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74-672: The premier gathering of the global space community, the Space Foundation ’s Space Symposium (formerly the National Space Symposium ) is held each Spring at The Broadmoor resort in Colorado Springs, Colorado . Attended by top-level representatives from the international space community, the Space Symposium features presentations and panels that provide insight into space developments and

148-631: A Boeing 747-400 aircraft, renamed Cosmic Girl , which was acquired from Virgin Atlantic . This was spun off into Virgin Orbit with the LauncherOne business in 2017. Virgin Galactic plans to have generation 2 motherships ready for 2025, for the next-generation Delta-class spaceplanes. In July 2022, Virgin announced it would partner with Boeing's Aurora Flight Sciences to design and build

222-719: A backlash from those who had booked flights with Virgin Galactic, with the company having received $ 80 million in fares and deposits. Tom Bower , author of Branson: The Man behind the Mask , told the Sunday Times : "They spent 10 years trying to perfect one engine and failed. They are now trying to use a different engine and get into space in six months. It's just not feasible." BBC science editor David Shukman commented in October 2014, that "[Branson's] enthusiasm and determination [are] undoubted. But his most recent promises of launching

296-536: A base in New Mexico before extending operations around the globe. Built from lightweight carbon-composite materials and powered by a hybrid rocket motor, SS2 was based on the Ansari X Prize -winning SpaceShipOne concept – a rocket plane that was lifted initially by a carrier aircraft before independent launch. SS1 became the world's first private spaceship with a series of high-altitude flights in 2004. The programme

370-445: A base layer, the space suit and footwear. It was said that the base layer would enhance performance and blood flow during the high and zero G portions of flight and the liner of the spacesuit was made of new fabrics such as Tencel Luxe, SpinIt and Nomex, used for temperature control and moisture management. David Mackay , former RAF test pilot , was named chief pilot for Virgin Galactic in 2011 and chief test-pilot. Steve Isakowitz

444-465: A carrier airplane known as White Knight Two . Virgin Galactic's maiden spaceflight occurred in 2018 with its VSS Unity spaceship. Branson had originally hoped to see a maiden spaceflight by 2010, but the date was delayed, primarily due to the October 2014 crash of VSS Enterprise . The company did the early work on the satellite launch development of LauncherOne before this was hived off to

518-538: A company, space agency or consortium of organizations in the realm of space exploration and discovery. The award is in memory of astronaut John L. 'Jack' Swigert Jr., one of the inspirations for creating the Space Foundation. Winners of the John L. Jack Swigert Jr., Award for Space Exploration include: The Space Technology Hall of Fame was created in 1988 by the Space Foundation with cooperation from NASA and

592-449: A fail-safe system that could have guarded against such premature deployment. "A single-point human failure has to be anticipated," board member Robert Sumwalt said. Instead, Scaled Composites "put all their eggs in the basket of the pilots doing it correctly." NTSB Chairman Christopher Hart emphasized that consideration of human factors, which was not emphasized in the design, safety assessment, and operation of SpaceShipTwo's feather system,

666-556: A flight, initially at a ticket price of $ 200,000 per person, but raised to $ 250,000 in May 2013. Tickets were available from more than 140 "space agents" worldwide. SpaceShipTwo was designed to fly to a height of 110 km, going beyond the defined boundary of space (100 km) and lengthening the experience of weightlessness for its passengers. The spacecraft would reach a top speed of 4000 km/h (2485 mph). On 23 May 2014, Virgin Galactic announced that they had abandoned use of

740-427: A formalized crew resource management (CRM) approach, already used by Virgin for its WK2 operations, was being adopted for SS2. However, despite CRM issues being cited as a likely contributing cause, Virgin confirmed that it would not modify the cockpit display system. While Virgin had been pursuing the development of a smallsat launch vehicle since 2012, the company began in 2015 to make the smallsat launch business

814-399: A fuel explosion. Telemetry data and cockpit video showed that instead, the air braking system appeared to have deployed incorrectly and too early, for unknown reasons, and that the craft had violently broken apart in mid-air seconds later. U.S. National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Christopher Hart said on 2 November 2014 that investigators had determined SpaceShipTwo's tail system

