remained true to Scaled Composite’s philosophy of safety through simplicity. His inspiration for what is known as the feathered re-entry was the humble shuttlecock, which like SpaceShipTwo relies on aerodynamic design and laws of physics to control speed and attitude.
Once out of the atmosphere the entire tail structure of the spaceship can be rotated upwards to about 65º. The feathered configuration allows an automatic control of attitude with the fuselage parallel to the horizon. This creates very high drag as the spacecraft descends through the upper regions of the atmosphere. The feather configuration is also highly stable, effectively giving the pilot a hands-free re-entry capability, something that has not been possible on spacecraft before, without resorting to computer controlled fly-by-wire systems. The combination of high drag and low weight (due to the very light materials used to construct the vehicle) mean that the skin temperature during re-entry stays very low compared to previous manned spacecraft and thermal protection systems such as heat shields or tiles are not needed. During a full sub-orbital spaceflight, at around 70,000ft following re-entry, the feather lowers to its original configuration and the spaceship becomes a glider for the flight back to the spaceport runway.