Rocket men
- By Richard Branson -
- Oct 19, 2012
Just received some great photos from the Virgin Galactic team, which have got me day dreaming again about one day trying to break Felix Baumgartner's record breaking space jump, using our beautiful SpaceShipTwo!
These shots show the biggest single component of our new hybrid rocket motor, the main nitrous oxide tank, being installed into the spaceship. Already, our system’s design, including this safe and non-toxic motor, means that SpaceShipTwo is one of greenest manned spaceships ever to have flown. We’re now looking at some exciting future plans which could radically lower each flight’s remaining environmental footprint. More on that in due course!
I know from personal experience (and I’m sure Felix would agree), that the greatest successful adventures are always built on meticulous preparation, which is why we’re leaving no stone unturned as we approach the first supersonic, rocket-powered flights of SpaceShipTwo.
The test flights of our vehicles have gone incredibly well so far and we want to keep it that way. Our amazing engineers and pilots are preparing right now for the first powered spaceship flight, which should be followed with a fairly quick build up to Virgin’s first proper step across the final frontier.!
When we do blast off into space, it will be another incredible milestone in the history of space adventure and human endeavour. Are you as excited as we are?
By Richard Branson. Founder of Virgin Group
