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A28 SCIENCE
Friday 14 december 2018
Virgin Galactic tourism rocket ship reaches space in test

By JOHN ANTCZAK SpaceShipTwo for Virgin
Associated Press Galactic.
MOJAVE, Calif. (AP) — Then, in 2014, SpaceShipT-
Virgin Galactic’s tourism wo broke apart during a
spaceship climbed more test flight by Scaled Com-
than 50 miles high above posites when the co-pilot
California’s Mojave Desert prematurely unlocked its
on Thursday, reaching for unique “feathering” system
the first time what the com- and it began to deploy.
pany considers the bound- The co-pilot was killed but
ary of space. the injured pilot managed
The rocket ship hit an alti- to survive a fall from high
tude of 51 miles (82 kilome- altitude with a parachute.
ters) before beginning its During descent, the craft’s
gliding descent, said mis- twin tails are designed to
sion official Enrico Palermo. rotate upward to slow it
It landed on a runway min- down, then return to a nor-
utes later. mal flying configuration
“We made it to space!” before the craft glides to a
Palermo said. landing on a runway.
Thursday’s supersonic flight New versions of Space-
takes Virgin Galactic a ShipTwo are built by a Vir-
big step closer to turning gin Galactic sister compa-
the dream of commercial This May 29, 2018 photo provided by Virgin Galactic shows the VSS Unity craft during a supersonic ny and flight testing is now
space tourism into reality. flight test. in-house. Its previous test
The company aims to take Associated Press flight reached 32 miles (52
paying customers on the of sight of viewers on the privately financed manned SpaceShipOne technol- kilometers).
six-passenger rocket, which ground. The spaceship spacecraft that made ogy, he envisioned a fleet Branson isn’t alone in the
is about the size of an ex- reached Mach 2.9, nearly three flights into space. carrying paying passengers space tourism business: Jeff
ecutive jet. Virgin Galactic three times the speed of Funded by the late billion- by 2007, launching them Bezos’ Blue Origin is plan-
founder Richard Branson sound. aire Paul G. Allen and cre- from a facility in southern ning to take space tourists
has said he wants to be The two test pilots — Mark ated by maverick aero- New Mexico called Space- on suborbital trips, using the
one of the first on board. “Forger” Stucky and former space designer Burt Rutan, port America. more traditional method of
Branson greeted the two NASA astronaut Rick “CJ” SpaceShipOne won the But there were significant a capsule atop a rocket
pilots after the test, declar- Sturckow — will be award- $10 million Ansari X Prize. setbacks. Three techni- that blasts off from a launch
ing “Space is Virgin terri- ed commercial astronaut The prize was created to cians were killed in 2007 pad. SpaceX’s Elon Musk
tory!” wings, said Federal Avia- kick-start private develop- by an explosion while test- recently announced plans
Virgin Galactic considers tion Administration official ment of rocket ships that ing a propellant system at to take a wealthy Japa-
50 miles (80 kilometers) the Bailey Edwards. would make spaceflight Scaled Composites LLC, nese entrepreneur and his
boundary of space be- Virgin Galactic’s develop- available to the public. which built SpaceShipOne friends on a trip around the
cause it is used by the U.S. ment of its spaceship took When Branson licensed the and was building the first moon.q
Air Force and other U.S. far longer than expected
agencies. That’s different and endured a setback
than a long-held view that when the first experimental Record number of Mexican gray
the boundary is at 62 miles craft broke apart during a
(100 kilometers). Virgin Ga- 2014 test flight, killing the wolves found dead in 2018
lactic CEO George Wh- co-pilot.
itesides noted that recent More than 600 people
research favors the lower have committed up to By SUSAN MONTOYA BRY-
altitude. $250,000 for rides that in- AN
At the start of the test flight, clude several minutes of Associated Press
a special jet carrying the weightlessness and a view ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP)
Virgin Space Ship Unity of the Earth far below. — Wildlife managers have
flew to an altitude near The endeavor began in
43,000 feet (13,100 meters) 2004 when Branson an- confirmed a record num-
ber of Mexican gray wolves
before releasing the craft. nounced the founding
The spaceship ignited its of Virgin Galactic in the have been reported dead
this year, fueling concerns
rocket engine and it quick- heady days after the flights
ly hurtled upward and out of SpaceShipOne, the first about the decades-long
effort to return the endan-
gered predator to the
southwestern U.S. Officials
say five wolves were found
dead in New Mexico in No- In this Dec. 7, 2011, file photo, a female Mexican gray wolf
vember, bringing the total looks to avoid being captured for its annual vaccinations and
for the year to 17. It marks medical check-up at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in
one of the deadliest months central New Mexico.
in the history of the wolf re- Associated Press
introduction program. The vey indicated at least 114 The U.S. Fish and Wildlife
U.S. government began re- wolves were roaming parts Service is investigating but
leasing Mexican wolves in of Arizona and New Mexico hasn’t said how the animals
1998. The latest annual sur- in early 2018. died. q