“Virgin America has the most advanced and carbon-efficient commercial fleet in the U.S. and when it touches down today at its new home it will share the runway with the future of commercial aerospace – SpaceShipTwo and WhiteKnightTwo,” said George Whitesides, President and Chief Executive Officer of Virgin Galactic. “We’re proud that two Virgin-branded companies can link the cutting-edge present to the future of commercial aviation. It is also fitting that today’s flights are helping to inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers and aviators.”
Virgin Galactic’s WhiteKnightTwo (WK2) represents a giant leap forward in aerospace design and will enable safe and commercially-viable access to space for private individuals and academic researchers. The world’s largest all carbon composite aviation vehicle and the most fuel efficient aircraft of its size, WK2 can perform high and zero g maneuvers and possesses the high-altitude heavy-lift capability to air-release the world’s first commercial manned spaceship – SpaceShipTwo – on its journey into sub-orbital space. SpaceShipTwo is a rocket-powered space plane, which is intended to air-launch via a groundbreaking feather re-entry system. For more on the future of commercial space travel and the spaceships.
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