On April 29, 2013, Virgin Galactic, the world’s first commercial spaceline owned by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group and Abu Dhabi's aabar Investments PJC, completed the first rocket-powered flight of its space vehicle, SpaceShipTwo (SS2). The test began at 7:02 a.m. local time when SS2 took off from Mojave Air and Space Port mated to WhiteKnightTwo (WK2), Virgin Galactic’s carrier aircraft. Conducted by teams from Scaled Composites (Scaled) and Virgin Galactic, the test officially marks Virgin Galactic’s entrance into the final phase of vehicle testing prior to commercial service from Spaceport America in New Mexico.
“The first powered flight of Virgin Spaceship Enterprise was without any doubt, our single most important flight test to date,” said Virgin Galactic Founder Sir Richard Branson, who was on the ground in Mojave to witness the occasion. Virgin Galactic President & CEO George Whitesides noted that “the successful outcome of this test marks a pivotal point for our program. We will now embark on a handful of similar powered flight tests, and then make our first test flight to space.” In the coming months, the Virgin Galactic and Scaled test team will expand the spaceship’s powered flight envelope culminating in full space flight, which the companies anticipate will take place before the end of 2013.
It is only a matter of time before commercial space travel is readily available. When that day comes, Virtuoso and its members have the exclusive right of sale for consumer space travel in the Americas. CEO, Matthew Upchurch, is set to be one of the first advisors to venture into space. A number of Virtuoso members are already certified Accredited Space Agents (ASAs).
Visit: www.virgingalactic.com.