List of Virgin Galactic launches
SpaceShipOne | |
---|---|
SpaceShipOne after its flight into space, June 2004. | |
Role | Spaceplane |
Manufacturer | Scaled Composites |
Designer | Burt Rutan |
First flight | 20 May 2003 |
Retired | 4 October 2004 |
Primary user | Mojave Aerospace Ventures |
Number built | 1 |
Developed into | SpaceShipTwo |
Career | |
Preserved at | National Air and Space Museum |
SpaceShipTwo | |
---|---|
SpaceShipTwo (central fuselage) carried under its twin fuselage mother ship, White Knight Two. | |
Role | Passenger spaceplane |
National origin | United States |
Manufacturer | Scaled Composites (1st aircraft) The Spaceship Company |
First flight | 10 October 2010 (first glide flight) 29 April 2013 (first powered flight) 13 December 2018 (first spaceflight) |
Primary user | Virgin Galactic |
Number built | 2 |
Developed from | Scaled Composites SpaceShipOne |
Developed into | The Spaceship Company SpaceShip III |
VSS Enterprise (N339SS) | |
---|---|
VSS Enterprise, the first SpaceShipTwo spaceplane, attached to its carrier aircraft WhiteKnightTwo VMS Eve | |
Type | Scaled Composites Model 339 SpaceShipTwo |
Manufacturer | Scaled Composites |
Construction number | 1 |
Registration | N339SS |
First flight | 10 October 2010 (crewed gliding flight)
29 April 2013 (powered flight) |
Owners and operators | Virgin Galactic |
Status | Destroyed |
Fate | Crashed 31 October 2014 |
VSS Unity | |
---|---|
Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo Unity rollout, 19 February 2016, FAITH hangar, Mojave, California | |
Type | Scaled Composites Model 339 SpaceShipTwo |
Manufacturer | The Spaceship Company |
Construction number | 2 |
Registration | N202VG[1] |
First flight |
|
Owners and operators | Virgin Galactic |
In service | Retired |
Fate | Retired 8 June 2024 |
SpaceShip III | |
---|---|
Role | Suborbital air-launched passenger rocket-spaceplane |
National origin | United States |
Manufacturer | The Spaceship Company |
Design group | Virgin Galactic |
Introduction | 2021 |
Status | Under development |
Primary user | Virgin Galactic |
Produced | since 2021 |
Number built | 1 |
Developed from | SpaceShipTwo |
The following is a list of Virgin Galactic launches since 2003.
Virgin Galactic launch
[edit]The Virgin Galactic series of vehicles, starting with SpaceShipOne, are more comparable to the X-15 than orbiting spacecraft like the Space Shuttle. Accelerating a spacecraft to orbital speed requires more than 60 times as much energy as accelerating it to Mach 3. It would also require an elaborate heat shield to safely dissipate that energy during re-entry.[3]
SpaceShipOne
[edit]Although not a Virgin Galactic launcher, SpaceShipOne was the direct predecessor of the Virgin Galactic vehicles, and served to demonstrate the feasibility of the concept. SpaceShipOne was an experimental air-launched rocket-powered aircraft with sub-orbital spaceflight capability at speeds of up to 3,000 ft/s (900 m/s), using a hybrid rocket motor. The design featured a unique "feathering" atmospheric reentry system where the rear half of the wing and the twin tail booms folds 70 degrees upward along a hinge running the length of the wing; this increases drag while retaining stability. SpaceShipOne completed the first crewed private spaceflight in 2004. That same year, it won the US$10 million Ansari X Prize and was immediately retired from active service. Its mother ship was named "White Knight". Both craft were developed and flown by Mojave Aerospace Ventures, which was a joint venture between Paul Allen and Scaled Composites, Burt Rutan's aviation company. Allen provided the funding of approximately US$25 million.
Rutan has indicated that ideas about the project began as early as 1994 and the full-time development cycle time to the 2004 accomplishments was about three years.[citation needed] The vehicle first achieved supersonic flight on December 17, 2003, which was also the one-hundredth anniversary of the Wright Brothers' historic first powered flight. SpaceShipOne's first official spaceflight, known as flight 15P, was piloted by Mike Melvill. A few days before that flight, the Mojave Air and Space Port was the first commercial spaceport licensed in the United States. A few hours after that flight, Melvill became the first licensed U.S. commercial astronaut. The overall project name was "Tier One" which has evolved into Tier 1b with a goal of taking a successor ship's first passengers into space.