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888-526: A further US$ 110 million to develop a program to launch small satellites into low Earth orbit , raising their equity share to 37.8%. Virgin announced in June 2014 that they were in talks with Google about the injection of capital to fund both development and operations. The New Mexico government has invested approximately $ 200m (£121m) in the Spaceport America facility, for which Virgin Galactic

962-642: A larger part of Virgin's core business plan, as the Virgin human spaceflight program had experienced multiple delays. This part of the business was spun off into a new company called Virgin Orbit in 2017. Following the crash of VSS Enterprise , the replacement SpaceShipTwo named VSS Unity was rolled out on 19 February 2016. Test flights were set to begin after ground tests completed in August 2016. VSS Unity completed its first flight (first free flight; captive carry flights had taken place since September 2016),

1036-554: A multimillion-dollar donation from entrepreneurs Anousheh Ansari and Amir Ansari . The prize was won on October 4, 2004, the 47th anniversary of the Sputnik 1 launch, by the Tier One project designed by Burt Rutan and financed by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen , using the experimental spaceplane SpaceShipOne . $ 10 million was awarded to the winner, and more than $ 100 million was invested in new technologies in pursuit of

1110-523: A partnership with Under Armour for the fabrication of space suits for passengers and pilots of SpaceShipTwo . Under Armour would also create uniforms for Virgin Galactic employees working at Spaceport America. The full range known as the UA | VG (Under Armour | Virgin Galactic) built with UA's new Intelliknit fabric was revealed later, ahead of Richard Branson's inaugural commercial flight. This range included

1184-485: A prerequisite to identifying and mitigating new hazards." In its submission to the NTSB, Virgin Galactic reported that the second SS2, at the time nearing completion, had been modified with an automatic mechanical inhibit device to prevent locking or unlocking of the feather during safety-critical phases. An explicit warning about the dangers of premature unlocking had also been added to the checklist and operating handbook, and

1258-519: A separate company, Virgin Orbit , in 2017. The company also has aspirations for suborbital transport, to provide rocket-powered, point-to-point 3,000 mph (4,800 km/h) air travel. The spin-off company, Virgin Orbit was shut down in May 2023. On 13 December 2018, VSS Unity achieved the project's first suborbital space flight, VSS Unity VP-03 , with two pilots, reaching an altitude of 82.7 kilometres (51.4 mi), and officially entering outer space by U.S. standards. In February 2019,

1332-523: A speed of 1,100 mph for 20 seconds; while this was an improvement, it fell far short of the 2,500 mph for 70 seconds required to carry six passengers into space. However, Branson still announced his spaceship would be capable of "launching 100 satellites every day." In addition to the suborbital passenger business, Virgin Galactic intended to market SpaceShipTwo for suborbital space science missions and market White Knight Two for "small satellite" launch services. It had planned to initiate RFPs for

1406-461: A successful glide test, in December 2016. The glide lasted ten minutes. By January 2018, seven glide tests had been completed, and on 5 April 2018 it performed a powered test flight, the first since 2014. By July 2018, Unity had gone considerably higher and faster in its testing program than had its predecessor. On 13 December 2018, VSS Unity reached a height of 82.7 km (51.4 miles) above

1480-477: A surge in the number of Covid-19 cases in New Mexico, Virgin Galactic had to postpone a key test flight of its spacecraft in November 2020, and then in December 2020, a computer connection issue prevented engine ignition. On 22 May 2021, VSS Unity flew its sixth powered test flight reaching an altitude of 89 km [55 mi]. This suborbital flight marked the first ever human space flight from New Mexico; it

1554-488: Is administered by the Space Foundation. The foundation annually honors groups and individuals that, according to the organization, "transform technology originally developed for space exploration into products that help improve the quality of life here on Earth". Since 1988, it has been inducting dozens of technologies and honoring hundreds of organizations and individuals that transform technology originally developed for space exploration into products that help improve

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1628-469: Is everything and this will not encourage the long list of celebrity and millionaire customers waiting for their first flight". At a hearing in Washington D.C. on 28 July 2015, and a press release on the same day the NTSB cited inadequate design safeguards, poor pilot training, lack of rigorous FAA oversight and a potentially anxious co-pilot without recent flight experience as important factors in

