Branson's Virgin Nears Space Flight

Branson's Virgin Nears Space Flight
Tamara Walid, 03.03.10, 06:45 AM EST
Virgin Galactic is planning its test flights for space next year.
http://www.forbes.com/2010/03/03/virgin-galactic-flight-business-logistics-richard-branson.html?partner=daily_newsletter

DUBAI - Virgin Galactic is aiming to launch test flights into space in 2011, but does not need additional financing after selling a stake to Abu Dhabi's Abaar last year, its chief executive said on Wednesday.

Some 330 aspiring astronauts have put down about $45 million deposits for the $200,000 ride, including 20 from the Gulf Arab region, he said, adding 100,000 people have shown interest in the flights.

If I ever leave earth, even just for a short period of time, I want to wear my WP T-shirt !!

Abu Dhabi-based Abaar, the non-energy investment arm of state-owned International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC), in July bought a 32% stake in Galactic for $280 million as the emirate looks to diversify its economy away from oil. It also secured the rights to host tourism and scientific research space flights and said it planned to build a spaceport in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the seven-member United Arab Emirates federation.

Space travel will be the next "revolution" !!

The days of immigrating to Mars may soon become a reality !!
Scientist eyes 39-day voyage to Mars
February 26, 2010 by Jean-Louis Santini
http://www.physorg.com/news186397741.html

A journey from Earth to Mars could in the future take just 39 days -- cutting current travel time nearly six times -- according to a rocket scientist who has the ear of the US space agency.

Chang-Diaz, 60, hopes that "something" is a non-chemical rocket that eventually allow for a manned trip to Mars -- long the Holy Grail for Apollonians.

His rocket would use electricity to transform a fuel -- likely hydrogen, helium or deuterium -- into plasma gas that is heated to 51.8 million degrees Fahrenheit (11 million degrees Celsius). The plasma gas is then channeled into tailpipes using magnetic fields to propel the spacecraft.

That would send a shuttle hurtling toward the moon or Mars at ever faster speeds up to an estimated 35 miles (55 kilometers) per second until the engines are reversed.

dude. you find such good articles. you are always finding the new stuff crawling out on the edge of the horizon.

Thank you. I am retired...LOL. Lots of spare time...

This is truly historic..
Virgin Galactic's Private Spaceship Makes First Crewed Flight
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/07/16/virgin-galactics-private-spaceship-makes-crewed-flight/
March 22: Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo, which can hold six passengers, is seen on its maiden flight over the Mojave Desert.

A private suborbital spaceship built for the space tourism firm Virgin Galactic made its first flight with a crew onboard Thursday as it soared over California's Mojave Desert beneath its enormous mothership.

The commercial spaceliner – called VSS Enterprise, one of the company's fleet of SpaceShipTwo spacecraft – did not try to reach space in the test flight. Instead, it stayed firmly attached to its WhiteKnightTwo VMS Eve mothership.

The two crewmembers riding onboard VSS Enterprise evaluated all of the spacecraft's systems and functions during the 6-hour, 12-minute flight, Virgin Galactic officials said in a statement. In addition, automated sensors and ground crews conducted thorough vehicle systems tests. [Photos from the SpaceShipTwo test flight.]

"Objectives achieved," Virgin Galactic officials said in a statement on the company's website. "Congratulations to the whole team!"

thanks mate..

Experts: Huge space tourism expansion just months away
http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/10/15/space.tourism/index.html

Prices are coming down, even before space tourism has started taking off.
Russia charges private travelers $40 million to ride on its Soyuz spacecraft and spend a few days aboard the international space station. For a much shorter journey, Virgin Galactic wants $200,000 for a flight to suborbital space. But Space Adventures advertises suborbital trips for about half that price: $102,000. King says he knows people who've taken out mortgages to buy their spacecraft tickets.

Yes..We Certainly live in historical times..

i bet he doesnt go above 380 miles high

I shall be the first wiredpirate in space !!

