January 25th, 2008 
admin 
Virgin Galactic got international attention in October of 2004 when its SpaceShipOne successfully reached space for the third time. That accomplishment garnered them the Ansari X Prize of $10 million, which I’m sure was some nice seed money for their next project. That project is aimed at putting common folk into space.
The design incorporates a complete carbon composite body. The “mothership” is called the White Knight Two and is powered by four Pratt and Whitney PW308A engines. You can see the White Knight and SpaceShipTwo pictured above. The design allows for SpaceShipTwo, eight astronauts, and various payloads to be propelled into space.
But Virgin Galactic isn’t done yet. It also unveiled designs for Spaceport America in New Mexico. They are also actively involved in training astronauts and gathering monies for future expansion. Work on SpaceShipTwo is about 60% done, while White Knight is almost complete. Testing should begin here in 2008. More photos below:
Posted in 
