Virgin Galactic Resumes Flight Testing

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Update from Mojave: VSS Unity’s First Flight Test Completed

September 09, 2016

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Today marks an exciting milestone in our shared quest to open space to change the world for good. For the first time, a spaceship built by our manufacturing arm, The Spaceship Company, and operated by us at Virgin Galactic has taken to the skies.

Source: Virgin Galactic

 

[Derek Willis]

The Virgin people really are good with the marketing buzz-phrases - "Our shared quest" and "Opening space to change the world for good".

At $250,000 for a seat, I don't think I will be sharing the quest. And I don't quite see how providing joy rides for multi-millionaires is changing the world for good.

That said, I am all for what Virgin is doing because in the long run they may contribute to reducing the cost of travelling into space.    

[Parsec]

18 minutes ago, Derek Willis said:

The Virgin people really are good with the marketing buzz-phrases - "Our shared quest" and "Opening space to change the world for good".

At $250,000 for a seat, I don't think I will be sharing the quest. And I don't quite see how providing joy rides for multi-millionaires is changing the world for good.

That said, I am all for what Virgin is doing because in the long run they may contribute to reducing the cost of travelling into space.    

Well,  Virgin is the quintessential of marketing,  considering where they started. 

First they made you travel and "go to space"  with your mind,  now/tomorrow with the rest of your body as well. 

 

Besides, like you said we have to look at the long game.

It usually starts with the military,  then the rich people and finally the rest of the world. One step at a time! 

[Derek Willis]

6 hours ago, Parsec said:

Well,  Virgin is the quintessential of marketing,  considering where they started. 

First they made you travel and "go to space"  with your mind,  now/tomorrow with the rest of your body as well. 

 

Besides, like you said we have to look at the long game.

It usually starts with the military,  then the rich people and finally the rest of the world. One step at a time! 

Perhaps only a marketing company could do something like this. The total investment so far is $480 million. Each flight will have six passengers at $0.25 million, making a total of $1.5 million. Assuming there is a net profit of 20%, that gives $0.3 million per flight. At that rate it will take 1,600 flights - i.e. many years - to recover the investment. However, Virgin will receive ongoing media coverage - especially when celebrities start flying - which provides advertising to the rest of the Virgin companies. Of course, over the years more space-planes will be built. However, I reckon the price is going to have to be around $10,000 per passenger before a large number of people sign up. But, Richard Branson started pretty much with nothing and is now a billionaire, so he must know what he is doing.

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Virgin Galactic set to begin SpaceShipTwo glide flights

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NEW YORK — Virgin Galactic is planning to begin glide flight tests of its second SpaceShipTwo next Tuesday, almost exactly two years after a fatal test flight of its first suborbital spaceplane.

Virgin Galactic test pilot CJ Sturckow, speaking at a “Space Stories” event at The Explorers Club here Oct. 29, said the company has scheduled the first glide flight of the vehicle, named VSS Unity, on Nov. 1. That flight would come after a single “captive carry” test flight of the vehicle in September, when the vehicle remained attached to its WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft for its entire flight.

  Read More: SpaceNews