Boeing sues Virgin Galactic over mothership projectJeff FoustMarch 26, 2024WASHINGTON — Boeing and a subsidiary have filed suit against Virgin Galactic, alleging that the suborbital spaceflight company has refused to pay more than $25 million and misappropriated trade secrets associated with a project to develop a new aircraft.
Virgin Galactic countersues Boeing about mothership projectJeff FoustApril 5, 2024CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Virgin Galactic has filed a countersuit against Boeing over a project to develop a new mothership aircraft, arguing in part that Boeing performed poorly.
Virgin Galactic at the crossroads: Taking a look at the long path to profitability from here.
https://twitter.com/sciguyspace/status/1800177307753349583QuoteVirgin Galactic at the crossroads: Taking a look at the long path to profitability from here.https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/06/virgin-galactic-has-ceased-flying-its-only-space-plane-now-what/
Less than a dozen pilots are trained to fly Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity. Go inside the Unity Flight Simulator with Jack and Das, and Virgin Galactic's Chief Pilot David Mackay, as they take a virtual trip to space!
Virgin Galactic is proud to announce a new research flight contract with the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences (@IIAS_NLC) to fly three astronauts aboard a future mission! Details →
NEWS • 20/06/24VIRGIN GALACTIC ANNOUNCES NEW RESEARCH FLIGHT CONTRACT WITH REPEAT CUSTOMERInternational Institute for Astronautical Sciences to Expand Research Conducted on Galactic 05 FlightSecond-Time Virgin Galactic Astronaut Kellie Gerardi to Lead IIAS Crew Aboard Next Generation Delta SpaceshipORANGE COUNTY, Calif. – (June 20, 2024) – Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SPCE) (“Virgin Galactic” or the “Company”) today announced a new contract with the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences (“IIAS”) to fly three research astronauts as part of a future crew aboard the Company’s Delta Class spaceship.It will be the second research mission that IIAS has conducted with Virgin Galactic. It follows ‘Galactic 05’ in November 2023, which tested novel healthcare technologies and examined how fluids behaved in low gravity to help inform designs for future medical technologies and life-support systems. The mission is anticipated to take place within the first year of Delta commercial service, which remains on track to commence in 2026.“We were thrilled with the results from our fluid cell experiment on ‘Galactic 05’, which demonstrated our ability to accurately predict the behavior of fluid in a container in a weightless environment. We’ll be expanding on that research for our next mission, and I’ll be working to demonstrate our ability to control the behavior of the liquid as well,” said astronaut and IIAS Director of Human Spaceflight Operations Kellie Gerardi. “The quality and repeatability of the microgravity environment provided by Virgin Galactic’s system is truly game-changing and the potential for a ‘fly, fix, fly’ approach opens the door to many exciting possibilities for IIAS to make discoveries that benefit future explorers.”The IIAS astronaut crew expected to participate in the research mission includes:· Kellie Gerardi, a bioastronautics researcher and IIAS Director of Human Spaceflight Operations from the U.S. Gerardi previously flew as a payload specialist on the ‘Galactic 05’ research mission.· Dr. Shawna Pandya, a physician, aquanaut, bioastronautics researcher, and Director of IIAS’s Space Medicine Group, from Canada.· Dr. Norah Patten, an aeronautical engineer and bioastronautics researcher from Ireland.Full biographies are available for download here. More information on Virgin Galactic’s research capabilities here.The mission is designed to enable IIAS to introduce new research while also expanding upon the results from ‘Galactic 05’, during which astronaut Kellie Gerardi was able to successfully validate a fluid behavior theory within the high-quality microgravity conditions available through Virgin Galactic’s unique flight system. The IIAS crew plans to fly additional fluid cells, with payload enhancements including upgrades to camera quality and accelerometer measurements.“We’re excited to continue our partnership with IIAS in an expanded capacity,” said Virgin Galactic Vice President of Government Affairs and Research Operations, Sirisha Bandla. “Our suborbital science lab is revolutionizing the field of microgravity research by offering routine, reliable access to space – and it’s great to see institutions like IIAS begin to build iterative and innovative campaigns around suborbital space-based research.”Virgin Galactic’s Delta Class spaceships can be configured to fly either six mission specialists, or four specialists and two additional payload racks, depending on customer needs. More information will be shared regarding further mission specialists and payloads joining the IIAS crew on this spaceflight as the manifest expands.Each Delta spaceship is currently estimated to be capable of flying up to eight space missions per month, which is twelve times the monthly capacity of the Company’s original spaceship, VSS Unity. The new spaceship fleet is anticipated to dramatically increase repeatable and reliable access to the microgravity environment.Full biographies are available for download here.
