VSS Enterprise completes first flight under its carrier aircraft

This is one wild-looking combo:
http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/space/0...ex.html?hpt=T2

Pat

So what are rides on White Knight II going for?

Dave

And everyone shot me down when I made the suggestion, well it's on Sir Richard's radar:

From http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/space/0...ex.html?hpt=T2

/quote

Virgin Galactic has envisioned one flight a week, with six tourists
aboard. Each will pay $200,000 for the ride and train for at least three days
before going. About 80,000 people have placed their names on the waiting list
for seats.

"What we want to be able to do is bring space travel down to a price range
where hundreds of thousands of people would be able to experience space, and
they never dreamed that [they] could," Branson said last year.

He has said he hopes the technology will lead to a new form of Earth travel,
jetting people across oceans and continents faster through suborbital routes.
^^^^^^^^^^

/end quote [Sir Richards' claimed statement with my emphasis]

Virgin Galactic Business Express, LA to Sidney in 45 minutes, mark my words...

OK, well not with SS2, perhaps, but SS3, or SS4? We'll see....
Sir Richard is crazy, no doubt. Like a fox.

Dave

David Spain writes:

Virgin Galactic Business Express, LA to Sidney in 45 minutes, mark my words...

Well maybe not 45 minutes if they plan to serve a meal (and have it retained)
on the flight, but 2 hours would be just fine... ;-)

Dave

In sci.space.history David Spain wrote:
So what are rides on White Knight II going for?

Old data:

http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/foru...8099;topicseen

The craft is surprisingly acrobatic, too. That means it is able to
offer passengers zero-gravity flights. At the moment, a Boeing 727
provides such flights commercially for the Zero Gravity
Corporation, a travel company. But the 727 is an ageing and
thirsty vehicle. Mr Whitehorn reckons that, subject to the
appropriate permissions, White Knight Two could offer zero-G
flights for around $1,000 each, a fifth of the fare now charged.

--
the road to hell is paved with business decisions...
these opinions are mine, all mine; HP might not want them anyway...
feel free to post, OR email to rick.jones2 in hp.com but NOT BOTH...

At $1,000 with or without a Zero-G experience, it'd be my highest ride to
date, on an aircraft with incredible views, comfortable seats and a suborbital
launch viewing stand that couldn't be beat!

This vehicle will have longer lines for paying customers than SS2 will....

Dave

In sci.space.history Pat Flannery wrote:
On 3/24/2010 12:02 PM, David Spain wrote:
Virgin Galactic Business Express, LA to Sidney in 45 minutes, mark my words...

OK, well not with SS2, perhaps, but SS3, or SS4? We'll see....
Sir Richard is crazy, no doubt. Like a fox.

An airline flight you have to train for?
That sorta defeats the purpose of the speedy flight. :-)
Me, I'd take the Queen Mary 2.
$200,000 could buy you around nine world cruises in economy class on
that ship, or over two top-of-the-line ones with a private suite:
http://book.cunard.com/find/pb/searc...&ship=&dat e=

Sure, but Mal de Mere will still have you puking your guts out - for
days instead of minutes

rick jones
at least the QM2 doesn't look like a container ship for people...
--
web2.0 n, the dot.com reunion tour...
these opinions are mine, all mine; HP might not want them anyway...
feel free to post, OR email to rick.jones2 in hp.com but NOT BOTH...

On 3/24/2010 12:02 PM, David Spain wrote:
Virgin Galactic Business Express, LA to Sidney in 45 minutes, mark my words...

OK, well not with SS2, perhaps, but SS3, or SS4? We'll see....
Sir Richard is crazy, no doubt. Like a fox.

An airline flight you have to train for?
That sorta defeats the purpose of the speedy flight. :-)
Me, I'd take the Queen Mary 2.
$200,000 could buy you around nine world cruises in economy class on
that ship, or over two top-of-the-line ones with a private suite:
http://book.cunard.com/find/pb/searc...&ship=&dat e=

Pat

On 3/24/2010 12:08 PM, David Spain wrote:
David writes:

Virgin Galactic Business Express, LA to Sidney in 45 minutes, mark my words...

Well maybe not 45 minutes if they plan to serve a meal (and have it retained)
on the flight, but 2 hours would be just fine... ;-)

You try to serve them food in zero g, and the thing will become the
Vomit Comet II.
They'll be lucky if around a third of the passengers don't puke within a
couple of minutes of going weightless, even after training.

Pat

On 3/24/2010 12:08 PM, Rick Jones wrote:
In sci.space.history David wrote:
So what are rides on White Knight II going for?

Old data:

http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/foru...8099;topicseen

From the top post on that thread:
"One application being explored is flying replacement engines for Boeing
747s around the world."
747s can already carry a fifth replacement engine on normal commercial
flights:
http://www.airliners.net/aviation-fo...n/3031408/1/#1

Pat