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Virgin Galactic
Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. is a British-American spaceflight company founded by Richard Branson and the Virgin Group conglomerate, which retains an 11.9% stake through Virgin Investments Limited. It is headquartered in California, and operates from New Mexico. The company develops commercial spacecraft and provides suborbital spaceflights to Space tourism, space tourists. Virgin Galactic's suborbital spacecraft are air launched from beneath a carrier airplane known as White Knight Two. Virgin Galactic's maiden spaceflight occurred in 2018 with its VSS Unity, VSS ''Unity'' spaceship. Branson had originally hoped to see a maiden spaceflight by 2010, but the date was delayed, primarily due to the VSS Enterprise crash, October 2014 crash of VSS Enterprise, VSS ''Enterprise''. The company did the early work on the satellite launch development of LauncherOne before this was hive-off, hived off to a separate company, Virgin Orbit, in 2017. The company also has aspirations for subor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
LauncherOne
LauncherOne was a two-stage orbital launch vehicle developed and flown by Virgin Orbit that had operational flights from 2021 to 2023, after being in development from 2007 to 2020. It was an air-launched rocket, designed to carry smallsat payloads of up to into Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO), following air launch from a carrier aircraft at high altitude. The rocket was carried to the upper atmosphere on a modified Boeing 747-400, named '' Cosmic Girl'', and released over ocean. Initial work on the program was done by Virgin Galactic, another Virgin Group subsidiary, before a separate entity — Virgin Orbit — was formed in 2017 to complete development and operate the launch service provider business separately from the passenger-carrying Virgin Galactic business. The first successful flight was on 17 January 2021, which delivered a payload of 10 CubeSats to low Earth orbit (LEO). Three further launches successfully reached orbit. An initial test flight was unsucces ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
VSS Enterprise Crash
The VSS ''Enterprise'' crash occurred on October 31, 2014, when the VSS ''Enterprise'', a SpaceShipTwo experimental spaceflight test vehicle operated by Virgin Galactic, suffered a catastrophic in-flight breakup during a test flight and crashed in the Mojave Desert near Cantil, California. Co-pilot Michael Alsbury was killed and pilot Peter Siebold was seriously injured. The National Transportation Safety Board later concluded that the breakup was caused by Alsbury's premature unlocking of the air brake device used for atmospheric re-entry. The NTSB said other important factors in the accident were inadequate design safeguards, poor pilot training and lack of rigorous oversight by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Accident On the day of the accident, ''Enterprise'' was performing a test flight – powered flight 4 (PF04) – in which it was dropped from the WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft, VMS ''Eve'', after taking off from the Mojave Air and Space Port.Moja ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
VSS Enterprise
VSS ''Enterprise'' ( tail number: N339SS) was the first SpaceShipTwo (SS2) spaceplane, built by Scaled Composites for Virgin Galactic. As of 2004, it was planned to be the first of five commercial suborbital SS2 spacecraft planned by Virgin Galactic. It was also the first ship of the Scaled Composites Model 339 SpaceShipTwo class, based on upscaling the design of record-breaking SpaceShipOne. The VSS ''Enterprise''s name was an acknowledgement of the USS ''Enterprise'' from the ''Star Trek'' television series. The spaceplane also shared its name with NASA's prototype Space Shuttle orbiter, as well as the aircraft carrier USS ''Enterprise''. It was rolled out on 7 December 2009. SpaceShipTwo made its first powered flight in April 2013. Richard Branson said it "couldn't have gone more smoothly". ''Enterprise'' was destroyed during a powered test flight on 31 October 2014, killing one pilot, Michael Alsbury, and seriously injuring another, Peter Siebold. This was the fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Spaceship Company
The Spaceship Company (TSC) is a British/American spacecraft manufacturing company that was founded by Burt Rutan and Richard Branson in mid-2005 and was jointly owned by Virgin Group (70%) and Scaled Composites (30%) until 2012 when Virgin Galactic became the sole owner. TSC was formed to own the technology created by Scaled for Virgin Galactic's Virgin SpaceShip program. This includes developments on the care-free reentry system and cantilevered-hybrid rocket motor, licensed from Paul Allen and Burt Rutan's Mojave Aerospace. The company is manufacturing Virgin Galactic's spacecraft and has plans to sell spacecraft to other buyers. The suborbital launch system offered included the SpaceShipTwo (SS2) spacecraft and the White Knight Two (WK2) carrier aircraft. History 2005-2010 The company was founded in 2005 by Burt Rutan and Richard Branson, and was initially jointly owned by Virgin Group and Scaled Composites, to own the technology created by Scaled for Virgin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hot Air Balloon