Virgin Galactic eyes NASA commercial space work
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20101023/sc_nm/us_space_usa_business;_ylt=AgfrpCxZGPSfrGiusamaIehbbBAF;_ylu=X3oDMTNrdXBvZTM5BGFzc2V0Ay9zL25tLzIwMTAxMDIzL3NjX25tL3VzX3NwYWNlX3VzYV9idXNpbmVzcwRjY29kZQNtcF9lY184XzEwBGNwb3MDMTAEcG9zAzEwBHNlYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcmllcwRzbGsDdmlyZ2luZ2FsYWN0
I should have known..Government outsources space exploration to the "private sector"..austerity coming to the once lucrative government job sector..

The program is funding work by five companies -- Sierra Nevada Corp, Boeing Co, United Launch Alliance, Blue Origin and Paragon Space Development -- as part of Obama's bid to bolster support for private space companies.
"There's about four companies that are seriously looking at it (the NASA commercial crew program)," Branson told Reuters.
He said Virgin Galactic was currently in discussions with two of the companies about teaming up with them and would decide over the next month whether to do so or go it alone.
One way or the other, Branson said, "We plan to be in orbital travel within the next few years."
Virgin Galactic expects to begin suborbital space flights in late 2011 or 2012. Its first spaceship, named VSS Enterprise, is undergoing testing by designer and manufacturer Scaled Composites of Mojave, California.
The spaceship and its carrier aircraft, the White Knight Two, were in New Mexico on Friday for dedication of the runway at a commercial spaceport located north of Las Cruces that will become Virgin Galactic's home base.

http://www.spaceadventures.com/
Space Adventures' Suborbital Spaceflight Program

http://www.virgingalactic.com/
Exclusive Footage - VSS Enterprise, First Manned Free Flight_101010_VNR_LOW FINAL.mov

Speaking of technology transfer..
China plans Mars probe
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/TechandScience/Story/STIStory_594657.html

BEIJING - CHINA has drawn up a technical plan for an independent Mars orbiter exploration project, space technology experts said.

Based on research conducted by the China Academy of Space Technology, the plan envisions a launch date as early as 2013, Huang Jiangchuan, a scientist with the academy, was quoted by Beijing-based Science and Technology Daily as saying at a forum on China's space technology on Thursday. The Mars probe would weigh 1,040kg and carry 110kg of payload, he said.

It will be sent to an Earth-Mars transfer orbit first, and then fly about 10 months before entering an elliptical orbit around Mars. The whole Mars exploration will last one to two years, he said.

6 Private Companies That Could Launch Humans Into Space
http://www.space.com/news/private-companies-to-launch-humans-100604.html

Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX)

Company: SpaceX
Spaceship Name: Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket|
Founder(s): Elon Musk, co-founder of PayPal
Backing: $100 million of Musk's personal fortune, $20 million more from outside investors
Location: Hawthorne, California
Launched the Business: 2002
Plans to Launch into Space: Debut launch tests in 2010, first operational flights in 2011.

Number of Passengers: 7 maximum, or fewer with a mixture of cargo and crew

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets and Dragon spacecraft are initially expected to be unmanned vehicles to serve NASA's cargo needs for the International Space Station. Musk has said Dragon could be ready to launch astronauts within three years of receiving a contract from NASA to do so. The company currently has a $1.6 billion contract to provide 12 unmanned cargo deliveries to the station through 2016.

The Falcon 9 rocket is about 180 feet (57 meters) tall and is a two-stage booster. The Dragon capsule is a solar-powered spacecraft designed to be grappled by the space station's robotic arm and installed on a docking port.

Orbital Sciences

Company: Orbital Sciences
Spaceship Name: Cygnus and Taurus 2 rocket
Founder(s): David W. Thompson, Bruce W. Ferguson, Scott L. Webster
Backing: Publicly traded company, $1.1 billion in revenue
Location: Dulles, Virginia
Launched the Business: 1982
Plans to Launch into Space: 2011

Number of Passengers: So far, the Cygnus is purely unmanned

A veteran hand when it comes to rocket launches, Orbital Sciences has a $1.9 billion contract with NASA to provide eight cargo missions for the International Space Station using its unmanned Cygnus spacecraft and the new Taurus 2 rocket. Orbital is planning the launches in 2011 from Wallops Island in Virginia.