SpaceShipOne's official model designation is Scaled Composites Model 316.
SpaceShipTwo
[edit]The Scaled Composites Model 339 SpaceShipTwo (SS2) was an air-launched suborbital spaceplane type designed for space tourism. It was manufactured by The Spaceship Company, a California-based company owned by Virgin Galactic.
SpaceShipTwo was carried to its launch altitude by a White Knight Two aircraft, before being released to fly on into the upper atmosphere, powered by its rocket engine. It then glided back to Earth and performed a conventional runway landing.[4] The spaceship was officially unveiled to the public on 7 December 2009 at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California.[5] On 29 April 2013, after nearly three years of unpowered testing, the first one constructed successfully performed its first powered test flight.[6]
Virgin Galactic planned to operate a fleet of five SpaceShipTwo spaceplanes in a private passenger-carrying service.[7][8][9][10] Virgin Galactic took bookings for many years, with a suborbital flight ticket price rising quite heavily throughout the years.[11] The spaceplane was also used to carry scientific payloads for NASA and other organizations.[12]
VSS Enterprise
[edit]VSS Enterprise (tail number: N339SS[13]) 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.[14][15][needs update] It was also the first ship of the Scaled Composites Model 339 SpaceShipTwo class, based on upscaling the design of the 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.[16]
SpaceShipTwo made its first powered flight in April 2013. Richard Branson said it "couldn't have gone more smoothly".[17]
On 31 October 2014, during a test flight, the first SpaceShipTwo VSS Enterprise broke up in flight and crashed in the Mojave desert.[18][19][20][21] A preliminary investigation suggested that the craft's descent device deployed too early.[22][23] One pilot, Michael Alsbury, was killed; the other was treated for a serious shoulder injury after parachuting from the stricken spacecraft.[24][25]
VSS Unity
[edit]VSS Unity (Virgin Space Ship Unity, Registration: N202VG), previously referred to as VSS Voyager, was a SpaceShipTwo-class suborbital rocket-powered crewed spaceplane. It was the second SpaceShipTwo-spacecraft to be built and was used as part of the Virgin Galactic fleet.
VSS Unity[26] was unveiled on 19 February 2016.[27][28][29][30] The spacecraft completed ground-based system integration testing in September 2016,[31] after which the vehicle flew its first test flight also in September 2016.[32] Its first flight to space (above 50 miles altitude), VSS Unity VP03, took place on 13 December 2018.[33] It flew its final test flight (that is, final flight with only Virgin Galactic personnel onboard), Unity 25, on 25 May 2023. It flew its first operational flight (that is, flight carrying passengers that were not Virgin Galactic employees), Galactic 01, on 29 June 2023. It flew its last flight, Galactic 07, on 8 June 2024, after which it was retired.
SpaceShipThree
[edit]SpaceShip III (SS3, also with Roman numeral III; formerly SpaceShipThree) is an upcoming class of spaceplanes by Virgin Galactic to follow SpaceShipTwo. It was first teased on the Virgin Galactic Twitter account on 25 February 2021 announcing the rollout of the first SpaceShip III plane on 30 March 2021.[34]
Launch Statistics
[edit]Rocket
[edit]Outcome
[edit]- Success
- Failure
Flight type
[edit]- Glide flight
- Captive carry flight
- Cold flow flight
- Powered flight
Flights
[edit]SpaceShipOne Flights
[edit]On 17 December 2003—on the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers first powered flight of an aircraft—SpaceShipOne, piloted by Brian Binnie on Flight 11P, made its first rocket-powered flight and became the first privately built craft to achieve supersonic flight.[35]: 8
All of the flights of SpaceShipOne were from the Mojave Airport Civilian Flight Test Center. Flights were numbered, starting with flight 01 on May 20, 2003. One or two letters are appended to the number to indicate the type of mission. An appended C indicates that the flight was a captive carry, G indicates an unpowered glide, and P indicates a powered flight. If the actual flight differs in category from the intended flight, two letters are appended: the first indicating the intended mission and the second the mission actually performed.
