Virgin Galactic close to putting tourists into space with the unveiling of giant carrier aircraft White Knight II!

Virgin Galactic’s Scaled Composites designed White Knight II has finally been unveiled to the world at Mojave Air and Space Port in California. Galactic, owned by Sir Richard Branson has purportedly invested 100 million dollars of his own money into the project so far.

The sizeable, twin boomed aircraft, christened ’Eve’ after Branson’s mother, revealed its computer chiselled form this afternoon, to an expectant crowd of excited journalist and spectators who were treated to the sight of both Burt Rutan and Branson waving from the aircraft’s cockpit. White Knight II is designed to carry the still uncompleted SpaceShipTwo to an release altitude of 48,000 feet. The giant, four engined aircraft has a wing span of some 42 metres effectively allowing it to fulfil a multitude of roles beyond the hauling of its SpaceShipTwo sub orbital cargo; from fire fighting to the launch of small satellites, White Knight II will truly be a multi use aircraft.
The unveiling of White Knight II comes at an auspicious time, the giant carrier aircraft emerging from its hanger only one day short of the 50th anniversary of the creation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. For those of a more mystical bent, this random collision of dates might herald a powerful portent; with nuts and bolts technology finally on the tarmac, maybe this is truly a sign that it is time for private aerospace to tread where previously only large governments have dared.
White Knight II will now undergo an extensive period of shakedown flights to establish the aircraft’s handling abilities and systems performance. With SpaceShipTwo 70% fleet the twin craft system maybe launching paying passengers into sub orbital space by 2010.

Image: Scaled Composites/Virgin Galactic

Starchaser Industries unveils Nova 2

Starchaser Industries unveiled their Nova 2 rocket July 2 at Salford University, England. CEO, Steve Bennett hopes to fly the rocket in late 2009 from Morecambe Bay in Wales. The late 09 test will evaluate the rocket's launch escape system , travelling to an estimated altitude of 13,000 ft.

Nova 2 represents the largest private rocket yet built in the United Kingdom. With hopes for sub-orbital flights by 2013, Bennett hopes to raise the necessary funds to begin work on Nova 2's successor rocket, the Thunderstar - a craft that will be capable of taking passengers into space itself.

If Bennett is successful in him aims, his efforts could go down in the history books as being the first time a UK company and a native launch system managed to place a human being beyond Earth's atmosphere.

While the British government retains a risk averse, avoid-ant strategy towards manned spaceflight, Bennett, and his private company, continues to plough ahead with his dream of finally putting his country on the aerospace map.

Although obviously not on the scale of anything that NASA could produce, it is also wise to note that Bennett is a private individual trying to raise the necessary funds to build his rockets' without the backing of big government. If there is to be a revolution in human spaceflight, surely this method is a better path to tread than the one which forever seeks to push the burden of human spaceflight onto the taxpayer?

Image: Starchaser Industries