Space Ship II, White Knight II - projects, flights, info

But when the ground crew wheeled the suborbital spacecraft back into the hangar, company officials discovered that a seal running along a stabilizer on the wing designed to keep the space plane flying straight had come undone — a potentially serious safety hazard.
“The structural integrity of the entire stabilizer was compromised,” Todd Ericson, a test pilot who also served as a vice president for safety and test, said, according to a soon-to-be-published book. “I don’t know how we didn’t lose the vehicle and kill three people.”

 
View: https://twitter.com/virgingalactic/status/1359924056963895296


SpaceShipTwo Unity is mated to our mothership, VMS Eve, as preparations continue for the opening of our flight test window this week. Thanks to Space Wrench, Tramain Coleman, for explaining the process.
View: https://twitter.com/virgingalactic/status/1359988860885819398


The team has loaded three payloads from the @NASA Flight Opportunities Program into SpaceShipTwo Unity’s cabin ahead of our flight-test window opening this week.
View: https://twitter.com/virgingalactic/status/1360193157745491973


Flight test update: We have been progressing through our pre-flight preparations and, during that process, we have decided to allow more time for technical checks. We are working to identify the next flight opportunity.
 
View: https://twitter.com/thesheetztweetz/status/1365049503309582336


Virgin Galactic's investor presentation discloses that the company "identified EMI as the root cause" of the December engine flight abort, with "additional EMI impacts" uncovered during preparations for the Feb. 13 reflight:


View: https://twitter.com/thesheetztweetz/status/1365062017766334464


Virgin Galactic $SPCE president Mike Moses says a new flight control system had "higher EMI levels present," which potentially could have triggered another flight abort like the one in December.

("EMI" = "electromagnetic interference")
 
View: https://twitter.com/thesheetztweetz/status/1365053589115330562


Virgin Galactic will roll out the next spacecraft in its fleet, and the first of the SpaceShip III generation, on March 30:
cnbc.com/2021/02/25/vir… $SPCE

View: https://twitter.com/thesheetztweetz/status/1365054292701380608


The first SpaceShip III flight test is scheduled for this summer.
 
American "space" maybe, but the internationally-recognised Karman line, no.
 
Looks like Mr Branson aims to beat Mr Bezos to space.

View: https://twitter.com/spacecom/status/1402252585273237512


Virgin Galactic’s Richard Branson Aims to Fly to Space Before Jeff Bezos


The flight is contingent upon obtaining an operator’s license from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
 
View: https://twitter.com/sciguyspace/status/1402257120133849093


Virgin Galactic has said all along that it will not fly until it is ready. Moreover, the plan HAD been to fly Virgin employees during the next mission, with the Sir Richard flight to follow after that. So ... interesting.
View: https://twitter.com/joroulette/status/1402299438366875648


Statement from Virgin Galactic on speculation that Richard Branson is aiming to fly his company's suborbital vehicle before Jeff Bezos boards Blue Origin's New Shepard on July 20th:
 
Does Branson has a brother ? :p

I don't like this very much... for Branson. New Shepard is a sane and robust vehicle, SS2... not so sure.

Hopefully he won't end killing himself in a stunt.

And meanwhile, Musk is laughing his a$$ off... "I did that ! I kicked a Branson vs Bezos race for suborbital flight... with my ORBITAL vehicle. Muhahahaha !"
 
View: https://twitter.com/stephenathome/status/1413133741225123840


Congrats to @virgingalactic on launching @richardbranson into space. Someone had to do it. (I assume my invitation went straight to my spam folder?)

View: https://twitter.com/richardbranson/status/1413134378973077510


Sorry you can’t join us this time, but we’re going to livestream the launch on Sunday, and I’d be honoured if you’d host that for us! #Unity22

View: https://twitter.com/stephenathome/status/1413136915977494535


I’m in! BLAST OFF! #Unity22
 
View: https://twitter.com/thesheetztweetz/status/1413200959749206021


Richard Branson’s son Sam shares a look at Virgin Galactic this morning preparing spacecraft VSS Unity and carrier aircraft VMS Eve at @Spaceport_NM: $SPCE

View: https://twitter.com/virgingalactic/status/1413208378722066435


3 days until #Unity22! Come inside the hangar for pre-flight preparations as our spaceship VSS Unity joins forces with our mothership VMS Eve. Watch the launch live this Sunday at 6 am PT | 9 am ET | 2 pm BST. virgingalactic.com
View: https://twitter.com/rollingstone/status/1413467995901415426


Khalid has announced that he will be performing a brand new song, "New Normal," for the Virgin Galactic Spaceflight launch this Sunday
 
I am so fed-up to hear about the billionaire thing...

RB took on him to be the test passenger and this point should be the one that makes the news. It's not everyday that you'll see in the aerospace a project founder brave enough to play the lab rat. It is obvious if you'd followed him that he worked hard for this mission training himself with a long physical preparation.

Also, noteworthy, and of a more important aspect, is that the FAA granted approval for the first commercial gliding flight ever with a seating jaw dropping capacity when compared to other vehicles of the same type around (none commercial). That this glider can go to the edge of space is just as impressive.

I see this lack of enthusiasm to report on something truly out of the ordinary as the general failure of aerospace report in the general press, taken over by lobbyists (think MAX).

If you happen to be a non-specialist journalist reading those lines that is honest enough with his lack of knowledge in the domain, see it as if you were in Kabul in October 2001 filming topics only on the folkloric outfits and strange custom of the people down there...
 
It's online

with Steven Colbert as Host of the videostream
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