Virgin Galactic unveils rocket plane thrill ride

by  William Harwood *

MOJAVE, Calif.--Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson and legendary aircraft designer Burt Rutan, whose SpaceShipOne took the $10 million Ansari X Prize in 2004, unveiled the VSS Enterprise Monday, a sleek commercial rocket plane that represents the ultimate thrill ride for well-heeled space tourists and amateur astronauts.

Seating six passengers and two pilots, Virgin Space Ship Enterprise--also known as SpaceShipTwo--will begin test flights next year with commercial launchings carrying paying customers starting after government regulatory requirements are met. More than 300 people have already put down deposits or paid the full $200,000 cost of a ticket for future sub-orbital up-and-down flights aboard the new spacecraft.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Virgin founder Richard Branson, right, inspect a model of SpaceShipTwo Monday before the craft's roll-out. Designer Burt Rutan looks on from the left.

(Credit: William Harwood)

Most of those ticket holders, along with California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, were on hand for the SpaceShipTwo unveiling Monday at Mojave airport, braving rain, high winds and frigid temperatures to witness the long-awaited roll-out.

Branson told the enthusiastic crowd that safety was Virgin Galactic's No. 1 priority and that "we will not be putting anybody into space until the test pilots have done many, many, many trips on this spaceship."

"Only when we are absolutely certain we can safely to space will we go into space," he said. "I promise you, it will be well and truly tested before we go into space."

Schwarzenegger said attending the unveiling was "one of the coolest things I've ever done." Describing Branson as "an extraordinary visionary," he called Rutan "one of the greatest space engineers of our time."

"Space is our next great frontier," he said. "When it comes to space enterprise, California is and always has been at the forefront and leading the way."

* William Harwood has been covering the U.S. space program full-time since 1984, first as Cape Canaveral bureau chief for United Press International and now as a consultant for CBS News. He has covered more than 115 shuttle missions, every interplanetary flight since Voyager 2's flyby of Neptune, and scores of commercial and military launches. Based at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Harwood is a devoted amateur astronomer and co-author of "Comm Check: The Final Flight of Shuttle Columbia." You can follow his frequent status updates at the CBSNews.com Space Place, where this story was first published.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-19514_3-10410601-239.html

Spaceport Tours

Bus ride launches Spaceport tourism

Updated: Wednesday, 23 Dec 2009, 7:27 AM MST
Published : Tuesday, 22 Dec 2009, 10:57 PM MST

• Pilot-Reporter: Bob Martin
• Web Producer: Bill Diven

UPHAM, N.M. (KRQE) - That new spaceport being built near Truth or Consequences is now hosting its first tourists, but instead of strapping themselves into a rocket, they're boarding a bus.

They may not be launching from Spaceport America, but they are getting a close-up look not only at the work going into building it but the rich history of a once-dangerous part of the state.

The long road to Spaceport America from T or C transports tourists across vast country and through time.

"This country has more history than anyplace in the United States," science teacher Jerry Brown said.

Brown, a former NASA engineer, takes tourists on weekends to look over spaceport construction and learn about the heritage of the place.

The 400-year-old Camino Real, the royal road from Spanish Mexico to Santa Fe, still can be seen tracking through the scrub desert.

Along this stretch, called the Jornada del Muerto, which translates to Journey of the Dead Man, Brown said there are about 13 graves for every mile.

'When someone passed away, they didn't carry them any farther," Brown told one group of travelers. "They just stopped the caravan, they went and dug a hole, they had a Mass and then the caravan moved on."

There are also stories about later travelers from pioneers to desperados to Apache leader Geronimo.

"Part of our job is to give the people the history of New Mexico, the history of spaceflight, the history of this area and then a glimpse into the future," Brown said.

Brown started Jornada History Tours years ago in an old Volkswagen contraption fitted with airliner seats.

He has added a larger van for spaceport tours.

Alongside the old Camino Real the 10,000-foot Spaceport America runway is rapidly taking shape.

In 2011 Virgin Galactic says it will begin launching tourists here with each paying $200,000 for five minutes of floating around in space and gazing at the earth.

Today tourists visiting the construction site witness the gritty work required to create a space complex from scratch.

Engineer Steve Wade of David Montoya Construction said runway builders are taking extra steps to insure quality.

"Everything is very consistent," Wade said. "We can control the moisture content; we can control how much cement is put in there."

Crews are also proud of their recycling.

The asphalt machine is fired with waste oil, and some paving material comes from old pavement ripped out of highway projects.

"It makes me feel good knowing that not only are we making a high-quality product, but we are taking some unused refuse out of New Mexico and using it for a good purpose," Wade said.

When space travelers someday lift off from the site they will just continue a journey started many centuries ago, according to Brown.

"What an epic history for humans to be able to do that entire journey from walking barefooted up this trail to blasting 65 miles into the air above this trail," he said.

http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/technology/bus-ride-launches-spaceport-tourism

First commercial spacecraft ever

SpaceShipTwo will be the first commercial spaceship ever built. Funded by U.K. billionaire Richard Branson, it has been built with the support of famed aviation designer Burt Rutan.

Branson has already spent $200 million out of $450 million budget.

SpaceShipTwo is a replica of SpaceShipOne, first privately operated manned craft that completed the first privately funded human spaceflight on June 21, 2004.

But, at 60 feet long, it is double the size of SpaceShipOne, and can carry six passengers and two pilots.

The tests for the spaceship will start in the upcoming year. The flight, which will be two and a half hours long, will include some five minutes of weightlessness.

Virgin Galactic has already placed orders of three carrier planes and five spaceships with Spaceship Co., a joint venture between Virgin and Northrop Grumman Corp.’s Scaled Composites unit.

Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic Ltd is gearing up to take the tourists to space.

After five years of construction, the company will take the wraps off its suborbital passenger spaceship in the Mojave Desert today.

Much awaited launch
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will unveil Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo model, with the first flight expected to take off from Spaceport America, New Mexico within the next few years.

Around 300 wealthy would-be astronauts, including singer Sarah Brightman, physicist Stephen Hawking, and X-Men director Bryan Singer, have already paid around $200,000 each and are eagerly waiting for the first glimpse of the spaceship.

http://www.themoneytimes.com/featured/20091207/virgin-galactic-unveil-commercial-spaceship-today-id-1093378.html

Tickets at Spaceport America

start at $200,000.

URS / Foster + Partners

Postcard from Las Cruces

By Richard B. Stolley Monday, Dec. 14,

This expanse of high desert 35 miles southwest of Truth or Consequences, N.M., is the site of Spaceport America, a collaborative effort between the state and Richard Branson's space enterprise, Virgin Galactic, that hopes to send private citizens into near orbit as early as 2011. New Mexico is spending $198 million on construction; Virgin Galactic will lease the place for 20 years at a price of $200 million to $250 million.
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1945349,00.html#ixzz0YpK9MSND