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Virgin Galactic Signs Historic Lease Agreement
Posted by
CmdrTaco
on Thu Jan 01, 2009 09:52 AM
from the coming-to-america dept.
from the coming-to-america dept.
RobGoldsmith writes "Governor Bill Richardson today announced that Virgin Galactic has signed a 20-year lease agreement with the State of New Mexico. Virgin Galactic's world headquarters will be established in New Mexico and its operations will be located at New Mexico's Spaceport America, the nation's first purpose-built commercial spaceport. The signing of the lease agreement coincides with the beginning of the test flying program for Virgin Galactic's WhiteKnightTwo launch vehicle which got underway this month in Mojave, CA. The WhiteKnightTwo will serve as the mother ship for SpaceShipTwo, the vehicle that will carry commercial astronauts into sub-orbital space from Spaceport America."
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RobGoldsmith writes "Earlier this week images were appearing on the Net showing the WhiteKnightTwo craft doing some tests in Mojave. The earliest tests showed perhaps two of the engines being used, while a later test showed all the engines working and some further testing. Today the four Pratt & Whitney Canada PW308A engines finally carried the craft into the air. The maiden flight of the WhiteKnightTwo lasted just shy of one hour and happened today at around 08:15 local time, at Mojave air and spaceport. Rumors suggest that a Beechcraft King Air was used for a chase plane. The craft will be used to position Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo craft to fly into space; this is estimated to happen around 2010."
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If this keeps up, we won't need NASA. (Score:2, Funny)
As more and more people hop on the private space vehicle bandwagon.
I think this makes up for Governor Schwarzenegger tempting Tesla Motors into abandoning their plans to build their first plant in Albuquerque and staying in California. After all, I can't see rocket launches happening in San Francisco!
Re:If this keeps up, we won't need NASA. (Score:4, Informative)
Parent
Re:Reusable SSTO isn't going to develop (Score:2)
Re:Reusable SSTO isn't going to develop (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
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retard (ri-tard') v., -tarded, -tarding, -tards.
(v.tr.) To cause to move or proceed slowly; delay or impede.
(v.intr.) To be delayed.
(n.) 1. A slowing down or hindering of progress; a delay.
2. Music. A slackening of tempo.
[Middle English retarden, from Old French retarder, from Latin retardÄre : re-, re- + tardÄre, to delay (from tardus, slow).]
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Reusable SSTO isn't going to develop from continued work on suborbital vehicles like this. [...] Space tourism like this will take us nowhere.
I strongly disagree. Two things to remember: 1) the most important problem for space tourism is developing the market. Turning a profit is a far harder problem than developing an SSTO. The market needs to be demonstrated before someone will invest in an SSTO. 2) One doesn't need SSTO. For example a two stage to orbit (TSTO) fully reusable launch vehicle (RLV) would probably be more efficient. It would require considerably less development effort and have a much better mass fraction.
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"Building a rocket engine is non-trivial"
Come on, it's not brain surgery...
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On top of my other points, you can make significant progress towards an orbital launch vehicle from a suborbital one. The difficulties are exaggerated and already have been well explored in a number of historical vehicles (Space Shuttle, Soyuz, Apollo, Volstok, etc). For example, SpaceShipOne generated about a quarter to a third of the delta v needed to reach orbit. More efficient engines, higher mass ratio, and better propellants can get you the rest of the way. Reentry is similarly exaggerated. Sure the v
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I wonder if we miss the point, when we think of suborbital flight is a thrill ride. The suborbital up and down thing my not be the goal. The goal is a fast trip from UK to US or UK to OZ or the like.
There my be some people who will spend there money to take a thrill ride, and some that will win contests and prizes for the same. But there is business in people who can justify a time saving trip and have their company pay for the trip. (and get to go to the edge of space).
Remember lots of people payed to take
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This month? (Score:5, Funny)
For the record... (Score:2, Funny)
Re:For the record... (Score:4, Interesting)
Burt Rutan is mine.
Branson is just the Bill Gates of a different industry.
Parent
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Branson is just the Bill Gates of a different industry.
