Posts Tagged ‘VSS Enterprise’
Industry Day to Be Hosted at Spaceport America
Release courtesy of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority
UPHAM, NM – Virgin Galactic and sister aerospace production company The Spaceship Company (TSC) has announced that they will co-host the first-ever “Industry Day” in cooperation with the New Mexico Spaceport Authority (NMSA) at Spaceport America on Tuesday, October 18. The NMSA said that the Industry Day event, which is by Virgin Galactic invitation only, is designed to educate potential suppliers on the type of goods and services that will be needed by the two companies as commercial space travel becomes a reality in New Mexico.
The daylong event will include presentations by Virgin Galactic President and CEO George Whitesides; New Mexico Department of Economic Development Cabinet Secretary Jon Barela; and NMSA Executive Director Christine Anderson. Attendees will have a unique opportunity to see the WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo vehicles up close in their new home at Spaceport America.
“Virgin Galactic and The Spaceship Company are looking to create relationships with local, regional and global suppliers to support their operations at Spaceport America,” said Christine Anderson, NMSA Executive Director. “The organizers of this event have stated their intention to hire locally as much as possible, which is good news for New Mexico companies.” Interested suppliers are encouraged by Virgin Galactic to complete an online registration form at http://www.virgingalactic.com/news/item/virgin-galactic-industry-day/ to express their desire to attend the event and to become a Virgin Galactic and/or TSC supplier. Virgin Galactic will select the final guest list prior to emailing invitations.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for companies ranging from local New Mexico firms to national corporations to understand our unique needs for goods and services, including our requirements in building and servicing multiple commercial spaceships as the market further develops,” said Virgin Galactic’s President and CEO George Whitesides. “Our intention is to establish these relationships and emphasize our desire to hire locally as much as possible.”
New Mexico Department of Economic Development Cabinet Secretary Jon Barela encourages New Mexico businesses to register their interest in attending online. “New Mexico has a vast pool of available aerospace and related industry talent due to White Sands Missile Range, our national laboratories, Holloman, Kirtland, and Cannon Air Force bases, and many other resources statewide. This is a great time for New Mexico to take advantage of these unique opportunities.”
About Spaceport America
Spaceport America has been providing commercial launch services since 2006. Phase One of the construction for the spaceport is expected to be complete in late 2011. Phase Two of the construction and pre-operations activities has recently been initiated, including the development of a world-class Visitors Experience for students, tourists and space launch customers.
The State of New Mexico entered into a 20-year lease agreement with Virgin Galactic, Spaceport America’s anchor tenant.
Officials at Spaceport America have been working closely with entrepreneurial space leaders like Virgin Galactic, UP Aerospace, and Armadillo Aerospace, as well as established aerospace firms like Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Moog-FTS to develop commercial spaceflight at the new facility. The economic impact of launches, tourism and new construction at Spaceport America are already delivering on the promise of economic development to the people of New Mexico.
Facebook: Spaceport America, or follow us on Twitter: @Spaceport_NM
About Virgin Galactic
Virgin Galactic is on track to be the world’s first commercial spaceline. The new spaceship (VSS Enterprise) and Mother ship (VMS Eve) are both being developed for Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic by Mojave-based Scaled Composites. Founded by Burt Rutan, Scaled developed SpaceShipOne, which in 2004 claimed the $10 million Ansari X Prize as the world’s first privately developed manned spacecraft. Virgin Galactic’s new vehicles share much of the same basic design, but are being built to carry six customers on sub-orbital space flights, allowing an out-of-the-seat, zero-gravity experience and offering astounding views of the planet from the black sky of space. The VSS Enterprise test flight program will continue through 2011, prior to commercial operations, which will be based at Virgin Galactic’s future headquarters at Spaceport America in New Mexico.
About The Spaceship Company
The Spaceship Company (TSC) is a recently formed aerospace production company founded by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group and Scaled Composites. TSC will build the world’s first fleet of commercial spaceships and carrier aircraft, which will allow widespread space travel to become a reality. TSC has contracted with Scaled Composites to develop and build a suborbital space flight system comprised of WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo, and is now taking these designs into commercial production.
NMSA Media relations: David Wilson
p: 575-640-8228
Virgin Galactic Flyover at Spaceport America – October 22, 2010
Release courtesy of the International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight (ISPCS)
WhiteKnightTwo and VSS Enterprise will flyover Spaceport America at the inauguration of the runway at Spaceport America. This will be the first long distance test flight of the VG spaceship and mothership system as part of the celebrations inaugurating the completion of the runway at Virgin Galactic’s future home – Spaceport America.
A flyover on October 22 of the two craft will be a unique event enabling attendees to see both the spaceport and the vehicles. “It will be an extraordinary conclusion for Space Week in New Mexico”, said ISPCS Chair Patricia Hynes.