Flight | Date | Top speed | Altitude | Duration | Pilot |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
01C | May 20, 2003 | 14.63 km[36] | 1 h 48 min | uncrewed | |
02C | July 29, 2003 | 14 km | 2 h 06 min | Mike Melvill | |
03G | August 7, 2003 | 278 km/h | 14.33 km[36] | 19 min 00 s | Mike Melvill |
04GC | August 27, 2003 | 370 km/h[36] | 14 km | 1 h 06 min | Mike Melvill |
05G | August 27, 2003 | 370 km/h | 14.69 km[36] | 10 min 30 s | Mike Melvill |
06G | September 23, 2003 | 213 km/h | 14.26 km[36] | 12 min 15 s | Mike Melvill |
07G | October 17, 2003 | 241 km/h | 14.08 km[36] | 17 min 49 s | Mike Melvill |
08G | November 14, 2003 | 213 km/h | 14.42 km[36] | 19 min 55 s | Peter Siebold |
09G | November 19, 2003 | 213 km/h | 14.72 km[36] | 12 min 25 s | Mike Melvill |
10G | December 4, 2003 | 213 km/h | 14.75 km[36] | 13 min 14 s | Brian Binnie |
11P | December 17, 2003 | Mach 1.2 | 20.67 km[36] | 18 min 10 s | Brian Binnie |
12G | March 11, 2004 | 232 km/h | 14.78 km[36] | 18 min 30 s | Peter Siebold |
13P | April 8, 2004 | Mach 1.6 | 32.00 km[36] | 16 min 27 s | Peter Siebold |
14P | May 13, 2004 | Mach 2.5 | 64.43 km[36] | 20 min 44 s | Mike Melvill |
15P | June 21, 2004 | Mach 2.9 | 100.124 km[36] | 24 min 05 s | Mike Melvill |
16P | September 29, 2004 | Mach 2.92 | 102.93 km[36] | 24 min 11 s | Mike Melvill |
17P | October 4, 2004 | Mach 3.09 | 112.014 km[36] | 23 min 56 s | Brian Binnie |
The flights were accompanied by two chase planes—an Extra 300 owned and flown by Chuck Coleman, and a Beechcraft Starship.[37]
SpaceShipTwo
[edit]VSS Enterprise flights
[edit]Legend
[edit]Code | Detail |
---|---|
GFxx | Glide Flight |
CCxx | Captive Carry Flight |
CFxx | Cold Flow Flight |
PFxx | Powered Flight |
Fxx | Feathering deployed |
Flights
[edit]Flight designation | Date | Duration | Maximum altitude | Top speed | Pilot / co-pilot | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
41 / GF01 | 10 October 2010 | 13 min | 46,000 feet (14,000 m) | 180 knots (210 mph; 330 km/h) EAS 2 g | Siebold / Alsbury | |
44 / GF02 | 28 October 2010 | 10 min, 51 sec | 230 knots (260 mph; 430 km/h) EAS 3 g | Stucky / Alsbury | ||
45 / GF03 | 17 November 2010 | 11 min, 39 sec | 246 knots (283 mph; 456 km/h) EAS 3.5 g | Siebold / Nichols | ||
47 / GF04 | 13 January 2011 | 11 min, 34 sec | 250 knots (290 mph; 460 km/h) EAS 3.8 g | Stucky / Nichols | ||
56 / GF05 | 22 April 2011 | 14 min, 31 sec | Siebold / Shane | |||
57 / GF06 | 27 April 2011 | 16 min, 7 sec | Stucky / Alsbury | |||
58 / GF07 | 4 May 2011 | 11 min, 5 sec | 51,500 feet (15,700 m) | 15,500 feet per minute (4,700 m/min) | Siebold / Nichols | F01 |
59 / GF08 | 10 May 2011 | 13 min, 2 sec | Stucky / Shane | |||
60 / GF09 | 19 May 2011 | 11 min, 32 sec | Siebold / Binnie | |||
61 / GF10 | 25 May 2011 | 10 min, 14 sec | Above 50,000 feet (15,000 m) | Stucky / Binnie | F02 | |
62 / (CC12) | 9 June 2011 | Siebold / Shane | Release failure during flight intended as GF11 | |||
64 / GF11 | 14 June 2011 | 13 min, 18 sec | Siebold / Shane | |||
65 / GF12 | 15 June 2011 | 10 min, 32 sec | Stucky / Nichols | |||
66 / GF13 | 21 June 2011 | 8 min, 55 sec | Siebold / Nichols | |||
67 / GF14 | 23 June 2011 | 7 min, 33 sec | Stucky / Nichols | |||