1702-484: Is the anchor tenant; other commercial space companies also use the site. On Monday 28 October 2019, Virgin Galactic listed into the New York Stock Exchange, trading under the ticker symbol 'SPCE', the first publicly traded space tourism company (i.e., company whose primary business is space tourism). The company raised $ 450 million through a SPAC merger listing, and company's market value after listing

1776-519: Is the highest honor bestowed by the Space Foundation, presented annually at a special luncheon held during the Space Symposium. The award recognizes outstanding individuals who have distinguished themselves through lifetime contributions to the welfare or betterment of humankind through the exploration, development and use of space, or the use of space technology, information, themes or resources in academic, cultural, industrial or other pursuits of broad benefit to humanity. Nominations are solicited throughout

1850-625: The Alan Shepard Technology in Education Award include: The Space Foundation annually presents the Douglas S. Morrow Public Outreach Award in memory of Douglas S. Morrow , renowned Academy Award-winning writer and producer, space advocate and former Space Foundation Board Member, to an individual or organization who has made significant contributions to the public awareness and understanding of space programs. Winners of

1924-542: The OneWeb satellite constellation providing world Internet access service of WorldVu . Virgin Galactic would take a share of the launch contracts to launch the satellites into their 1,200 km (750 mi) orbits. The prospective launches were to use the LauncherOne system. In 2017 the LauncherOne business was spun off into Virgin Orbit , which ceased operations in 2023 following bankruptcy. Virgin Galactic and

1998-870: The Virgin Group and the Virgin Atlantic airline, and who had a long personal history of balloon and surface record-breaking activities. As part of Branson's promotion of the firm, he has added a variation of the Virgin Galactic livery to his personal business jet, the Dassault Falcon 900EX "Galactic girl" (G-GALX). The Spaceship Company (TSC) was founded by Richard Branson through Virgin Group (which owned 70%) and Burt Rutan through Scaled Composites (which owned 30%) to build commercial spaceships and launch aircraft for space travel. From

2072-419: The X Prize Foundation offered a US$ 10,000,000 prize for the first non-government organization to launch a reusable crewed spacecraft into space twice within two weeks. It was modeled after early 20th-century aviation prizes, and aimed to spur development of low-cost spaceflight. Created in May 1996 and initially called just the "X Prize", it was renamed the "Ansari X Prize" on May 6, 2004 following

2146-584: The 2014 crash. They determined that the co-pilot, who died in the accident, prematurely unlocked a movable tail section some ten seconds after SpaceShip Two fired its rocket engine and was breaking the sound barrier, resulting in the craft's breaking apart. But the Board also found that the Scaled Composites unit of Northrop Grumman, which designed and flew the prototype space tourism vehicle, did not properly prepare for potential human slip-ups by providing

2220-597: The Douglas S. Morrow Public Outreach Award include: The Space Foundation's Space Achievement Award recognizes individuals or organizations for space achievement, a breakthrough space technology or program or other achievements representing critical milestones in the evolution of space exploration and development. Winners of the Space Achievement Award include: Virgin Galactic and The Spaceship Company The John L. "Jack" Swigert Jr., Award for Space Exploration recognizes extraordinary accomplishments by

2294-614: The Earth at speeds close to three times the speed of sound. The two pilots, Mark "Forger" Stucky and Frederick "CJ" Sturckow earned commercial astronaut wings from the US government for the accomplishment. Another flight in February 2019 carried third crew member (1 in the passenger cabin) for the first time. After transfer to Spaceport America in New Mexico in February 2020, a couple of 15 km altitude test flights were carried out. Due to

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2368-839: The Mojave spaceport while testing components of the rocket motor for SpaceShipTwo . An explosion occurred during a cold fire test, which involved nitrous oxide flowing through fuel injectors. The procedure had been expected to be safe. Just a year later, in July 2008, Richard Branson predicted the maiden space voyage would take place within 18 months. In October 2009, Virgin Galactic announced that initial flights would take place from Spaceport America "within two years." Later that year, Scaled Composites announced that White Knight Two's first SpaceShipTwo captive flights would be in early 2010. Both aircraft did fly together in March 2010. The credibility of

