Branson and Rutan Form Spacecraft Building Comp

[wvbraun]

Link<br /><br />So the project is still alive and moving forward. The rumours that SS2 was in trouble sometime back were apparently just that - rumours.

 

[frodo1008]

Very good news. You do a whole lot better over here that at FS. Personally I have come to dislike the kind of confrontational atmosphere that exists over on FS. THIS is the kind of forum that I think that SDC should consist of! Once again, thanks for the good news. With BOTH these private efforts and NASA seeming to begin to move forward there is hope for the future of space travel that is better than it has been in a long time.<br /><br />By the way, while I may oppose some of the policies of the Bush administration, I DO very much support Bush's vision for NASA, and his implimintation of that vision by his excellent appointment of Mike Griffen!

 

[chriscdc]

Is this some way of getting around the export of rocket tech law? Does the law just prevent an american company exporting the tech, so will this be a british or american company?

 

[john_316]

<br />This is good news....<br /><br />Ok these other guys need to step up to the plate and get it together.....<br /><br />T/Space and even the former X-prise contestants should form up and start a company.....<br /><br />Hope things go good....<br /><br /><img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /><br /><br />

 

[wvbraun]

Sometimes I get a bit tired of the endless flame-wars in FS, too, but then again I think I can't stand back and do nothing. I'm really just voicing my honest opinions over there. I think that radical Islam is a very real and growing threat, that the Iraq war was right, that the campaign in Afghanistan was a huge success and that Iraq will be some years down the road. And while I don't think that Bush is the best US president ever I see him as the right man at the right time and I'm sick of the left's attempts to smear him. <br />That being said it is somewhat sad that some members with whom I've gotten along well prior to 9/11 have turned out to be on the other side of the fence on these issues. Maybe we should *all* try to be a bit more civil in our discussions in FS. <br /><br />Now back to what really matters: our future in space. <img src="/images/icons/cool.gif" />

 

[nacnud]

<font color="yellow">Is this some way of getting around the export of rocket tech law?<br /><br /><font color="white">I susspect so. My guess is the new company builds and owns the vehicels and is US registered, virgin galactic sells the seats and makes the money.</font></font>

 

[wvbraun]

"Is this some way of getting around the export of rocket tech law?"<br /><br />I've wondered about that, too. Seems plausible...

 

[vt_hokie]

What is "FS"? <br /><br />frodo, I agree...support of NASA is about the only thing I agree with Bush and the neo-cons on.

 

[nacnud]

FS = Free space

 

[kdavis007]

Excellent...

 

[nacnud]

Spacedaily has an update on this<br /><br /><font color="yellow">Branson And Rutan Launch New Spaceship Manufacturing Company<br /><br />Richard Branson (Founder, Virgin Group of Companies) and Burt Rutan (President, Scaled Composites) have signed a deal to form a new aerospace production company to build a fleet of commercial sub-orbital spaceships and launch aircraft. The new company will own the designs of the new SpaceShipTwo (SS2) and White Knight Two (WK2) launch systems that are now in development at Scaled Composites.</font>

 

[lunatio_gordin]

sweet. Hope i win my Ticket To space 7up <img src="/images/icons/tongue.gif" />

 

[wvbraun]

Another update: Space tourism company to fly in 2008<br /><br /><i>Virgin Galactic president Will Whitehorn told New Scientist he hopes to carry 400 passengers in the first year of operation, scaling up to 2000 in the second year and 3000 in the third. To date, only about 450 people in the world have experienced space travel, almost exclusively in government space programmes.<br /><br />[...]<br /><br />SpaceShipTwo is nearly three times the size of Rutan's SpaceShipOne, and will carry two pilots and seven passengers on a two-hour flight. Current plans call for 50 to 100 test flights before Virgin Galactic carries its first paying customers. Whitehorn says the company plans to eventually operate one flight per day, with each SpaceShipTwo flying once every five days.<br /><br />And there is plenty of passenger interest, Whitehorn reports. Some 4000 pilots have applied for the 75 jobs the company expects to offer. He says 30,000 people have said they want to fly, but have not been asked to put down deposits.<br /><br />After the first 100 people fly, the price will drop to around $100,000 a seat, which Whitehorn expects to be a financial "sweet spot”, encouraging a “much wider take-up" on the offer.</i><br /><br /><img src="/images/icons/cool.gif" />

 

[lunatio_gordin]

400 people in 2008? wow. i don't think so...

 

[grooble]

Make it $99,999. 5 figure sum to go in space.

 

[wvbraun]

And 3000 in 2010....They sure have ambitious goals.