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Written by Administrator
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Saturday, 26 January 2008 00:05 |
Virgin Galactic Unveils SpaceShipTwoA 1/16 model of SpaceShipTwo was unveiled by Richard Branson of Virgin Galactic at the American Museum of Natural History. SpaceShipTwo will be used to carry paying customers into space.
"2008 really will be the year of the spaceship," said British entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Galactic. "We're truly excited about our new system and what our new system will be able to do."
The new SpaceShipTwo will be launched from its companion jet, WhiteKnightTwo. The tandem will fly to 50,000 feet, where WhiteKnightTwo will release SpaceShipTwo. SpaceshipTwo will then make its ascent to just over 62 miles above sea level – the boundary of space. Testing will begin in the summer of 2008.
The interior of SpaceShipTwo will be roomy enough for six passengers plus two pilots. The main craft will be 60 feet long and have 18 inch diameter windows. Initial flights will last between 2 and 2-1/2 hours and will feature about five minutes of weightlessness.
Virgin Galactic has collected deposits from about 200 customers, totaling about $30 million. An additional 85,000 people have registered with the company as being interested. Although the initial price tag for a sub-orbital flight is a hefty $200,000, Branson says, "Within five years of launching, I would hope the price would come down fairly dramatically."
Virgin Galactic plans to launch from Spaceport America in New Mexico once the facility is completed.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 28 January 2008 03:17 )
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ZERO GRAVITY WINS $4.7 MILLION NASA CONTRACT |
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CLEVELAND - NASA has awarded a contract to Zero Gravity Corporation of Las Vegas to manage and operate an aircraft to perform reduced gravity parabolic flights while carrying NASA-operated experiments and personnel.
The parabolic flights will provide the means to replicate the reduced gravity environment of space for various areas of research needed to further NASA's understanding of space travel. These include aeronautical research, fluid physics, combustion, material sciences and life sciences.
Additionally, work done during these flights will assist engineers in developing NASA's Crew Exploration Vehicle, as well as contribute to improved flights for astronauts on the space shuttle and the International Space Station. The aircraft will fly primarily out of NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, and NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.
The contract's one-year base period, valued at $4.7 million, began on Jan. 1. Four one-year options could add just over $5 million per year to the fixed price, indefinite delivery, and indefinite quantity contract total. These options could extend the period of performance to a total of five years, for an estimated $25.4 million.
For more information on NASA and its programs, visit http://www.nasa.gov
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