2442-485: The Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) nitrous-oxide-rubber motor for SpaceShipTwo; on 24 July 2014, SNC confirmed that they had also abandoned use of this motor for their Dream Chaser space shuttle. Future testing was to see SpaceShipTwo powered by a polyamide grain powered motor. As of July 2021 the maximum height reached has been 89.9 km. In honor of the science-fiction series Star Trek ,

2516-761: The Space Achievement Award; and the Alan Shepard Technology in Education Award - in partnership with the Astronauts Memorial Foundation (AMF) and NASA . Space Foundation Located in Colorado Springs, Colorado , the foundation's headquarters includes team offices, as well as conference and other facilities. Other offices are in Washington, D.C. , Texas , and Florida . The Space Foundation delivers K-12 student programs in laboratory, classroom and after-school settings. Programs include STEM, social studies, history,

2590-585: The Virgin Group collaborated with Boom Technology in order to create a new supersonic passenger transporter as a successor to the Concorde . This new supersonic plane would fly at Mach 2.2 (similar to Concorde) for a 3-hour trans-Atlantic flight (half of standard), projected to cost $ 2,500–10,000 per seat (half of Concorde) for a load of 45 passengers (the Concorde held 100). It was anticipated that with

2664-553: The White Knight Two mothership carrying SpaceShipTwo until the touchdown of the spacecraft after the suborbital flight would be about 2.5 hours. The suborbital flight itself would be only a small fraction of that time, with weightlessness lasting approximately 6 minutes. Passengers were to be able to release themselves from their seats during these six minutes and float around the cabin. In July 2007, three Scaled Composites employees were killed and three critically injured at

2738-910: The accumulation of knowledge since the design of Concorde, the new plane would be safer and cheaper with better fuel economy, operating costs, and aerodynamics. Boom would collaborate with Virgin's The Spaceship Company for design, engineering, and flight-test support, and manufacturing. The initial model would be the Boom Technology XB-1 "Baby Boom" Supersonic Demonstrator 1/3-size prototype. It would be capable of trans-Pacific flight, LA-to-Sydney in 6.75 hours, traveling at 2,335 km/h (1,451 mph). XB-1 would be equipped with General Electric J85 engines, Honeywell avionics, with composite structures fabricated by Blue Force using TenCate Advanced Composites carbon fibre products. Virgin Galactic had optioned 10 units. These options expired in 2020. On 24 January 2019, Virgin Galactic announced

2812-534: The arts and literature and are available to individual classes, school districts, public and private school, colleges and universities offering education curriculum and homeschool organizations. The Space Foundation hosts the annual Space Symposium in Colorado Springs at the Broadmoor Hotel. The Space Symposium features presentations and panels that provide insight into space developments and

2886-406: The blast and the company was fined for breaches of health and safety rules. The cause of the accident has never been made public. The successor to SS1, SS2 was twice as large, measuring 18 m (60 ft) in length; whereas SpaceShipOne could carry a single pilot and two passengers, SS2 was planned to have a crew of two and room for six passengers. By August 2013, 640 customers had signed up for

2960-460: The company from the disaster by referring to the test pilots as Scaled Composites employees. Virgin Galactic's official statement on 31 October 2014 said: "Virgin Galactic's partner Scaled Composites conducted a powered test flight of SpaceShipTwo earlier today. [...] Local authorities have confirmed that one of the two Scaled Composites pilots died during the accident". This was in strong contrast to public communications previously released concerning

3034-422: The earlier promises of launch dates by Virgin Galactic were brought into question in October 2014 by its chief executive, George T. Whitesides , when he told The Guardian : "We've changed dramatically as a company. When I joined in 2010 we were mostly a marketing organisation. Right now we can design, build, test, and fly a rocket motor all by ourselves and all in Mojave, which I don't think is done anywhere else on

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3108-496: The end of the year", adding after a pause, "It's always 'the end of the year' ". In February 2014, cracks in WhiteKnightTwo, where the spars connect with the fuselage, were discovered during an inspection conducted after Virgin Galactic took possession of the aircraft from builder Scaled Composites. In September 2014, Richard Branson described the intended date for the first commercial flight as February or March 2015; by

