Virgin Galactic unveils new VSS Imagine spaceship

Virgin Galactic has unveiled a new mirrored spaceship called VSS Imagine that is designed to ‘reflect the environment around it’ as it moves through clouds and out to space. The new spaceplane is the third generation craft developed by the New Mexico-based Virgin Galactic and will be more modular, allowing for more rapid development as … Read more

Virgin Galactic boss’s rocket-fuelled $21m payday

Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic space tourism firm handed its new chief executive a $21 million windfall for his first five months in the job.  Virgin Galactic appointed Michael Colglazier, a former Disneyland theme park boss, as chief executive and president last July.  His $21.25 million (£15 million) pay packet – covering just over five … Read more

Virgin Galactic postpones its first space tourism until 2022 to allow additional ‘technical checks’

Unlike other commercial spaceflight companies, such as Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic initiates its flights without using a traditional rocket launch. Instead, the firm launches its passenger-laden SpaceShipTwo and other craft from a carrier plane, dubbed WhiteKnightTwo. WhiteKnightTwo is a custom-built, four-engine, dual-fuselage jet aircraft, designed to carry SpaceShipTwo up to an altitude of around 50,000 … Read more

Virgin Galactic announces new February 13 launch window for SpaceShipTwo Unity test flight

Virgin Galactic has announced a new flight window for the next test flight of its SpaceShipTwo Unity. The window will open on February 13 with opportunities to fly throughout February, the company said, pending good weather conditions and technical readiness. The flight, which will take off from Spaceport America in New Mexico‘s Jornada del Muerto … Read more

Mankind has made contact with an alien ‘Galactic Federation’, Israeli official says

Mankind has made contact with an alien ‘Galactic Federation’ but it has been kept secret because ‘humanity isn’t ready’, former head of Israel’s space security program claims Haim Eshed said aliens are real and secretly in contact with America and Israel He claimed the ‘Galactic Federation’ runs an underground Mars base with the US The … Read more

Virgin Galactic to launch spaceplane VSS Unity as early as next week

Virgin Galactic is set to launch its VSS Unity spaceplane as early as next week – this will be the first flight since coronavirus restrictions were introduced in New Mexico. The flight will launch on or after December 11 from Spaceport America, New Mexico and will see two pilots and an experimental payload for NASA … Read more

One third of people with more than $5 million would consider a Virgin Galactic space flight

Almost a million people could eventually jet into space with Virgin Galactic, sending the company’s revenues sky high, according to new research announced on Monday. Cowen, a global investment management, banking and research firm, on Monday published a note to investors detailing their latest findings on Sir Richard Branson’s firm. Virgin Galactic on June 25 … Read more

Rolls-Royce and Reaction partner on supersonic Virgin Galactic jet

Rolls-Royce has partnered with aerospace firm Reaction Engines to create a propulsion system for a new supersonic business jet designed by Virgin Galactic.  Richard Branson-owned Virgin Galactic this month unveiled the plane’s design that will fly up to 19 passengers at up to three times the speed of sound. Reaction Engines, based in Oxfordshire, signed … Read more

Billionaire Richard Branson set to be first passenger on his Virgin Galactic spaceplane in 2021

Billionaire Richard Branson could launch into space aboard his Virgin Galactic aircraft as its first passenger early 2021, potentially blazing a path for commercial flights. The firm has repeatedly pushed back the date it will take the first tourists outside Earth’s atmosphere, but said 600 ‘future astronauts’ have already paid $250,000 to reserve a seat. … Read more

Virgin Galactic reveals supersonic jet design capable of speeds over Mach 3

Virgin Galactic reveals supersonic jet design capable of speeds over Mach 3 that will be developed in partnership with Rolls-Royce Virgin Galactic released the first concept images of its supersonic passenger jet  It would travel at speeds of Mach 3 at altitudes above 60,000 feet The cabin is customized to fit customers’ needs, like business … Read more