SPACEDEV PRESS RELEASE
via Marketwire
18 August 2008
POWAY, CA– SpaceDev, Inc. announced today that it has signed a multi-year contract with Scaled Composites to assist Scaled in the development of a production rocket motor for the first commercial space vehicle designed for space tourism called SpaceShipTwo.
The vehicle is being designed by Scaled for Virgin Galactic and is part of a complete space system that also includes the recently unveiled WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft. The WhiteKnightTwo aircraft will ferry SpaceShipTwo and thousands of private astronauts, science packages and payloads as the first stage of Virgin Galactic’s sub-orbital space experience.
“We are thrilled to once again be part of the Scaled Composites/Virgin Galactic team and to be able to assist the team on this historic aviation and space endeavor,” said Mark N. Sirangelo, Chairman and CEO of SpaceDev. “Burt Rutan, Doug Shane and the Scaled team have yet again created an outstanding design that will be the first commercial venture to open space to large numbers of the public.”
Continue reading ‘SpaceDev Signs Rocket Motor Development Contract With Scaled Composites’
The Daily Telegraph has an account of the recent unveiling of WhiteKnightTwo by James Quinn, one of the media folks whom Sir Richard Branson flew from LAX to Mojave Airport for the event. You’ll be happy to know that Quinn sat beside a glamorous young tech-saavy blonde who, sad to say, lacked the $200,000 required for a ticket aboard the spaceship she was so enthusiastically blogging about.
Ah yes….such is the life of most bloggers. Lots of enthusiasm, not always a lot of cash…Sigh….
On a more serious note, Quinn also had a chance to talk to “former Virgin spin doctor-cum-brand developer” Will Whitehorn. The Virgin Galactic president was living up to his label, promising - among other things - ultra-cheap satellite deliveries to supplement the luxury rides for millionauts.
Whitehorn says Virgin has spent about $100 million so far, with a final development cost likely in the range of $300 million. This is more than the $240 million estimate given only a few months back. But, no worries; Whitehorn is still predicting the company will turn a profit soon after they start flying - whenever that happens to be.
Continue reading ‘Virgin Galactic Costs Approaching $300 Million; Interesting Carbon Emission Claims Made’
Jeff Foust has an update on why SpaceShipTwo remained in the shop while its WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft was rolled out on Monday. Apparently, it’s been sitting there at 70 percent complete for the past year while the company thoroughly investigated an explosion that claimed the lives of three workers. Foust quotes designer Burt Rutan as saying:
“We have not worked on SpaceShipTwo in a year because there’s a possibility that the propulsion system would be markedly different and we’d be building things that we would have to scrap.”
Rutan declined to elaborate on technical matters beyond saying that the accident investigation is resulting in “a lot” of changes to the suborbital vehicle. He also said that report on the July 26, 2007 explosion would be released soon.
The comments are in sharp contrast to remarks made by X Prize founder Peter Diamandis, who immediately after the accident publicly claimed that the explosion was unrelated to spaceflight and had no bearing on the safety of the vehicle that Scaled Composites is building for Virgin Galactic.
Continue reading ‘Rutan: SS2 Not Worked on in a Year; Accident Report Due Soon’