68 / GF15 | 27 June 2011 | 7 min, 39 sec | Siebold / Binnie | |||
73 / GF16 | 29 September 2011 | 7 min, 15 sec | Stucky / Nichols / Persall | F03 | ||
87 / GF17 | 26 June 2012 | 11 min, 22 sec | Siebold / Alsbury | |||
88 / GF18 | 29 June 2012 | 13 min | Stucky / Mackay | |||
90 / GF19 | 18 July 2012 | 10 min, 39 sec | Siebold / Nichols | |||
91 / GF20 | 2 August 2012 | 8 min | Stucky / Nichols | F04 | ||
92 / GF21 | 7 August 2012 | 9 min, 52 sec | Siebold / Colmer | F05 | ||
93 / GF22 | 11 August 2012 | 8 min, 2 sec | Stucky / Binnie | |||
109 / GF23 | 19 December 2012 | 13 min, 24 sec | Stucky / Alsbury | |||
113 / GF24 | 3 April 2013 | 9 min | Stucky / Nichols | F06 | ||
114 / CF01 | 12 April 2013 | 10 min, 48 sec | Stucky / Alsbury | |||
115 / PF01[42][43] | 29 April 2013 | 13 min | 56,000 feet (17,000 m) | Mach 1.22 | Stucky / Alsbury | |
130 / GF25 | 25 July 2013 | 11 min, 52 sec | Stucky / Mackay | |||
131 / GF26 | 8 August 2013 | 10 min | Stucky / Mackay | F07 | ||
132 / PF02 | 5 September 2013 | 14 min | 69,000 feet (21,000 m) | Mach 1.43 | Stucky / Nichols | F08 |
141 / GF27 | 11 December 2013. | 11 min | Stucky / Masucci | |||
147 / PF03 | 10 January 2014 | 12 min, 43 sec | 72,000 feet (22,000 m)[44] | Mach 1.4 | Mackay / Stucky[45] | F09 |
149 / GF28 | 17 January 2014 | 14 min, 12 sec | Siebold / Sturckow | |||
156 / GF29[46] | 29 July 2014 | 12 min | Masucci / Siebold | |||
164 / CF02[46] | 28 August 2014 | 13 min | Siebold / Alsbury | |||
170 / GF30[47] | 7 October 2014 | 10 min, 30 sec | Siebold / Sturckow[48] | F10 | ||
?? / PF04 | 31 October 2014 | 0 min, 13 sec | roughly 50,000 feet (15,000 m)[49] | ? (at least Mach 0.92) | Siebold / Alsbury[50] | Unintended feathering destroys vehicle in-flight |
VSS Unity flights
[edit]Legend
[edit]Code | Detail |
---|---|
GFxx | Glide Flight |
CCxx | Captive Carry Flight |
CFxx | Cold Flow Flight |
PFxx | Powered Flight |
Fxx | Feathering deployed |
Flights
[edit]Flight designation | Date | Duration | Maximum altitude | Top speed | Pilot / co-pilot / passengers | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
01 / CC01 | 8 September 2016 | 15.2 km (50,000 ft) | Stucky / Mackay | [51] | ||
02 / CC02 | 1 November 2016 | Strong winds, no release during flight intended as GF01[52] | ||||
03 / CC03 | 3 November 2016 | Strong winds, no release during second attempt at GF01 | ||||
04 / CC04 | 30 November 2016 | Test of minor modifications | ||||
05 / GF01 | 3 December 2016 | 10 minutes[53] | 16.8 km (55,000 ft) | Mach 0.6 | Stucky / Mackay | First Glide Flight[54][55][56][57] |
06 / GF02 | 22 December 2016 | Stucky / Mackay | [58] | |||
07 / GF03 | 24 February 2017 | Sturckow / Mackay | 3rd Glide Flight | |||
08 / GF04 | 1 May 2017 | Stucky / Masucci | F01[59] | |||
09 / CF01 | 1 June 2017 | Mackay / Sturckow | [60] | |||
10 / GF06 | 4 August 2017 | Mackay / Sturckow | First flight with major propulsion components aboard.[61][62] | |||
11 / GF07 | 11 January 2018 | Mach 0.9 | Stucky / Masucci | [63][64][65][66] | ||
12 / PF01 | 5 April 2018 | 25.7 km (84,300 ft) | Mach 1.87 | Stucky / Mackay | F02[67] | |
13 / PF02 | 29 May 2018 | 34.9 km (114,501 ft)[68][69] | Mach 1.9 | Mackay / Stucky | Test of changed center of gravity as passenger seats carried for first time. F03[70] | |