You mean Branson is also technologically incompetent, earning his money only because he was in the right place at the right time, deserving none of his fame/fortune, while one of the world's largest and most powerful companies in the world made a huge mistake; allowing him to show the world he is one of the scummiest, cut-throat, marketing geniuses ever seen?
Wow...what are the chances of two of those flukes would happening in my life time.
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Doesn't it just piss you off that such a scummy person has donated more to charity than you'll ever earn in your life?
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Re:For the record... (Score:4, Informative)
Parent
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Branson made his initial fortune illegally. he mis-sold export-only records back within the UK. today this is known as carousel fraud - and costs the EU tens of billions revenue.
he was oh-so-happy to settle out-of-court and pay backdated taxes once all the legitimate competition had fallen by the wayside.
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Did he donate the tax deductions he received too? Did he fail to claim them as charitable donations? I did not think so. If he was really the great guy you want to believe, we would have never known he made those donations. The guy has more money than God. Of course he needs huge tax breaks. And of course we all need to hear about it.
Only 20 years? (Score:2, Insightful)
He's a businessman ... (Score:5, Insightful)
"So if you a serious about long-term commitment and you find a good spot for your own spaceport, a 99year lease would have made more sense."
He's a businessman. 20 years seems like a long enough commitment, who knows what the economic world will look like in 2030? Might be better to move his operations out to somewhere else in the USA, off to India, China, etc. What's so special about the current site that somewhere else couldn't match in a few years time and give him a better price?
Croydon Airport [wikipedia.org] only lasted as the main international London airport for less than 30 years, would a space port stay in the lead for longer than that? (Croydon Airport started operations in 1920 but was overtaken in the 40s by a small military airport in the west of London built over a hamlet called Heath Row).
Parent
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Might be better to move his operations...
Yes it would. Equatorial launch saves a lot of energy when it comes to getting into orbit, the centripetal force from the Earth's rotation is not insignificant.
Remember that the Earth is about 24,000 miles in circumference, making a revolution every 24hrs, that's 1,000mph at the surface -- a nice bit of initial velocity on your way to space. You get this full effect at the equator, you get none of it at the poles. New Mexico is about 32 degrees North of the equator, hardly optimal. There's a reason
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At that point they'll want to be a the equator for their launches.
Not necessarily. They'll want a high inclination orbit for tourism (so tourists see more of the Earth). There will be some value to having launch facilities near the customers. So, for example, European and North American launch facilities make sense because that is where the customers are.
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And this is "historic" how? (Score:3, Insightful)
Technically, every business deal is an "historic" moment from the perspective of that exact deal probably never being consummated before. But I'm at a loss to figure out how a business lease qualifies as "historic."
Re:And this is "historic" how? (Score:5, Funny)
Obviously it qualifies as historic because it is "the nation's first purpose-built commercial spaceport".
Other upcoming historic moments include "the first purpose-built commercial Twinkie served at a spaceport," "the first spilled soda on the tarmac of a purpose-built commercial New Mexico spaceport" and "the first Rabbi, Pastor, and Bishop with too few parachutes on a SpaceShip".
Parent
Historic? (Score:3, Insightful)
Rather good timing for me! (Score:2)
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website (Score:1)
Location, location, location (Score:2)
I tried to see where they were going to build this "Southern New Mexicoâ(TM)s Spaceport America," which puts it near Alamogordo or Las Cruces. While I'm happy for New Mexico, I just hope for the sake of all the people who will be working there at the great new headquarters of "Southern New Mexicoâ(TM)s Spaceport America" that they manage to be there in southern New Mexico... perhaps the advent of this new space center will bring Stuff To Do to southern New Mexico. (They can always visit the Owl Ba
WTF? Call the fraud squad! (Score:1)
* fraudulent gov'nor of a
* fraudulent (unconstitutional) 'state' called NM
* fraudulently leasing out Republic of Texas' soil to Virgin (nasty! nasty!) Galactic tours?
FIND: http://republicoftexas.50megs.com/ [50megs.com]
AND OFFICIAL MAPS: http://www.sonofthesouth.net/texas/republic-texas-map.htm [sonofthesouth.net]
http://www.earlytexashistory.com/Tx1836/maprepub.html [earlytexashistory.com]
RR