The updated ISPCS website contains complete information about Space Week in New Mexico where ISPCS, the leading meeting of the commercial and personal spaceflight industry conference is held.
This year’s conference will be held Wednesday-Thursday, October 20 – 21, Flyover at Spaceport America, Friday, October 22.
ISPCS is organized by the New Mexico Space Grant Consortium, a member of the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program, administered by the NASA.
For more information on ISPCS 2010, visit www.ispcs.com.
Spaceport Begins Work on Virgin Galactic Hangar
Article courtesy of The Las Cruces Bulletin
By Todd G. Dickson
With construction under way on the 110,152-square-foot Terminal Hangar Facility at Spaceport America, Virgin Galactic’s new space liner took to the skies for the first time carrying its rocket spaceship. On Monday, March 22, Virgin Galactic announced that its commercial manned spaceship, VSS Enterprise, successfully completed its first “captive carry” test flight.
Virgin Galactic’s system for taking passengers to suborbital space will have the double-hulled carrier jet powered aircraft – called the mother ship or “Eve” – carry the rocket portion up to 52,000 feet, where it will be released. The six-passenger spacecraft will then ignite its hybrid rocket engine to bolt to an elevation of 65 miles within 60 seconds.
Monday’s flight simply had the mother ship carry the rocket payload, but flew to an elevation of 45,000 feet during a flight that lasted nearly three hours. The elevation and duration of the first “mated” flight illustrated the confidence that Virgin Galactic has in the aircraft, said New Mexico Spaceport Authority Executive Director Steve Landeene during a presentation Tuesday, March 22, to the High Tech Consortium of Southern New Mexico.
Both vehicles are being developed for English billionaire Richard Branson by Scaled Composites in Mojave, California. Founded by Burt Rutan, the company came up with a smaller version of the system to claim the $10 million Ansari X PRIZE in 2004 as the world’s first privately developed manned spacecraft to reach suborbital space. Branson bought the rights for the technology and is working with Scaled Composites to create a fleet of space liners for Virgin Galactic, which will take passengers to suborbital space for $250,000 a flight by 2011, should future testing go well.
Virgin Galactic will be the anchor tenant at Spaceport America, and the Terminal Hangar Facility is being built for its operations. Landeene said the foundation for the facility’s steel towers has been laid and the building is on track to be turned over to Virgin Galactic by early 2011.
Meanwhile, Landeene said work continues to progress rapidly on the 10,000 foot runway, which will primarily be used for the Virgin Galactic take-offs and landings. But the sturdy asphalt and concrete runway can handle any kind of aircraft and Landeene said he can foresee its use for specially modified 727s to take people on zero-gravity simulated flights.
Landeene also noted progress on other work at the $198 million spaceport in the desert between Las Cruces and Truth or Consequences, including the spaceport’s fuel storage facility, wastewater treatment system, water access and other utilities, such as electricity. Though the spaceport is tapping traditional electricity, Landeene said the goal is to generate all of the spaceport’s energy needs at the site through renewable energy technologies.
With 12 of the 14 major project contracts awarded, “we are about a year away from having a full spaceport ready for business,” he said. All of those contracts have gone to New Mexico companies, though Landeene acknowledged the criticism that many of the jobs have gone to Albuquerque- based companies. Never the less, Landeene said the work done to date has created more than 600 jobs in the area, which he said is buoying local businesses and government through the lean economy. He estimated that the spaceport activity has already brought New Mexico more than $18 million in revenue that it wouldn’t have had without the project. “The return on investment is really quite tremendous,” he said.
The spaceport will continue to host other customers, such as UP Aerospace, which has conducted a number of launches with its low-cost sounding rocket, including research and development tests for Lockheed Martin and MOOG FTS. Landeene said he expects to soon be making other announcements about significant private space companies coming to Spaceport America.
With NASA rethinking its mission, private companies providing affordable access to space will become more significant partners in the future, Landeene said. NASA recently announced it intends to spend $75 million on development of suborbital vehicles.
It also helped that the Legislature passed and Governor Bill Richardson signed into law informed consent legislation, which defines the passengers as participants who know they are taking a risk in these private space flights. Landeene said the law doesn’t eliminate liability to the companies for negligence or damage to other property, but it does make doing business in New Mexico more attractive in the area of private spaceflight.
State Senator Steve Fischmann agreed with Landeene that many northern lawmakers have a “jaundiced view” of the spaceport until they learn more about research-and-development potential that’s possible along with the space tourism.
Landeene admitted some won’t be able to get behind the spaceport until they’ve seen it work and produce more local activity. He said his office continues to investigate other opportunities for providing more “supply chain” business to the local area, as well as packaging tourist experiences. The spaceport’s construction, however, is the primary task of his office, he noted.