14 / PF03 | 26 July 2018 | 52.1 km (170,800 ft)[71] | Mach 2.47[71] | Mackay / Masucci[72] | Reached Mesosphere for first time.[73] | |
15 / VP-03 | 13 December 2018 | 82.7 km (271,330 ft) | Mach 2.9[74] | Stucky / Sturckow | Reached outer space for first time according to the US definition of the space border.[75] | |
16 / VF-01 | 22 February 2019 | 89.9 km (295,007 ft)[76][77] | Mach 3.04 [76] | Mackay / Masucci / Moses[76] | Carried third crew member (1 in the passenger cabin) for the first time [76] | |
17 / GF08 | 1 May 2020 | 15.24 km (50,000 ft)[78] | Mach 0.7 [78] | Mackay / Sturckow [78] | First flight from New Mexico [78] | |
18 / GF09 | 25 June 2020 | 15.54 km (51,000 ft)[79] | Mach 0.85 [79] | Stucky / Masucci [79] | ||
19 | 12 December 2020 | Mackay / Sturckow | First attempted crewed spaceflight from New Mexico, aborted due to computer malfunction, engine ignited and automatically turned off.[80] | |||
21 / VF-03 | 22 May 2021 | 89.23 km (55.45 mi) | Mackay / Sturckow | First crewed spaceflight (above 50 miles) from New Mexico[81] | ||
22 | 11 July 2021 | 86.1 km (53.5 mi)[82] | Mackay / Masucci / Sirisha Bandla, Colin Bennett, Beth Moses, Richard Branson | First fully crewed[note 1] flight included Richard Branson. | ||
24 / GF10 | 26 April 2023 | 9 minutes | 13.5 km (47,000 ft) | Sturckow / Pecile | [83] | |
25 | 25 May 2023 | 14 minutes | 87.2 km (54.2 mi) | Mach 2.94 | Masucci / Sturckow / Moses / Mays / Gilbert / Huie | [84][85] |
Galactic 01 | 29 June 2023 | 13:50 minutes | 85.1 km (52.9 mi) | Mach 2.88 | Masucci / Pecile / Villadei / Carlucci / Pandolfi / Bennett | First VSS Unity commercial service flight, carrying members of the Italian Air Force.[86] |
Galactic 02 | 10 August 2023 | 15:38 minutes | 88.5 km (55.0 mi) | Mach 3.00 | Sturckow / Latimer / Moses / Goodwin / Schahaff / Mayers | First VSS Unity flight carrying a private astronaut.[87] |
Galactic 03 | 8 September 2023 | 12:37 minutes | 88.6 km (55.1 mi) | Mach 2.95 | Masucci / Pecile / Moses / Baxter / Reynard / Nash[88] | |
Galactic 04 | 6 October 2023 | 14:23 minutes | 87.4 km (54.3 mi) | Mach 2.95 | Latimer / Sturckow / Moses / Rosano / Beattie / Salim[89] | |
Galactic 05 | 2 November 2023 | 14:20 minutes | 87.2 km (54.2 mi) | Mach 2.96 | Masucci / Latimer / Bennett / Stern / Gerardi / Maisonrouge[90] | |
Galactic 06 | 26 January 2024 | 88.8 km (55.2 mi) | Mach 2.98 | Sturckow / Pecile / Borozdina / Vaughn / Haider / Kornswiet | ||
Galactic 07 | 8 June 2024 | 87.5 km (54.4 mi) | Mach 2.96 | Pecile / Janjua / Atasever/ Manenti /Pergament / Sadhwani | Final Unity flight |
Notes
[edit]- ^ The SpaceShipTwo vehicles (like VSS Unity) were originally designed for 8 people, 6 passengers and 2 pilots, so whether this flight was fully-crewed is debatable. But it is true that at the time of this flight, only 6 seats (4 passengers, 2 pilots) were installed in VSS Unity, so in this sense this flight was fully-crewed. Also, no SpaceShipTwo vehicle, VSS Unity in particular, ever had more than 6 seats installed and never flew with more than 6 people (2 pilots, 4 passengers) onboard, so in this sense this flight was also fully-crewed.
