Virgin Galactic shows off mothership aircraft
MOJAVE, Calif. (AP) - July 28, 2008 A crowd of engineers, dignitaries and space enthusiasts gathered
inside a Mojave Desert hangar for the unveiling countdown. As the
hangar door flew open, White Knight Two appeared outside under the
sunny desert sky with Branson and American aerospace pioneer Burt
Rutan waving from the cabin.
White Knight Two, billed as the world's largest
all-carbon-composite aircraft, is "one of the most beautiful and
extraordinary aviation vehicles ever developed," Branson said.
The public showing was the first concrete evidence of progress
since the Rutan-designed SpaceShipOne became the first private,
manned rocket to reach space in 2004. After the groundbreaking
flights, Rutan and Branson partnered to commercialize on the
success. Branson dubbed the venture Virgin Galactic.
Despite the buzz surrounding White Knight Two's debut,
significant hurdles remain before customers can experience zero
gravity for $200,000 a ticket.
White Knight Two must undergo a rigorous flight testing program,
beginning in the fall. Engineers still need to finish building
SpaceShipOne's successor, SpaceShipTwo, which is now about 70
percent complete, according to Virgin Galactic.
The mothership is a white, four-engine jet with room between its
twin fuselages where SpaceShipTwo will be mounted for the flight to
launch altitude. Virgin Galactic christened it Eve after Branson's
mother, and the aircraft's side has a motif of a helmeted blond
woman flying a Virgin flag.
White Knight Two has a 140-foot wingspan, about the same as a
Boeing B-29 Superfortress, the World War II long-range heavy
bomber. White Knight Two is designed to cradle SpaceShipTwo under
its wing and release it at 50,000 feet in the air. Once separated,
SpaceShipTwo will fire its hybrid rocket and climb some 62 miles
above Earth.
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On the Net:
Virgin Galactic: http://www.virgingalactic.com
Scaled Composites: http://www.scaled.com