Amazing this was 15 years ago, chasing WhiteKnightTwo flight #3. First gear retraction was scary fast and they subsequently installed a hydraulic orifice to slow them down. The wing looks strangely naked with the centerline launch pylon not yet installed. Watching its aborted landing an hour later was the most scared I think I’ve ever been (and I’ve seen planes crash).
https://twitter.com/blueorigin/status/1842196161177833911QuoteNew Shepard #NS27 is an uncrewed verification flight debuting our second human-rated vehicle to meet growing customer demand. The launch window opens on Monday, October 7, at 8:00 AM CDT / 13:00 UTC:https://www.blueorigin.com/news/blue-origin-debuts-second-human-rated-new-shepard-rocketQuoteNEWS | OCT 4, 2024Blue Origin Debuts Second Human-Rated New Shepard Rocket To Meet DemandBlue Origin’s next New Shepard flight, NS-27, will debut our second human-rated vehicle, enabling expanded flight capacity to better meet growing customer demand. The launch window for the uncrewed verification flight opens on Monday, October 7, at 8:00 AM CDT / 1300 UTC. The webcast will begin 15 minutes before liftoff on BlueOrigin.com. The new crew capsule is named RSS Kármán line. The vehicle features technology upgrades to improve the vehicle’s performance and reusability, an updated livery, and accommodations for payloads on the booster. New Shepard remains one of the most sustainable rockets ever to fly to space. Nearly 99% of New Shepard’s dry mass is reused, including the booster, capsule, engine, landing gear, and parachutes. NS-27 will fly 12 payloads—five on the booster and seven inside the crew capsule. Payloads include new navigation systems developed for New Shepard and New Glenn; two different LIDAR sensors for the Lunar Permanence program; ultra-wideband proximity operations sensors flying as part of a NASA TechFlights grant with Blue Origin’s Space Systems Development group; and a commercial payload that is a reproduction of black monoliths from 2001: A Space Odyssey. The monoliths are flying on behalf of Spacemanic for a special edition printed by Croatian publisher Amaranthine Books. The mission will also carry tens of thousands of student-designed postcards on behalf of Club for the Future, Blue Origin’s STEAM-focused nonprofit whose mission is to inspire and mobilize future generations to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, arts, and math. The organization has engaged more than 43 million students globally since its founding in 2019. Students can submit digital postcards here. Follow Blue Origin on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Threads, and YouTube, and sign up on BlueOrigin.com to stay current on all mission details.
