A story in Florida Today suggests that NASA is facing a number of problems recreating the Kennedy Space Center into what is called a “21st Century Space Launch Complex” that will support both government and commercial operations. Most upgrade money going to support Space Launch System Florida Today is suggesting that most of the money being used to upgrade the Kennedy Space Center is being used to accommodate the Space Launch System, the heavy lift launch vehicle designed to send astronauts beyond low Earth orbit, and not to accommodate potential commercial customers. Roughly three-quarters of the money is being spent exclusively for SLS upgrades, with commercial enhancements getting the rest. Continue reading
Tag Archives: virgin-galactic-
The pilot who will fly to space
Meet Virgin Galactic's chief pilot Continue reading
Virgin Galactic Spaceship 2 – Video
Virgin Galactic Spaceship 2 wpshapes.com Virgin Galactic Spaceship 2 animation Get a taste for what space tourism will be like in 2008 when Virgin commercializes space flight. Video is not 100% complete but gives you a sense of the journey Continue reading
Mojave Air
Mojave Air Space Port 2012 Mojave Air Space Port 2012 On the western edge of the Mojave desert in Kern County, California, there is a place like nowhere else on Earth. Continue reading
New Mexico laws could hamper spaceport, Wayne Hale states at symposium
Click photo to enlarge Lidnsay O’Brien Quarrie, chairman of Space Sciences Corp. of Lemitar, N.M., talks about a saucer-shaped aircraft, the MOLLER M200x, on Tuesday at the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Museum during the International Symposium for Personal and Commerical Spaceflight Continue reading
Space flight bookings available at Benicia travel agency
BENICIA — At least when it comes to space flight, local residents won’t have to go far, far away to find a travel agency. Benicia’s Bye Bye Birdees Travel Consulting is selling XCOR Aerospace flights at a cost of $95,000 per person. A $20,000 deposit qualifies passengers for a four-day orientation, medical screening and G-force training at an Arizona resort. Continue reading
Virgin Airlines launches air miles competition to take lucky winner out of this world
By Travelmail Reporter PUBLISHED: 07:19 EST, 31 August 2012 | UPDATED: 07:19 EST, 31 August 2012 If the price of a ticket on Sir Richard Branson’s planned Virgin Galactic space tourism programme seems a little out of your price range, don’t despair. Some 500 tourists have already signed up for the 128,000 two-hour flights, expected to launch next year, but Virgin Airlines’ frequent flyers are being offered the chance to win a sub-orbital space flight. Continue reading
Branson and kids on board for Galactic’s first space flight
FARNBOROUGH, ENGLAND The first space flight of Richard Bransons Virgin Galactic venture will be a family affair: The billionaire adventurer confirmed Wednesday he will be joined by his two adult children. The British tycoon behind the Virgin business empire that spans cable television, airlines and space tourism revealed that the three will make the journey 100 kilometres above the Earth aboard the SpaceshipTwo (SS2) next year Continue reading
Kids in space – Branson to take family on SpaceShipTwo’s maiden flight
SpaceShipTwo’s maiden space flight, set for next year, will be a family affair for Richard Branson, with both his children accompanying him on the trip. Branson’s space programme also has more than 500 paid-up passengers waiting in line Continue reading
Virgin Galactic charts new flight plan at Farnborough – Video
11-07-2012 13:14 Virgin Galactic took centre stage at Farnborough Airshow on Wednesday as the world’s first commercial spaceline announced plans for a satellite-launching service. A full-size replica of SpaceshipTwo (SS2) — a two-pilot, six-passenger craft capable of sub-orbital space flight — was also unveiled. Future passengers have paid $200000 dollars each for a ticket to space. Continue reading
Bransons will ride his company's 1st space flight
The first space flight of Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic venture will be a family affair: The billionaire adventurer confirmed Wednesday that he will be joined by his two adult children. The British tycoon behind the Virgin business empire that spans cable television, airlines and space tourism said the three will make the journey 62 miles above the Earth aboard SpaceshipTwo (SS2) next year. “Next year, Holly and Sam will be joining me for a first voyage into space,” Branson said at the Farnborough Airshow south of London Continue reading
Virgin boss Branson gets kids on board for first space flight of his Galactic venture
By Pan Pylas, The Associated Press FARNBOROUGH, England – The first space flight of Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic venture will be a family affair: The billionaire adventurer confirmed Wednesday he will be joined by his two adult children. The British tycoon behind the Virgin business empire that spans cable television, airlines and space tourism revealed that the three will make the journey 62-miles (100 kilometres) above the Earth aboard the SpaceshipTwo (SS2) next year. Continue reading
Richard Branson gets kids on board for first space flight
The first space flight of Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic venture will be a family affair: The billionaire adventurer says he will be joined by his adult children. Continue reading
Branson to take his children on first space flight
The first space flight of Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic venture will be a family affair: The billionaire adventurer confirmed Wednesday he will be joined by his two adult children. Continue reading
Buy a sweet space suit for $10,000
A Kickstarter project will help you dress like you belong in space, even if you can’t afford an actual ticket to suborbit. This is an earlier generation of the space suit. Continue reading
Dream nearly fulfilled: Virigin Galactic closer to space flight
LAS CRUCES The iris in Virgin Galactic’s logo is that of Sir Richard Branson’s you know, the billionaire owner very own eye. Did you know that the business cards of other executives also includes their own irises. Continue reading
Space tourists can hop on a flight in 2014
NEW YORK Thrill seekers looking for the ultimate rocket ride may soon turn that dream into a reality aboard a new suborbital spaceship, a winged rocket plane slated to start launching space tourists from California and a tiny Caribbean island by 2014. The Mojave, Calif.-based XCOR Aerospace is developing the suborbital Lynx space plane to carry paying passengers to the upper reaches of the atmosphere, to altitudes up to and exceeding 62 miles (100 kilometers). XCOR is aiming to begin operational Lynx flights from California’s Mojave Spaceport in 2013 and from the Dutch-controlled island of Curacao in the Caribbean a year later, said Andrew Nelson, XCOR’s chief operating officer. Continue reading
FAA Launch Permit Gives Virgin Galactic's Space Vehicles the Green Light for Powered Flight
SpaceShipTwo Set to Go for Heavy-Weight Glide Tests with Supersonic Flight Targeted for Year End MOJAVE, Calif. – (May 30, 2012) Virgin Galactic, the world’s first commercial spaceline, announced today that its vehicle developer, Scaled Composites (Scaled), has been granted an experimental launch permit from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for its suborbital spacecraft, SpaceshipTwo, and the carrier aircraft, WhiteKnightTwo. Continue reading
Virgin Galactic Takes a Big Step Closer to Private Space Flights
Space tourism is closer to reality now that Virgin Galactic was finally issued permits to test its rocket-powered space plane. As Space News' Brian Berger reports, The company announced yesterday that the FAA has given approval for them to begin “the rocket-powered phase of test flight” on SpaceShipTwo, the six-seat space craft designed by Scaled Composites that will someday ferry rich … Continue reading