3182-487: The first passenger trip by the end of this year had already started to look unrealistic some months ago." At 10:51 PST 31 October 2014, the fourth rocket-powered test flight of the company's first SpaceShipTwo craft, VSS Enterprise , ended in disaster, as it broke apart in mid-air, with the debris falling into the Mojave desert in California, shortly after being released from the mothership. Initial reports attributed

3256-509: The first ship was named after the fictional starship Enterprise . To reenter the atmosphere, SpaceShipTwo folded its wings and then returned them to their original position for an unpowered descent flight back onto the runway. The craft had a very limited cross-range capability, and until other planned spaceports would be built worldwide, it had to land in the area where it started. Further spaceports were planned in Abu Dhabi and elsewhere, with

3330-509: The flights of SpaceShipOne were from the Mojave Airport Civilian Flight Test Center . Flights were numbered, starting with flight 01 on May 20, 2003. One or two letters are appended to the number to indicate the type of mission. An appended C indicates that the flight was a captive carry, G indicates an unpowered glide, and P indicates a powered flight. If the actual flight differs in category from

3404-698: The global space industry and the honoree is selected by the Space Foundation's Board of Directors. Recipients of the General James E. Hill Lifetime Space Achievement Award include: The Space Foundation, in conjunction with the Astronauts Memorial Foundation (AMF) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), annually presents the Alan Shepard Technology in Education Award to recognize outstanding contributions to creative and innovative use of technology in education by K-12 educators or district-level education personnel. Winners of

3478-401: The group's successful flights, which had routinely presented pilots, craft, and projects within the same organizational structures, as being "Virgin Galactic" flights or activities of "the Galactic team". The BBC's David Shukman commented that: "Even as details emerge of what went wrong, this is clearly a massive setback to a company hoping to pioneer a new industry of space tourism. Confidence

3552-517: The intended flight, two letters are appended: the first indicating the intended mission and the second the mission actually performed. Sources: In February 2007, Virgin announced that they had signed a memorandum of understanding with NASA to explore the potential for collaboration, but this produced only a relatively small contract in 2011 of up to $ 4.5 million for research flights. Virgin Group in January 2015 announced an investment into

3626-468: The intention that the spaceline would have a worldwide availability and commodity in the future. There was a series of delays to the SS2 flight test vehicle becoming operational, amidst repeated assurances from Virgin Galactic marketing that operational flights were only a year or two out. The Wall Street Journal reported in November 2014 that there has been "tension between Mr. Branson's upbeat projections and

3700-511: The last of which took place in September 2011. A rocket-powered test flight of SpaceShipTwo took place on 29 April 2013, with an engine burn of 16 seconds duration. The brief flight began at an altitude of 47,000 feet and reached a maximum altitude of 55,000 feet. While the SS2 achieved a speed of Mach 1.2 (920 mph), this was less than half the 2,000 mph speed predicted by Richard Branson. SpaceShipTwo's second supersonic flight achieved

3774-478: The latest on critical industry issues. Each year, several awards are presented at the Space Symposium recognizing achievements in various space arenas. The symposium includes an annual fundraiser called "Yuri's Night", named in honour of Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin . In 2022, the foundation renamed the fundraiser as "A Celebration of Space: Discover What’s Next" due to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia . The General James E. Hill Lifetime Space Achievement Award

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3848-658: The latest thinking on critical industry issues; an expansive exhibit center that showcases the latest space technology; special event and awards presentations: targeted programs for specific groups, including young space professionals, the cyber community and educators and students; and, above all, ample opportunities for networking. The 2013 event attracted 9,000 total participants from more than 30 nations. The Space Foundation annually presents five major awards. at its Space Symposium: The General James E. Hill Lifetime Space Achievement Award; John L. "Jack" Swigert, Jr., Award for Space Exploration; Douglas S. Morrow Public Outreach Award;

3922-430: The loss to an unidentified "in-flight anomaly". The flight was the first test of SpaceShipTwo with new plastic-based fuel, replacing the original—a rubber-based solid fuel that had not met expectations. 39-year-old co-pilot Michael Alsbury was killed and 43-year-old pilot Peter Siebold was seriously injured. Initial investigations found that the engine and propellant tanks were intact, showing that there had not been