Orbital has not announced plans on whether it may try to convert the Cygnus vehicle for crewed missions. The Taurus 2 rocket stands about 131 feet (40 meters) tall and is a two-stage booster to be topped by the Cygnus spacecraft.

Blue Origin

Company: Blue Origin
Spaceship Name: New Shepard
Founder(s): Jeff Bezos
Backing: His personal fortune as founder of Amazon.com
Location: Kent, Washington
Launched the Business: 2004
Plans to Launch into Space: Mid-2012

Number of Passengers: at least 3 astronauts

Blue Origin has remained extremely secretive about its plans, but has tested a prototype of its New Shepard spacecraft at the company's proving grounds in Texas. New Shepard is expected to be a vertical launch and landing vehicle capable of reaching an altitude of about 75 miles (120 km) .

Earlier this year, NASA awarded Blue Origin $3.7 million to develop an astronaut escape system and build a composite space capsule prototype as part of its commercial crew program.

Bigelow Aerospace

Company: Bigelow Aerospace
Spaceship Name: Sundancer and BA-330
Founder(s): Robert Bigelow
Backing: $180 million of his personal fortune as owner of the Budget Suites of America hotel chain.
Location: North Las Vegas, Nevada
Launched the Business: 1999
Plans to Launch into Space: 2015

Number of Passengers: Sundancer to support crews of 3, BA-330 to support 6-person crews
Bigelow Aerospace has been paving new ground in inflatable spacecraft and already launched two mini-space station prototypes, called Genesis 1 and Genesis 2. The company's larger Sundancer and BA-330 vehicles are expected to serve as space stations, not capsules. Additionally, company founder Robert Bigelow has set his sights on developing a private moon base using the inflatable technology.
Since Bigelow Aerospace does not have rockets or spacecraft to reach its space stations, the company has been working closely with Boeing on potential crew capsules.
Boeing received $18 million from NASA this year to support development of its own 7-person spacecraft.
SpaceDev/Sierra Nevada Corp.

Company: SpaceDev
Spaceship Name: Dream Chaser
Founder: Jim Benson (deceased), now led by Fatih Ozmen
Backing: Sierra Nevada Corp., of Sparks, Nev.
Location: Poway, Calif.
Launched the Business: 1997
Plans to Launch into Space: Under Development
Number of passengers: 4 on suborbital flights, up to 6 for orbital flights.
California-based SpaceDev is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sierra Nevada Corp. (which acquired it in 2008) and has been developing the reusable Dream Chaser space plane to launch crew and cargo into space at an Atlas 5 rocket.
In February, Sierra Nevada won $20 million in NASA funds to continue the Dream Chaser's development. The spacecraft's design is based on the HL-20 lifting body tested by NASA and aims to launch on a rocket and land on a conventional runway, for quick turnaround and reuse.
Virgin Galactic

Company: Virgin Galactic
Spaceship Name: SpaceShipTwo
Founder(s): British Billionaire Sir Richard Branson
Backing: His personal fortune as founder of Virgin Group
Location: London, England, and Spaceport, New Mexico
Launched the Business: 2004
Plans to Launch into Space: end of 2011 or early 2012
Number of Passengers: 6 passengers, 2 pilots
The only air-launched vehicle in the group, Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo vehicle is still just a suborbital vehicle designed for space tourism jaunts into space. The company envisions launching paying passengers on suborbital thrill rides for about $200,000 per seat. However, the spacecraft's mother ship – the huge WhiteKnightTwo aircraft – could be modified to launch small rockets or satellites for NASA or other users.
SpaceShipTwo is designed by veteran aerospace engineer Burt Rutan and the company he founded, Scaled Composites of Mojave, Calif. It is a larger version of SpaceShipOne, which successfully flew on suborbital flights in 2004.

Most companies eventually should have their own stocks-Ala another money printing press in their respective basement..