References
[edit]- ^ Irene Klotz (5 November 2014). "New spaceship restoring hope after Virgin Galactic crash". SpaceDaily. Reuters. Archived from the original on 7 December 2014. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
- ^ "Update from Mojave: VSS Unity's First Flight Test Completed – Virgin Galactic". virgingalactic.com. 9 September 2016. Archived from the original on 12 September 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
- ^ Hoffman, Carl (22 May 2007). "Elon Musk Is Betting His Fortune on a Mission Beyond Earth's Orbit". Wired. Retrieved 30 August 2007.
- ^ "sRLV platforms compared". NASA. 7 March 2011. Archived from the original on 20 February 2021. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
SpaceShipTwo: Type: HTHL/Piloted
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ Amos, Jonathan (8 December 2009). "Richard Branson unveils Virgin Galactic spaceplane". BBC News. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
- ^ "Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic spaceship ignites engine in flight". BBC News. 29 April 2013. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
- ^ "Space Ship Completes 24th Test Flight in Mojave". Hispanic Business. 4 April 2013. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
- ^ "Virgin Galactic to Launch Passengers on Private Spaceship in 2013". SPACE.com. 8 June 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
- ^ ""Virgin Galactic space tourism could begin in 2013"". BBC News. 26 October 2011.
- ^ John Schwartz (23 January 2008). "New Tourist Spacecraft Unveiled". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 January 2008.
- ^ Fly With Us Archived 12 November 2015 at the Wayback Machine Virgin Galactic Retrieved 5 November 2015
- ^ "Virgin spaceship aims to be science lab". BBC News. 4 December 2012. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
- ^ "FAA N Number Registration for "VSS Enterprise"". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2008.
- ^ "Virgin Galactic to Offer Public Space Flights". Space.com. Associated Press. 27 September 2004. Retrieved 12 August 2008.
- ^ "Scaled Composites PROJECTS". Scaled.com. Archived from the original on 28 June 2017. Retrieved 19 March 2010.
- ^ "SpaceShipTwo Roll Out". Virgingalactic.com. 8 December 2009. Archived from the original on 13 December 2009.
- ^ "SpaceShipTwo makes first powered flight". 3 News NZ. 30 April 2013. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
- ^ Chang, Kenneth; Schwartz, John (31 October 2014). "Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo Crashes in New Setback for Commercial Spaceflight". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
- ^ Foust, Jeff (31 October 2014). "SpaceShipTwo Destroyed in Fatal Test Flight Accident". SpaceNews. Archived from the original on October 31, 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
- ^ "Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo Crashes During Flight Test". 31 October 2014.
- ^ Durden, Rick (31 October 2014). "Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo Crashes". AVweb. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
- ^ Chang, Kenneth (3 November 2014). "Investigators Focus on Tail Booms in Crash of Space Plane". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
- ^ Melley, Brian (3 November 2014). "Spaceship's descent device deployed prematurely". Associated Press. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
- ^ Klotz, Irene (3 November 2014). "SpaceShipTwo's Rocket Engine Did Not Cause Fatal Crash". Discovery News. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
- ^ "Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo rocket plane crashes". 31 October 2014.