3996-487: The next generation of mothership. Boeing ended work on the contract in 2023 and has now filed suit against Virgin Galactic over unpaid bills according to a report in SpaceNews. Richard Branson unveiled the rocket plane on 7 December 2009, announcing that, after testing, the plane would carry fare-paying passengers ticketed for short duration journeys just above the atmosphere . Virgin Group would initially launch from

4070-611: The planet". On 7 December 2009, SpaceShipTwo was unveiled at the Mojave Spaceport . Branson told the 300 people attending, each of whom had booked rides at $ 200,000 each, that flights would begin "in 2011." However, in April 2011, Branson announced further delays, saying "I hope 18 months from now, we'll be sitting in our spaceship and heading off into space." By February 2012, SpaceShipTwo had completed 15 test flights attached to White Knight Two and an additional 16 glide tests,

4144-455: The prize. The spacecraft initially called SpaceShipTwo was planned to achieve a suborbital journey with a short period of weightlessness. Carried to about 16 kilometers, or 52,000 ft, underneath a carrier aircraft, White Knight Two , after separation the vehicle was to continue to over 100 km (the Kármán line , a common definition of where "space" begins). The time from liftoff of

4218-460: The project carried three people, including a passenger, on VSS Unity VF-01 , with a member of the team floating within the cabin during a spaceflight that reached 89.9 kilometres (55.9 mi). On 11 July 2021, founder Richard Branson and three other employees rode on VSS Unity 22 as passengers, marking the first time a spaceflight company founder has travelled on his own ship into outer space. In February 2022, Virgin Galactic announced that it

4292-736: The quality of life on Earth. Virgin Galactic Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. is a British-American spaceflight company founded by Richard Branson and the Virgin Group conglomerate which retains an 11.9% stake through Virgin Investments Limited. It is headquartered in California , and operates from New Mexico . The company develops commercial spacecraft and provides suborbital spaceflights to space tourists . Virgin Galactic's suborbital spacecraft are air launched from beneath

4366-490: The remaining 30% of The Spaceship Company. After a claimed investment by Virgin Group of US$ 100 million , in 2010 the sovereign wealth fund of Abu Dhabi , Aabar Investments group, acquired a 31.8% stake in Virgin Galactic for US$ 280 million , receiving exclusive regional rights to launch tourism and scientific research space flights from the United Arab Emirates capital. In July 2011, Aabar invested

4440-529: The satellite business in early 2010, but flights had not materialized as of 2014. On 14 May 2013, Richard Branson stated on Virgin Radio Dubai's Kris Fade Morning Show that he would be aboard the first public flight of SpaceShipTwo, which had again been rescheduled, this time to December 25, 2013. "Maybe I'll dress up as Father Christmas", Branson said. The third rocket-powered test flight of SpaceShipTwo took place on 10 January 2014 and successfully tested

4514-450: The spacecraft SpaceShipTwo and the uncrewed launch vehicle LauncherOne (LauncherOne never launched from underneath a White Knight Two). The mothership is a large fixed-wing aircraft with two hulls linked together by a central wing. Two aircraft were planned – VMS Eve and VMS Spirit of Steve Fossett . On May 22, 2021 Mothership Eve was used to carry VSS Unity to a launch altitude of 44,000 feet. The LauncherOne system used

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4588-563: The spaceship's Reaction Control System (RCS) and the newly installed thermal protection coating on the vehicle's tail booms. Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides said "We are progressively closer to our target of starting commercial service in 2014". Interviewed by The Observer at the time of her 90th birthday in July 2014, Branson's mother, Eve, told reporter Elizabeth Day of her intention of going to space herself. Asked when that might be, she replied: "I think it's

4662-428: The time of TSC's formation in 2005, the launch customer was Virgin Galactic, which contracted to purchase five SpaceShipTwos and two WhiteKnightTwos. Scaled Composites was contracted to develop and build the initial prototypes of WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo, and then TSC began production of the follow-on vehicles beginning in 2008. In 2012, after Northrop Grumman acquired Scaled Composites, Virgin Galactic acquired