New Shepard #NS27 is an uncrewed verification flight debuting our second human-rated vehicle to meet growing customer demand. The launch window opens on Monday, October 7, at 8:00 AM CDT / 13:00 UTC:
NEWS | OCT 4, 2024Blue Origin Debuts Second Human-Rated New Shepard Rocket To Meet DemandBlue Origin’s next New Shepard flight, NS-27, will debut our second human-rated vehicle, enabling expanded flight capacity to better meet growing customer demand. The launch window for the uncrewed verification flight opens on Monday, October 7, at 8:00 AM CDT / 1300 UTC. The webcast will begin 15 minutes before liftoff on BlueOrigin.com. The new crew capsule is named RSS Kármán line. The vehicle features technology upgrades to improve the vehicle’s performance and reusability, an updated livery, and accommodations for payloads on the booster. New Shepard remains one of the most sustainable rockets ever to fly to space. Nearly 99% of New Shepard’s dry mass is reused, including the booster, capsule, engine, landing gear, and parachutes. NS-27 will fly 12 payloads—five on the booster and seven inside the crew capsule. Payloads include new navigation systems developed for New Shepard and New Glenn; two different LIDAR sensors for the Lunar Permanence program; ultra-wideband proximity operations sensors flying as part of a NASA TechFlights grant with Blue Origin’s Space Systems Development group; and a commercial payload that is a reproduction of black monoliths from 2001: A Space Odyssey. The monoliths are flying on behalf of Spacemanic for a special edition printed by Croatian publisher Amaranthine Books. The mission will also carry tens of thousands of student-designed postcards on behalf of Club for the Future, Blue Origin’s STEAM-focused nonprofit whose mission is to inspire and mobilize future generations to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, arts, and math. The organization has engaged more than 43 million students globally since its founding in 2019. Students can submit digital postcards here. Follow Blue Origin on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Threads, and YouTube, and sign up on BlueOrigin.com to stay current on all mission details.
Some trolling from Blue Origin with their new vehicle name:Quote from: FutureSpaceTourist on 10/04/2024 01:38 pmhttps://twitter.com/blueorigin/status/1842196161177833911QuoteNew Shepard #NS27 is an uncrewed verification flight debuting our second human-rated vehicle to meet growing customer demand. The launch window opens on Monday, October 7, at 8:00 AM CDT / 13:00 UTC:https://www.blueorigin.com/news/blue-origin-debuts-second-human-rated-new-shepard-rocketQuoteNEWS | OCT 4, 2024Blue Origin Debuts Second Human-Rated New Shepard Rocket To Meet DemandBlue Origin’s next New Shepard flight, NS-27, will debut our second human-rated vehicle, enabling expanded flight capacity to better meet growing customer demand. The launch window for the uncrewed verification flight opens on Monday, October 7, at 8:00 AM CDT / 1300 UTC. The webcast will begin 15 minutes before liftoff on BlueOrigin.com. The new crew capsule is named RSS Kármán line. The vehicle features technology upgrades to improve the vehicle’s performance and reusability, an updated livery, and accommodations for payloads on the booster. New Shepard remains one of the most sustainable rockets ever to fly to space. Nearly 99% of New Shepard’s dry mass is reused, including the booster, capsule, engine, landing gear, and parachutes. NS-27 will fly 12 payloads—five on the booster and seven inside the crew capsule. Payloads include new navigation systems developed for New Shepard and New Glenn; two different LIDAR sensors for the Lunar Permanence program; ultra-wideband proximity operations sensors flying as part of a NASA TechFlights grant with Blue Origin’s Space Systems Development group; and a commercial payload that is a reproduction of black monoliths from 2001: A Space Odyssey. The monoliths are flying on behalf of Spacemanic for a special edition printed by Croatian publisher Amaranthine Books. The mission will also carry tens of thousands of student-designed postcards on behalf of Club for the Future, Blue Origin’s STEAM-focused nonprofit whose mission is to inspire and mobilize future generations to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, arts, and math. The organization has engaged more than 43 million students globally since its founding in 2019. Students can submit digital postcards here. Follow Blue Origin on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Threads, and YouTube, and sign up on BlueOrigin.com to stay current on all mission details.
Congrats to Virgin Galactic pilot Mike "Sooch" Masucci who was awarded the prestigious J.H. Doolittle award from the The Society of Experimental Test Pilots (@SETP_ORG). The James H. “Jimmy” Doolittle Award is presented for outstanding accomplishment in technical management or engineering achievement in aerospace technology. Well-deserved for all Mike’s accomplishments in aerospace and beyond.