- ^ @virgingalactic (19 February 2016). "Virgin Galactic announces new ship name" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "New SpaceShipTwo Rollout Friday". AVweb. 18 February 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
- ^ "Virgin Galactic unveils new space tourism rocket plane". CBC News. 19 February 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
- ^ "New SpaceShipTwo Rollout Friday". AVweb. 18 February 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
- ^ "Virgin Galactic unveils new space tourism rocket plane". CBC News. 19 February 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
- ^ "Virgin Galactic's new SpaceShipTwo gets off the ground, two years after fatal mishap". GeekWire. 2016-09-08. Retrieved 2016-09-08.
- ^ "Update from Mojave: VSS Unity's First Flight Test Completed – Virgin Galactic". virgingalactic.com. 9 September 2016. Archived from the original on 12 September 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
- ^ Grush, Lauren (13 December 2018). "Virgin Galactic's spaceplane finally makes it to space for the first time". The Verge. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
- ^ Virgin Galactic [@VirginGalactic] (February 25, 2021). "The Future of the Fleet. Rollout, March 30th" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Belfiore, Michael (2007). Rocketeers: how a visionary band of business leaders, engineers, and pilots is boldly privatizing space. New York: Smithsonian Books. p. [1]. ISBN 978-0-06-114903-0.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "SpaceShipOne Flight Tests". Scaled Composites. Archived from the original on 2010-08-22.
- ^ Jefferson, Catherine A. "First Private Manned Space Flight". devsite.org. Archived from the original on 8 October 2007. Retrieved 12 January 2007.
- ^ "SpaceShipTwo straps on its engine". NBC. 20 December 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
- ^ "Space Ship Completes 24th Test Flight in Mojave". Hispanic Business. 4 April 2013. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
- ^ "Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo Crashes During Flight Test". 31 October 2014.
- ^ SpaceShipTwo (SS2) History, skyrocket.de
- ^ "Virgin Galactic Breaks Speed of Sound in First Rocket-Powered Flight of SpaceShipTwo" (Press release). Virgin Galactic. 29 April 2013. Archived from the original on 30 April 2013. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
- ^ "SpaceShipTwo PF01: SS2 and WK2 preps underway". NewSpaceWatch.com. 28 April 2013. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
- ^ "Virgin Galactic Reaches New Heights in Third Supersonic Test Flight" (Press release). Virgin Galactic. 10 January 2014. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
- ^ "Virgin Galactic spaceship makes third powered test flight". Chicago Tribune. 10 January 2014. Archived from the original on 10 January 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
- ^ a b Boyle, Alan (29 August 2014). "Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo Glides Through a Dry Run". NBC News. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
- ^ Wall, Mike (8 October 2014). "Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo Aces Glide Test Flight". Space.com. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
- ^ "Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo Glides Through Test Run". NBC News. Retrieved 2021-07-11.
- ^ Klotz, Irene (3 November 2014). "Rocket plane's tail activated prematurely in fatal crash". Reuters. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
- ^ Pope, Stephen (31 October 2014). "SpaceShipTwo crashes in Mojave Desert". flyingmag.com. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
- ^ "Virgin Galactic: SpaceShipTwo beginnt Flugerprobung". flugrevue.de. 13 September 2016. Archived from the original on 11 November 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
- ^ "Virgin Galactic Postpones 1st Glide Test with New SpaceShipTwo". space.com. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
- ^ "Update from Mojave: Successful First Glide Flight Test for VSS Unity – Virgin Galactic". Virgin Galactic. 2016-12-03. Archived from the original on 2017-05-13. Retrieved 2017-03-20.
