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Virgin Galactic to Launch from Scottish Base?

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the scotch-and-liftoff-please dept.

Lancey writes "The BBC reports that Richard Branson wants to launch Virgin Galactic space flights from a Royal Air Force base in Moray, Scotland, as early as 2010." From the article: "We are designing it so that we will be able to tour it around the world. So we will have a main base in New Mexico and we are looking at three bases outside there to be able to operate from."

9 of 50 comments (clear)

  1. Re:What about the equator? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    ESA launches from French Guiana. Actually.

  2. Re:What about the equator? by tgd · · Score: 4, Informative

    Thats only if you're going to try to get into orbit easily.

    They're not trying to get into orbit.

  3. Re:What about the equator? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Informative

    That would help if Virgin Galactic were aiming for orbit, but despite its name the company is still working on mere suborbital flights.

  4. Nothing to see... by HaydnH · · Score: 3, Informative

    Nothing to see here... no really! It's a broken link! Here's a working link to the article.

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  5. Lossiemouth is the perfect location! by dnnrly · · Score: 3, Informative

    I've been to good ol' Lossie. I think it's perfect! Takeoffs would occur over the bay which opens up to the North Sea. Lossiemouth itself isn't hugely populated but it does lie next door to the base. There is a housing estate right up to the fence on one side (with the local pub about 1 mile from the main entrance), all other sides are clear and the nearest large town is Elgin about 10 miles away.

    As long as they are careful to take off and land over the water I can't see many problems at all.

    1. Re:Lossiemouth is the perfect location! by applemacmad · · Score: 2, Informative

      Personally I wouldn't like a rocket taking off from across my garden fence (the base is on the other side of the road). Local pub? I would say there are at least 7!

  6. Deja vu by suthers · · Score: 1, Informative

    That's funny. I'm sure I remember writing http://skymania.blogspot.com/2006/06/hoots-mon-we- have-problem.htmlthis story way back on June 9.

  7. Re:I hope their ship is rainproof by taskforce · · Score: 1, Informative

    450 days of rain? In a 365 day year? Jeeze, that's only -85 days of sun a year!

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  8. Re:I hope their ship is rainproof by Wizard+Drongo · · Score: 2, Informative

    Whoops, my bad. My standing as a slashdot grammar Nazi may suffer due to this, but I do avow that the misspelling in question is because my Apple iMac tangerine keyboard is a fair few years old, and whist I have a spiffy new MacBook, with a spiffy new keyboard on it, when at my desk, the old tangerine gets a hammering. Probably due for a replacement. Some of the hammers don't always connect, even if my fingers hit the key. You're right to a degree on the minimal standards. But the EU's bureaucracy is well known. A lot of their regulations exist solely because certain failed politicians who get sent to the EC as an easy-life 'reward', wish to have a legacy, and see easily voted-in pointless legislation as their ticket into the history books. See Neil "Babies? Love 'em. Vote for Me! Terrorists? Lovely, Vote for Me!" Kinnock and his wife, Ugly as an example of the EU gravy train and it's embarrassing catalogue of legislative mistakes.

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