4736-492: The time of this announcement, a new plastic-based fuel had yet to be ignited in-flight. By September 2014, the three test flights of the SS2 had only reached an altitude of around 71,000 ft, approximately 13 miles; in order to receive a Federal Aviation Administration licence to carry passengers, the craft needs to complete test missions at full speed and 62-mile height . Following the announcement of further delays, UK newspaper The Sunday Times reported that Branson faced

4810-401: Was appointed as Virgin Galactic's president in June 2013. In October 2016, Mike Moses replaced Steve Isakowitz as president; Isakowitz moved to Aerospace Corp. to become president and CEO; Moses was promoted from VP Operations, and was once a NASA flight director and shuttle integration manager. The White Knight Two is a special aeroplane built as the mothership and launch-platform for

4884-414: Was critical to safe human spaceflight to mitigate the potential consequences of human error. "Manned commercial spaceflight is a new frontier, with many unknown risks and hazards. In such an environment, safety margins around known hazards must be rigorously established and, where possible, expanded. For commercial spaceflight to successfully mature, we must meticulously seek out and mitigate known hazards, as

4958-407: Was delayed after three Scaled Composites employees – Todd Ivens, Eric Blackwell and Charles May – were killed in an accident in Mojave on 26 July 2007, where the detonation of a tank of nitrous oxide destroyed a test stand. They had been observing the test from behind a chain-link fence that offered no protection from the shrapnel and debris when the tank exploded. Three other employees were injured in

5032-667: Was initially claimed to be successful but it was later revealed Unity briefly stepped outside the airspace that had been reserved for it and the FAA were not informed as required. The FAA grounded Virgin Galactic's space planes before allowing a resumption of flights after some changes to procedures including reserving a larger volume of airspace. On 14 October 2021, Virgin Galactic announced that an upgrade program for Unity and Eve would begin, delaying future commercial flights to mid 2022. This followed material analysis that required further analysis. The first Spaceship III, VSS Imagine ,

5106-412: Was more than $ 2.4 billion. At the time, the company claimed to have over 600 customer reservations representing approximately $ 80 million in total collected deposits and more than $ 120 million in "potential revenue". After its listing, SPCE was a popular stock for many retail investors and was often mentioned on the subreddit r/wallstreetbets . The Ansari X Prize was a space competition in which

5180-447: Was opening ticket sales to the public. The price of a reservation was $ 450,000. In June 2023, Virgin Galactic launched its first commercial space tourism flight called Galactic 01 . Galactic 07 in June 2024 was the final flight of Unity as the company shifted focus to its Delta class vehicles and a higher launch cadence. Virgin Galactic was founded in 2004 by British entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson , who had previously founded

5254-495: Was piloted by CJ Sturkow (pilot-in-command) and Dave MacKay. The VSS Unity was carried to 44,000 feet by the jet powered launch aircraft Mothership Eve , where it was released to reach its suborbital altitude over New Mexico. A fully crewed test flight took place on 11 July 2021 with two pilots Dave Mackay and Michael Masucci and the four passengers were Richard Branson, Beth Moses, Colin Bennett and Sirisha Bandla . The flight

5328-499: Was rolled out on 30 March 2021 and it was indicated there is ground testing to do before glide test flights should commence not earlier than Summer 2021. On 17 December 2003—on the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers first powered flight of an aircraft — SpaceShipOne , piloted by Brian Binnie on Flight 11P , made its first rocket-powered flight and became the first privately built craft to achieve supersonic flight. All of

5402-436: Was supposed to have been released for deployment as the craft was traveling about 1.4 times the speed of sound; instead, the tail section began pivoting when the vehicle was flying at Mach 1. "I'm not stating that this is the cause of the mishap. We have months and months of investigation to determine what the cause was." Asked if pilot error was a possible factor, Hart said: "We are looking at all of these issues to determine what

5476-424: Was the root cause of this mishap." He noted that it was also unclear how the tail mechanism began to rotate once it was unlocked, since that maneuver requires a separate pilot command that was never given, and whether the craft's position in the air and its speed somehow enabled the tail section to swing free on its own. In November 2014, Branson and Virgin Galactic came under criticism for their attempts to distance

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