A hot air balloon is a lighter-than-air aircraft consisting of a bag, called an envelope, which contains heated air. Suspended beneath is a gondola or wicker basket (in some long-distance or high-altitude balloons, a capsule), which carries passengers and a source of heat, in most cases an open flame caused by burning liquid propane. The heated air inside the envelope makes it buoyant, since it has a lower density than the colder air outside the envelope. As with all aircraft, hot air balloons cannot fly beyond the atmosphere. The envelope does not have to be sealed at the bottom, since the air inside the envelope is at about the same pressure as the surrounding air. In modern sport balloons the envelope is generally made from nylon fabric, and the inlet of the balloon (closest to the burner flame) is made from a fire-resistant material such as Nomex. Modern balloons have been made in many shapes, such as rocket ships and the shapes of various commercial products, thou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic, a trading name of Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited and Virgin Atlantic International Limited, is a British airline with its head office in Crawley, West Sussex, England. The airline was established in 1984 as British Atlantic Airways, and was originally planned by its co-founders Randolph Fields and Alan Hellary to fly between London and the Falkland Islands. Soon after changing the name to Virgin Atlantic Airways, Fields sold his shares in the company to Richard Branson in return for unlimited free travel. The maiden flight from London–Gatwick to Newark took place on 22 June 1984. The airline along with Virgin Holidays is controlled by a holding company, Virgin Atlantic Limited, which is 51% owned by the Virgin Group and 49% by Delta Air Lines. It is administratively separate from other Virgin-branded airlines. Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited and Virgin Atlantic International Limited both hold Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Type A Operating Licences ( A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Entrepreneur
Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entrepreneur () is an individual who creates and/or invests in one or more businesses, bearing most of the risks and enjoying most of the rewards. The process of setting up a business is known as "entrepreneurship". The entrepreneur is commonly seen as an innovator, a source of new ideas, goods, services, and business/or procedures. More narrow definitions have described entrepreneurship as the process of designing, launching and running a new business, often similar to a small business, or (per ''Business Dictionary'') as the "capacity and willingness to develop, organize and manage a business venture along with any of its risks to make a profit". The people who create these businesses are often referred to as "entrepreneurs". In the field of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Galactic 07
Galactic 07 was a crewed sub-orbital spaceflight of the SpaceShipTwo-class VSS ''Unity'', which launched on 8 June 2024. It was the final launch of Unity. It was the seventh commercial spaceflight and twelfth overall spaceflight for American aerospace company Virgin Galactic Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. is a British-American spaceflight company founded by Richard Branson and the Virgin Group conglomerate, which retains an 11.9% stake through Virgin Investments Limited. It is headquartered in California, and opera .... Crew Galactic 07's crew included four private passengers and two Virgin Galactic employees. References {{Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo Aviation history of the United States Suborbital human spaceflights Private space missions Suborbital space tourism flights 2024 in spaceflight 2024 in New Mexico 2024 in aviation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Galactic 01
Galactic 01, previously referred to as Unity 23, was a sub-orbital spaceflight of the SpaceShipTwo-class VSS ''Unity'' which launched on 29 June 2023. The launch was the first commercial spaceflight for Virgin Galactic Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. is a British-American spaceflight company founded by Richard Branson and the Virgin Group conglomerate, which retains an 11.9% stake through Virgin Investments Limited. It is headquartered in California, and opera .... A research mission for the Italian Air Force, the crew consisted of pilots Michael Masucci and Nicola Pecile as well as crew members Colin Bennett, Walter Villadei, Angelo Landolfi, and Pantaleone Carlucci ( National Research Council of Italy – CNR). The flight was postponed from its original planned October 2021 flight date for Virgin Galactic to upgrade its SpaceShipTwo vehicles. During the flight, Villadei wore a suit to measure biometric data and his physiological responses to spaceflight. Landolfi carried ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Virgin Galactic Unity 22
Virgin Galactic Unity 22 was a sub-orbital spaceflight of the SpaceShipTwo-class VSS ''Unity'' which launched on 11 July 2021. The crew consisted of pilots David Mackay and Michael Masucci as well as passengers Sirisha Bandla, Colin Bennett, Beth Moses, and Richard Branson. Background On 7 June 2021, Jeff Bezos announced that he planned to be on the first crewed flight of his company Blue Origin, which meant being aboard the first crewed flight to space (suborbital) of a private enterprise fully funded by private money with (2 possible different "record firsts" depending on whether one uses the international standard limit of space as 100 km altitude or the USA 50 mile altitude limit): * A) in case of using the Karman line as the boundary of space, passengers (non-pilots) onboard, or * B) in case of using the USAF/NASA 50 mile altitude limit for space, more than 1 passenger (i.e. non-pilot) aboard. These two different "record firsts" are due to the fact that A) Space ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
VSS Unity VF-01
VF-01 was a sub-orbital spaceflight of the SpaceShipTwo-class VSS ''Unity'' that took place on 22 February 2019, piloted by David Mackay and co-piloted by Mike Masucci. It was operated by Virgin Galactic, a private company led by Richard Branson that intends to conduct space tourism flights in the future. Following VSS ''Unity'' VP-03, VF-01 was a demonstration of the craft's ability to carry passengers. Virgin Galactic's chief astronaut trainer Beth Moses acted as a test passenger, evaluating the experience for potential customers. Reaching an apogee of , the flight satisfied the United States definition of spaceflight (), but fell short of the Kármán line (), the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale definition. It was the highest flight of ''Unity'' and the SpaceShipTwo ever. Crew Flight On 22 February 2019, ''Unity's'' mother ship VMS ''Eve'' carried it into flight in a parasite configuration. Shortly before 9 a.m., ''Unity'' was drop launched. Pilots Mackay a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
