Space Terminal Christened By Sir Richard Branson
Sir Richard Branson, the flamboyant British billionaire has dedicated the launchpad for his space tourism venture in the New Mexico desert - with his usual eye for a photo opportunity. The British billionaire rappelled down the side of the world's first commercial spaceport which was built from scratch, with a bottle of champagne. This was the christening.
The 2.5-hour on board WhiteKnightTwo flights will offer views of the Earth that until now only astronauts have been able to experience at a complete cost of $200,000 (£127,000).
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Powered test flights are scheduled to take place next year and Sir Richard expressed hopes that Virgin Galactic's commercial flights could begin soon after. He had hoped the maiden flight would take place in 2007, but the project has been hit by several delays. Onlookers were treated to a flyover of Virgin Galactic's spacecraft WhiteKnightTwo. "The building is absolutely magnificent," Sir Richard said on Monday. "It is literally out of this world, and that's what we were aiming at creating."
The crowd included about 150 people who have already bought tickets for the flights, which promise views of the Earth seen only by astronauts. Before entering the hangar, onlookers were treated to a flyover from Virgin Galactic's WhiteKnightTwo, which is designed to carry passengers into suborbital space. The building of the spaceport terminal had been held back because of contractor disputes and problems with building codes. Virgin Galactic reached an agreement six years ago with New Mexico officials to build the spaceport. Commercial service will start after the company gets a license from the Federal Aviation Administration. NASA has already signed a $4.5 million contract with the company for up to three chartered research flights.
The entire design is said to “green†as it uses the geothermal energy; tubes running through the earthen berm surrounding part of the building help cool the interior and natural ventilation can be used during mild seasons
Source : Richard Branson dedicates Virgin Galactic spaceport - BBC News
The 2.5-hour on board WhiteKnightTwo flights will offer views of the Earth that until now only astronauts have been able to experience at a complete cost of $200,000 (£127,000).
#-Link-Snipped-#
Powered test flights are scheduled to take place next year and Sir Richard expressed hopes that Virgin Galactic's commercial flights could begin soon after. He had hoped the maiden flight would take place in 2007, but the project has been hit by several delays. Onlookers were treated to a flyover of Virgin Galactic's spacecraft WhiteKnightTwo. "The building is absolutely magnificent," Sir Richard said on Monday. "It is literally out of this world, and that's what we were aiming at creating."
The crowd included about 150 people who have already bought tickets for the flights, which promise views of the Earth seen only by astronauts. Before entering the hangar, onlookers were treated to a flyover from Virgin Galactic's WhiteKnightTwo, which is designed to carry passengers into suborbital space. The building of the spaceport terminal had been held back because of contractor disputes and problems with building codes. Virgin Galactic reached an agreement six years ago with New Mexico officials to build the spaceport. Commercial service will start after the company gets a license from the Federal Aviation Administration. NASA has already signed a $4.5 million contract with the company for up to three chartered research flights.
The entire design is said to “green†as it uses the geothermal energy; tubes running through the earthen berm surrounding part of the building help cool the interior and natural ventilation can be used during mild seasons
Source : Richard Branson dedicates Virgin Galactic spaceport - BBC News
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