Virgin Galactic focused on Dec. 11 for subsequent SpaceShipTwo spaceflight

Virgin Galactic’s VSS Solidarity spaceliner captured this leer of Earth at some level of the automobile’s first lunge back and forth to location, on Dec. 13, 2018.

(Image: © Virgin Galactic)

Virgin Galactic will cruise to suborbital location subsequent week, if all goes in step with devise.

The window for the third crewed spaceflight of VSS Solidarity, Virgin Galactic’s most modern SpaceShipTwo location airplane, opens on Dec. 11, company representatives launched on Tuesday (Dec. 1). 

The test flight, which will purchase off from New Mexico’s Spaceport America, had been scheduled to occur between Nov. 19 and Nov. 23. A recent surge of COVID-19 infections across the teach nixed that thought, nonetheless, and the corporate will expend concern to be obvious safety comes first at some level of the newly launched window.

Connected: How Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo works (infographic)

“In accordance with native government pointers and safety protocols, we possess minimized the amount of of us onsite to the absolute best stage conceivable,” Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier said in a press commence on Tuesday.

“Whereas on this event no media or traffic will most likely be allowed onsite, our group will endeavor to catch and portion the gorgeous pictures with the enviornment after the flight has been done,” Colglazier said. “We glance forward to finishing this main milestone in our test flight program within the approaching weeks.”

The two-pilot, six-passenger SpaceShipTwo takes off from a runway below the wings of a provider airplane identified as WhiteKnightTwo. At an altitude of about 50,000 toes (15,000 meters), the location airplane drops free and makes its private manner to suborbital location with the support of its onboard rocket motor.

VSS Solidarity has reached location twice to this level, on test flights in December 2018 and February 2019. Each and each of these missions lifted off from the Mojave Air and Set of residing Port in southeastern California, advance the headquarters of The Spaceship Company, Virgin Galactic’s manufacturing subsidiary.

The upcoming third test flight would possibly presumably perhaps be the first from Spaceport America, the hub of Virgin Galactic’s coming commercial operations. The mission will even be the first human spaceflight to purchase off from New Mexico, company representatives possess said.

VSS Solidarity moved to Spaceport America earlier this one year to commence the closing phases of its test campaign. The spacecraft would possibly presumably perhaps commence flying operational, passenger-carrying missions subsequent one year.

About 600 of us possess booked a mark to drag SpaceShipTwo, at a mark (most only currently) of $250,000 per seat. Virgin Galactic shouldn’t be any longer within the within the period in-between promoting tickets but intends to resume doing so early subsequent one year, after Virgin Neighborhood founder Richard Branson flies aboard VSS Solidarity. (Branson has prolonged said he plans to be on one in all Solidarity’s early flights.)

VSS Solidarity would possibly presumably perhaps now not be the absolute best SpaceShipTwo flying for noteworthy longer. The Spaceship Company is within the within the period in-between building two various autos, one in all which is anticipated to roll out of the manufacturing facility in early 2021, Virgin Galactic representatives possess said. The corporate’s hangar at Spaceport America can accommodate five SpaceShipTwos and two WhiteKnightTwos concurrently.

Mike Wall is the author of “Out There” (Huge Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a e book about the be taught about alien lifestyles. Apply him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Apply us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Fb.