Virgin Galactic could take customers to space in a year

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Less than two months after the first rocket-powered test flight of its suborbital spaceplane, Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic on Tuesday completed another test and moved closer to its goal of regular tourist flights into space.

A four-engine craft with twin booms lifted off from the Mojave Air and Space Port around 8:40 a.m., carrying the VSS Unity spaceplane under its belly. The Unity separated cleanly from the larger aircraft about an hour later, and its two pilots ignited the spaceplane’s rocket motor for 31 seconds.

The spaceplane reached a speed of Mach 1.9 and hit an altitude of 114,500 feet, higher than during a test in April.

That April flight was the first powered test since a 2014 fatal accident that destroyed the company’s previous SpaceShipTwo spaceplane.

Branson said in a phone interview after the flight test that the spaceplane ended up going faster and higher than expected.

“It was as good as it gets today,” he said. “We’ve all got big smiles on our faces.”

Assuming all post-flight tests go well, Virgin Galactic could conduct its next flight test in six weeks, Branson said.

Quicker vehicle turnaround is an important part of Mojave-based Virgin Galactic’s plans for commercial service. Eventually, the company hopes to reduce turnaround time between flights to about four days, Branson said.

In an interview with BBC Radio 4 posted Saturday, Branson said his company could carry paying passengers into space within 12 months. Virgin Galactic is charging $250,000 for a ticket.

“I would be disappointed if I haven’t been in space before the end of the year,” Branson said.