Virgin Galactic Unveils SpaceShipTwo and White Knight Two

Virgin Galactic recently unveiled the design of its new and “environmentally friendly” space launch system based on the X Prize winning technology of SpaceShipOne, which successfully flew into space for the third time in October 2004 and won the seven million euro Ansari X Prize. (The Ansari X PRIZE was a space competition in which the X PRIZE Foundation offered a substantial financial reward for the first non-government organization to launch a reusable manned spacecraft into space twice within two weeks.)

The construction of the White Knight Two mother ship (carrier aircraft) is 70 percent complete and is expected to begin flight tests in the summer of 2008.  It is the world’s largest all-carbon-composite aircraft. It has a unique high altitude lift capacity capable of launching SpaceShipTwo and its eight astronauts—two pilots and six passengers—into sub-orbital space flight beyond the one hundred kilometer range, hence giving passengers the experience of zero gravity for a few minutes. SpaceShipTwo is 60 percent complete.

The mother ship has also been designed to be capable of lifting other payload and launching it into space.  While the first priority for Virgin Galactic is developing the market for human space flight, the company is in the process of assessing the potential for unmanned launch capability.

Two hundred individuals have already made bookings for the first flights whilst at some 135,000 euros per ticket there have been more than 85,000 registrations of interest. Astronaut orientation, according to the company, “Is progressing well and already 80 of SpaceShipTwo’s first passengers have been through medical assessment and centrifuge training at the NASTAR facility in Philadelphia.”