Mission

In the Beginning

On a clear October day over the Mojave desert in California in 2004, two test pilots named Brian Binnie and Mike Melvill made aviation history by winning their employer Scaled Composites the USD$10million Ansari X Prize by putting a man in space twice in the same re-usable craft within 2 weeks.

Virgin Galactic was born.

Since 2004, the partnership between Burt Rutan of Scaled Composites and Sir Richard Branson of Virgin has given the world two very unique composite planes: WhiteKnight2 and SpaceShip2.

Five years on, both planes are now built and test flights are about to commence high above the Californian skyline. The Mission is on schedule. The countdown to launch can now begin.

Astronaut Training

In 2007 Virgin Galactic flew each of its 100 Founders to the National Aerospace Training and Research Centre (NASTAR) in Philidelphia for their first official space training. Here they received academic and practical experience in various forms of G-force including a full profile (nick-named The Full Monty) of their space flight. The training was intense but they all passed and made it to Graduation Day receiving their wings.

(Check out what the Full Monty looked like on SpaceGirl TV)

The Planes

In a nondescript hangar in California’s Mojave Desert, workers at Scaled Composites have finished assembling SpaceShipTwo, the first spacecraft expressly designed for tourists. The company, which is owned by engineer Burt Rutan, has also built the four-engine plane, WhiteKnight2, that will ferry the spaceship to 50,000 ft. After SpaceShipTwo is released from the mother ship, the six passengers will be treated to a Mach 3 burn, straight up, propelled by a mix of nitrous oxide and solid fuel. Then, once the ship crests at 361,000 ft., passengers can float to the windows and gawk for a few minutes before returning to Earth.

The Flight

The flight itself is expected to be around 2.5 hours in duration. On a sunny California morning, the Astronauts will take off aboard SpaceShip2, attached to the base of WhiteKnight2 with its unique 43m wingspan, and where many families and friends will be inside to watch first-hand, the rocket launch.

At approximately 50,000 ft  altitude, SpaceShip2 will be released and, following a 5 second freefall, the Astronauts will experience the thrust of rocket ignition as they speed into space at over 3000 miles per hour. At over 360,000 ft above the earth, they will unbuckle from their seats, float around the cabin and check out the amazing views over the California coastline, and of course the beautiful blue line of the atmosphere around Planet Earth.

After experiencing a view that only a very few have had the privilege of witnessing, they will then buckle back in and re-enter Earth’s atmosphere as SpaceShip2 descends to SpacePort.

The celebrations will continue well into the night no doubt…