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Full Version: Virgin Galactic's Rocketplane Completes Powered Test Flight
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There are two more of these rocket planes under construction in Mojave California.

https://twitter.com/TheSpaceshipCo/statu...3206856711

The existing one that's been flying the test flights is currently having its passenger cabin paneling, seats and amenities installed. They say that doing this might take some time, but the test program is expected to conclude quickly when it's finished. (I'm guessing one test-flight of the ready for passengers version.) Then passenger flights commence. Virgin Galactic owner Richard Branson intends to be aboard the first passenger flight.

https://spacenews.com/virgin-galactic-ex...UGMzUeaHpQ

The LA Times reported in February 2019:

“We’ve chosen to do some design enhancements on the next spaceship, mostly about manufacturability,” said Enrico Palermo, president of Spaceship Co., Virgin’s spacecraft manufacturing arm. “We’re going to build more of them.”...

...The company began building the next SpaceShipTwo space plane in 2017 and hopes to finish it this year. ​​​​​​Once the design is finalized, building a SpaceShipTwo craft could take as little as 18 months from start to finish, Palermo said.

https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-v...Stories%29
Virgin Galactic is flying another test flight of their spaceplane right now, as I write this. Flying from Spaceport America in new Mexico.

https://twitter.com/virgingalactic

Watch here



Edit: VSS Unity burn nominal, at apogee.

Edit-2: VSS Unity safely back on the ground
While Virgin Galactic doesn't have its own live-streams of its flights, it typically releases very good video soon afterwards. This was no different

Amazing what a little piggyback assistance can do to get something that seems no bigger than a modest plane that far up on its own afterwards.
We know that Jeff Bezos is scheduled to ride his suborbital New Shepherd capsule to space on July 20.

Well Richard Branson isn't one to be upstaged. So he has just announced that he will ride his rocket plane on July 11!

Billionaire Space Race! (It's not quite Gagarin and Glenn, but it's all we got.)

And it looks like they will be livestreaming it!

Starting -- 6:00 AM PDT, 7:00 AM MDT (they will be flying from New Mexico), 9:00 AM EDT. It will be on Virgin Galactic's youtube channel and similar places.
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Here's the announcement of who will be aboard: 

https://twitter.com/richardbranson/statu...3337418756

https://www.virgingalactic.com/articles/...aceflight/

(Virgin Galactic photo)

[Image: UNITY22_CREW_1-1280x720.jpg]
And news that the FAA has granted Virgin Galactic a Commercial Space Licence, authorizing them to fly paying passengers to space. Which I guess makes Virgin Galactic the world's first officially approved Space Airline or Spaceline.

https://twitter.com/virgingalactic/statu...4591761409
VG's billionaire spaceflight pushed back to no earlier than 7:30 am PDT, 8:30 am MDT, 10:30 EDT, 14:30 UTC. They say that the reason for the short delay is weather.



Flight went well, hit 85 km, now safely back on the ground.

Virgin Galactic photo of the cabin in zero G

[Image: Richard-Branson-Virgin-Galactic-Zero-Gra...?ve=1&tl=1]

Branson early this morning before the flight with Elon in a house they shared in (aptly named) Truth or Consequences. Elon has reportedly purchased a ticket for a future flight on Branson's rocket plane.

[Image: E6A-2GfVEAESZrr?format=jpg&name=large]

[Image: 60eb197b3b0000da56ecbb6d.jpeg?cache=0x4v..._noupscale]
If I was a billionaire looking for fun things to do - this does look like much more of a fun experience than the Amazon delivery system.
[Image: 106909249-1626017738386-unity22_8.gif?v=...=740&h=416]

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