Virgin's big day

[Exclipse]

http://www.virgin.com/richard-branson/momentous-day-for-space-travel

Awesome video there, and interesting info.

http://youtu.be/VXbbEGK9oMI

[Kryten]

Finally.

Back in '05, Branson said this would happen in '07...

[icemasterpt]

This vehicle can be reused, right? it certainly looks like it can, im just asking because i have not heard aout this program

finaly some progress for space flight. And honestly there is nothing more beautiful than a reusable spaceship =)

[Trux]

Finally.

Back in '05, Branson said this would happen in '07...

Well there was the explosion during testing :/ Probably a good idea to work on safety given the amount of tickets they have already sold. Dead celebrities = Bad business model

This vehicle can be reused, right? it certainly looks like it can, im just asking because i have not heard aout this program

finaly some progress for space flight. And honestly there is nothing more beautiful than a reusable spaceship =)

Yes, it is completely reusable. It doesn't go to orbit though, only high enough for passengers to see the curvature of the Earth.

[Nibb31]

Duplicate thread:

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/showthread.php/26752-Virgin-Galactic-SpaceShipTwo

SpaceShipTwo is not really a spaceship. It only goes to 100km altitude and falls back down. It's just an expensive rollercoaster ride or a glorified vomit-comet.

[Flixxbeatz]

oops, I think I've interpreted the title wrong the first time I saw it...

well, congrats for the team.

[Latcarf]

Duplicate thread:

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/showthread.php/26752-Virgin-Galactic-SpaceShipTwo

SpaceShipTwo is not really a spaceship. It only goes to 100km altitude and falls back down. It's just an expensive rollercoaster ride or a glorified vomit-comet.

Remember that this is one of the first steps for Virgin Galactic. Here's an excerpt from the first article i found from a google search:

Following the historic first rocket-powered flight of its SpaceShipTwo vehicle, Virgin Galactic plans to build a fleet of spaceships and begin ferrying hundreds of tourists into space in 2014. And then? A whole new kind of spacecraft, Sir Richard Branson said.

“We’ll be building orbital spaceships after that,†Branson told Fox News Tuesday.

VIA:

http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/04/30/sir-richard-branson-plans-orbital-spaceships/#ixzz2S2lJq2Dz

Spaceshiptwo is definitely a roller coaster and i want a ride. But it's not the final build.

Edited May 1, 2013 by Latcarf

[Nibb31]

Spaceshiptwo is definitely a roller coaster and i want a ride. But it's not the final build.

It pretty much is. Sure, it will probably be improved over its lifetime, but the basic concept is a technological dead end.

At the apex of its ballistic flight, it is only flying at 700km/h, which is slower than a regular airliner and only 27300km/h short of reaching orbital velocity. To reach that speed, it would need a booster in the range of two or three hundred tons, which would be impossible to carry on White Knight, or even on Stratolaunch (if that ever flies).

So if Virgin ever goes orbital, it will be on something totally different

[lobsterbark]

Yep, well, the video doesn't exist.