Virgin is one of my favorite airlines to fly on — it’s kind of like the airline of the future, with interactive displays in every head rest, cool lighting, an animated safety video, and there’s almost always WiFi on board.
But Virgin is looking to be even more futuristic, promising the customer with the most miles at the end of the year a chance to upgrade to Galactic status.
That’s… → Read More
NASA may not be sending anyone to Mars anytime soon, the exploration of space and beyond – though on a much smaller scale – is being spearheaded by folks like Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos. (Maybe you’ve heard of them.) Though Bezos and Blue Origin continue to work under a veil of secrecy in Texas, Virgin Galactic keeps humming along in the Mojave having recently scored a major milestone for the… → Read More
Among the many things about living in the year 2010 that blow my mind (robot vacuums, smartphones, Google Books), the fact that we are at the beginning of commercial space flight is, incredibly, not constantly on my mind. Yet advances are constantly being made, most visibly by Virgin Galactic, which just this last week inaugurated the commercial facility for vertically- and horizontally-launching… → Read More
Check out the latest on SpaceShipTwo, the first commercial option for spaceflight. It’s not going to be cheap to fly, but damn that spaceship looks sexy. → Read More
Somewhere in sleepy Wisconsin – actually in Oshkosh – Virgin Galactic displayed the mothership Eve to the general public for the very first time. The plane soared over thousands of people attending the Experimental Aircraft Association’s annual AirVenture convention and then landed so people could get a closer look. Chances are that this will be the first and last time many of… → Read More
After testing delays last year, Virgin Galactic and Scaled Composites successfully took to the skies with the Mothership Eve at the SC testing site in the Mojave. Wired.com has the exclusive video, which isn’t anything special, but it’s nice to see Virgin is puttering right along. Hit the jump to check out the video. → Read More
WhiteKnightTwo, the plane that will eventually launch Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo just took its maiden test flight and the videos are already up. Watch them and see how weird this plane looks. What if regular commercial aircraft looked like that thing? We could just put all the noisy kids and crying babies on one side and enjoy some peace and quiet on the other. Click on for the videos. → Read More
A London banker named Per Wimmer will be taking a 30-minute space ride in XCOR’s “Lynx” two-seat suborbital space plane (see our previous coverage) in 2010. Los Angeles-based XCOR is offering relatively affordable space trips at around $74,000 a pop. Wimmer has also purchased tickets on Virgin Galactic’s and Space Adventures’ first flights –also set to take off in 2010. Those tickets… → Read More
What won’t the porn industry think of? Virgin Galactic president Will Whitehorn wouldn’t disclose who the studio is, but said the offer “was $1 million, up front, for a sex-in-space movie. That was money we had to refuse, I’m afraid.” Other than the logistical issues of making a porno in five-minutes, I doubt VG is bummed about losing $1 million. They already have $40… → Read More
When Virgin unveiled the White Knight Two in late July we were told that test flights would begin in September, but that doesn’t appear to be true since it’s the 29th and President of Virgin Galactic Will Whitehorn basically says they’re delayed. But he does reassure us that test flights will happen this year and possibly within weeks. “There have been various taxi trials… → Read More
Rich is apart of the Virgin America and Virgin Galactic exchange program that allows VA captains the opportunity to pilot the Virgin Galactic flights when they start in 2010. He’s pretty stoked to have been picked from the VA fleet and who wouldn’t be?! Rich has an extensive resume in aviation with over 16,000 hours clocked and he overlooked the testing for Virgin American flights… → Read More
I’m likely never going to get married, but if I ever do, I want to do as this couple is, in space. Branson’s launching Virgin Galactic next year as the world’s first space tourism company, this much is known. But now he’s announced that on Galactic’s first flight, he’ll be personally officiating a wedding, the first ever human wedding off of Earth. Now the… → Read More
I actually am pretty sure that the people who can spend $2,000,000 on space tourism are a different demographic from the people who scrounge miles to get free tickets. And yet, Virgin Galactic is going to let you redeem 200,000 miles for a big 10% off that trip to space. Somehow I doubt they’re going to get a lot of takers on that offer, but it is a nice little taste of the future. Use your… → Read More
Burt Rutan and Richard Branson are doing their “deep pocketed space explorer” thing again. They’ve revealed the second version of their suborbital spacecraft, aptly called “SpaceShipTwo” and pictured above, presumably via a cell phone camera at the event. They also announced that the launch vehicle, “WhiteKnightTwo,” will be on an open architecture… → Read More
This morning, Richard Branson’s spaceship startup Virgin Galactic unveiled the second design of its suborbital vehicles, SpaceShipTwo and White Knight Two. I am blogging this from the press conference at the Museum of Natural History in New York City. SpaceShipTwo is what the passengers will actually ride in, and White Knight Two is the launch vehicle that carries it to a high altitude… → Read More
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