SpaceShipTwo: A Suborbital Vehicle for Human Spaceflight and Microgravity Research
- Paper number
IAC-17,B3,2,5,x38988
- Author
Ms. Sirisha Bandla, Virgin Galactic L.L.C, United States
- Coauthor
Mr. Richard DalBello, Virgin Galactic, LLC, United States
- Coauthor
Mr. William Pomerantz, Virgin Galactic L.L.C, United States
- Year
2017
- Abstract
Virgin Galactic, a privately funded company based in the United States, is on track to become the world’s first commercial spaceline. Virgin Galactic is currently developing and testing SpaceShipTwo, a reusable vehicle designed to reach space altitudes on frequent, affordable, and safe suborbital voyages. SpaceShipTwo will fly operational flights out of Spaceport America in New Mexico, USA, carrying either spaceflight participants or research payloads. SpaceShipTwo can be utilized as a platform for tourism, science, technology development, and education by a variety of commercial and government customers. Last year, the second SpaceShipTwo, named {\it VSS Unity}, was rolled out at Virgin Galactic’s Mojave, CA, USA facility and began its flight test program. {\it VSS Unity} is currently progressing through its flight test milestones, and this presentation will provide status updates on its progress as well as a technical overview on SpaceShipTwo. This presentation will also provide an overview of Virgin Galactic’s business, with a focus on relevant opportunities for the IAC audience.- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-17,B3,2,5,x38988.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
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