July 30 2008 / by Mielle
Category: Space Year: General Rating: 6 Hot
On July 28th the ever-expanding, ever-hip, almost ubiquitous
Virgin revealed the WhiteKnightTwo—a carrier ship that will ferry
the still veiled SpaceShipTwo on its sub-orbital, space tourism
flights. SpaceShipTwo will be the first ship of the new
Virgin Galactic—Virgins’ latest step on it’s quest for universal
dominance.
Ferried by WhiteKnightTwo, SpaceShipTwo will be the first ever
space tourism craft. It will be capable of carrying six
passengers and two pilots into a sub-orbit around the earth to see
space, the Earth, and experience weightlessness.
WhiteKnightTwo Will be able to support up to four daily space
flights and operate during both day and night.
The fist flight of WhiteKnightTwo with SpaceShipTwo and
passengers is expected to take place in Early 2010 and the BBC
reports there are already 250 people have paid $200,000 to be
on the first flights. Before you grab your wallet, remember
that each flight will remain at it’s top altitude of about 60 miles
above the Earth’s surface for only about 6
minutes.
But space tourists aren’t the only thing SpaceShipTwo will
carry. It will also transport science packages and also be
used to train astronauts. WhiteKnightTwo alone has myriad uses
-with the ability to bear a weight capacity 30% more than a fully
boarded SpaceShipTwo, it can be used to ferry satellites or even
convey huge aid loads for disaster relief.
In addition to being the first space tourism mothership,
WhiteKnightTwo has some other future oriented
characteristics. It is the world’s largest all carbon
composite aircraft and many of its component parts have been built
using composite materials for the very first time. Carbon
composite construction allows for greater fuel efficiency because
it is lighter than traditional materials. Its Pratt and Whitney
PW308A engines are also “amongst the most
powerful, economic and efficient available” according to Virgin
Galactic.
Of course, WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo are just the beginning
for Branson. In twenty years time he wants to have space
hotels that offer trips around the moon. An exciting vision. Viva
Virgin Galactic!
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