- ^ "Bransons "VSS Unity" absolvierte ersten Gleitflug". krone.at. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
- ^ "Virgin Galactic spaceship makes first glide flight". phys.org. 3 December 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
- ^ David Millward (4 December 2016). "Virgin Galactic's space programme moves forward as SpaceShipTwo carries out first successful glide test". telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
- ^ Weston Williams (5 December 2016). "Space tourism: Virgin Galactic makes successful glide test". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
- ^ Boyle, Alan (22 December 2016). "Virgin Galactic sneaks in just one more SpaceShipTwo glide test to cap off 2016". GeekWire. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
- ^ "Update from Mojave: First Feather Flight of VSS Unity Completed". Virgin Galactic. 1 May 2017. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
- ^ Wall, Mike (1 June 2017). "Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity Makes 5th 'Glide Flight' (Photos)". space.com. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
- ^ "Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity edges closer to space". newatlas.com. 8 August 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
- ^ "Update from Mojave: VSS Unity Flies with Propulsion Systems Installed and Live". Virgin Galactic. 4 August 2017. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
- ^ Camacho, Marian (11 January 2018). "SpaceShip Two test flight a success". kob.com. Archived from the original on 29 March 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
- ^ Krishna, Swapna (11 January 2018). "Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo is almost ready for powered tests". engadget.com. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
- ^ "Update from Mojave: VSS Unity successfully completes high speed glide flight". virgingalactic.com. 11 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
- ^ Wall, Mike (11 January 2018). "Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity Soars on 7th Glide Flight (Photo)". space.com. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
- ^ Sheetz, Michael (5 April 2018). "Virgin Galactic completes first rocket powered, supersonic flight of new spacecraft Unity". cnbc.com. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
- ^ "The second powered flight of Virgin Galactic's spaceplane featured extra passenger seats". theverge.com. 29 May 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
- ^ "Second SpaceShipTwo makes second powered test flight – SpaceNews.com". spacenews.com. 29 May 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
- ^ Wall, Mike (29 May 2018). "Success! Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity Space Plane Aces 2nd Powered Test Flight". space.com. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
- ^ a b "Into the Mesosphere at Mach 2". Virgin Galactic. 26 July 2018. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- ^ Boyle, Alan (26 July 2018). "Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo rocket plane sails through third supersonic flight". geekwire.com. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- ^ Weitering, Hanneke; July 26, Space com Staff Writer; ET, 2018 03:26pm. "Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity Space Plane Aces Test Flight, Reaching Mesosphere for the 1st Time". Space.com. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Grush, Lauren (13 December 2018). "Virgin Galactic's spaceplane finally makes it to space for the first time". theverge.com. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
- ^ "Branson's Virgin Galactic successfully reaches space". BBC. 13 December 2018. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
- ^ a b c d "Virgin Galactic". www.virgingalactic.com. Retrieved 2019-02-22.
- ^ Bartels, Meghan (22 February 2019). "Virgin Galactic Reaches Space Again, Flies Test Passenger for 1st Time". space.com. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
- ^ a b c d "Virgin Galactic's SpaceshipTwo Completes First Flight From Spaceport America". www.virgingalactic.com. Retrieved 2020-05-13.
- ^ a b c "Virgin Galactic's SpaceshipTwo Completes Second Flight From Spaceport America". www.virgingalactic.com. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
- ^ Gebhardt, Chris; Burghardt, Thomas (12 December 2020). "VSS Unity aborts after engine start, safely lands with crew back at Spaceport America".
- ^ "Virgin Galactic rocket plane flies to edge of space". BBC News. 22 May 2021.
- ^ "Virgin Galactic Successfully Completes First Fully Crewed Spaceflight". 11 July 2021.
- ^ "Virgin Galactic completes glide flight from Spaceport America". Virgin Galactic (Press release). 26 April 2023. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
- ^ "Virgin Galactic completes successful spaceflight". Virgin Galactic (Press release). 25 May 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
- ^ "Virgin Galactic completes Unity 25 spaceflight in key final test before commercial service". CNBC News. 25 May 2023.
- ^ Jonathan McDowell [@planet4589] (29 June 2023). "Galactic 01 stats: launch 1528:38 UTC, apogee 85.1 km, flight time from drop to main gear touchdown 13m50s. Drop location EBR P3 in my launch points list (107.0W 33.3N)" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Jonathan McDowell [@planet4589] (10 August 2023). "I don't quite agree with these numbers. I have takeoff of White Knight 2 at 1429:45 UTC (in agreement with their 8.30 am MDT) but landing of SS2 at 1532:48 UTC (9.32 am MDT). Release time 1517:10 UTC and SS2 free flight time 15:38 with apogee 88.5 km" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Core memory unlocked. Welcome to space, #Galactic03. Congratulations, 014, 015, and 016!". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 2023-09-08.
- ^ "Virgin Galactic completes fifth successful flight in five months". Virgin Galactic (Press release). 6 October 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
- ^ "Virgin Galactic Completes Sixth Successful Spaceflight in Six Months". Virgin Galactic (Press release). 2 November 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.