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Virgin Galactic Reaches Space Again In Highest, Fastest Test Flight Yet (cnn.com)
"If you're willing to spend $250,000 for a quick trip to space, that option is getting closer to reality," reports CNN.
VSS Unity, Virgin Galactic's rocket-powered plane, climbed to a record altitude of nearly 56 miles during a test flight on Friday, marking the second time Richard Branson's startup has reached space. Two pilots, and for the first time, an additional crew member, were on board. Beth Moses, Galactic's chief astronaut trainer and an aerospace engineer, rode along with the pilots. The trip allowed her to run safety checks and get a first look at what Galactic's customers could one day experience. Moses has logged hundreds of hours on zero gravity aircrafts, and she described the G Forces aboard the supersonic plane as "mildly wild." Some moments were intense, she told CNN Business, but it was never uncomfortable. "I was riveted and I think our customers will be as well."
Unity took off from a runway in California's Mojave Desert just after 8 am PT and cruised to about 45,000 feet attached to its mothership before it broke away and fired its rocket motor. The plane then swooped into the upper reaches of the atmosphere, 295,000 feet high, at supersonic speeds. It's top speed was Mach 3. At the peak of its flight path, Unity experienced a few minutes of weightlessness and looked out into the black skies of the cosmos. Moses said she was able to leave her seat and take in the view. "The Earth was beautiful -- super sharp, super clear," she said, "with a gorgeous view of the Pacific mountains."
America's Federal Aviation Administration says they'll now award commercial astronaut wings to all three members of the crew, and CNN reports that this second successful test flight suggests Galactic "could be on track" to start flying tourists into space this year.
"About 600 people have reserved tickets, priced between $200,000 and $250,000, to fly with Galactic. And the company says it wants to eventually lower prices to broaden its customer base."
Unity took off from a runway in California's Mojave Desert just after 8 am PT and cruised to about 45,000 feet attached to its mothership before it broke away and fired its rocket motor. The plane then swooped into the upper reaches of the atmosphere, 295,000 feet high, at supersonic speeds. It's top speed was Mach 3. At the peak of its flight path, Unity experienced a few minutes of weightlessness and looked out into the black skies of the cosmos. Moses said she was able to leave her seat and take in the view. "The Earth was beautiful -- super sharp, super clear," she said, "with a gorgeous view of the Pacific mountains."
America's Federal Aviation Administration says they'll now award commercial astronaut wings to all three members of the crew, and CNN reports that this second successful test flight suggests Galactic "could be on track" to start flying tourists into space this year.
"About 600 people have reserved tickets, priced between $200,000 and $250,000, to fly with Galactic. And the company says it wants to eventually lower prices to broaden its customer base."
socialism gets you a moon landing in 1969
the free market gets you a test flight in 2019
hurray
hurrah
Didn't we just have an article yesterday on how space actually starts much further away if by space you mean "not Earth's atmosphere"?
In Rapid Masturbatory Feat, While Thinking About Space
Please tell us if the Earth was round or flat.
Military and wars have driven technology much further than anything else. There's no better motivator for man than killing his fellow man.
The entire space program is based upon military tech. And quite a bit of it was funded by the military.
The NAzis who built our Moon rockets learned their craft from Hitler.
Just say'in.
...as they're just using some obscure groups definition of space. ;)
For this reason, God sends them a powerful delusion(operation of wandering)(planet) so that they will believe the lie.
Mystery Red of the Great American Eclipse
It has blood on it!
ABCNews: Eclipse makes pendulum wander
Sound of Silence
n1gger.
let me splain sometin to ya yo.
in 1969 our awesome capitalist machine took von braun's design and made it real. we hit a home run to get to the moon without fail.
in 2019 a small team of people can leverage all the research our godly air force and nasa has done to make a crappy sub-space plan (56 miles is not space and the time it spends in the air is pathetic).
what is amazing is how cheap and easily accessible things are becoming. in relative terms the cost of doing things near and in space will drop.
branson is a just a fucking cunt idiot who sold records of shit music to get his billions.
imagine if all the democrats, socialists and other chicom-chinese programmed maoist scum were dead what we could do with a real leader again? the moon would be nothing! we could go to mars or anywhere without the wrecking socialist scum fucking our assses day in and day out!
...as they're just using some obscure groups definition of space. ;)
Yeah, what would NASA know anyway.
For Thorâ(TM)s sake people, the plural of aircraft is aircraft.