Progress on Virgin Galactic's space tourism project: a long test flight for the carrier plane

The space plane, which was specially developed to launch the first ever commercial spacecraft, flew for two and a half hours at an altitude of 18 feet * The plane, a second version of the "White Knight" was nicknamed Eve after Richard Branson's mother. 200 thousand dollars, also for Israelis

Virgin Galactic, which operates the first civilian space tourism program in history, announced on Friday (February 27, 2009) the success of the final test flight of the "White Knight 2", the innovative aircraft that will carry the first civilian space shuttle. The space plane, specially developed to launch the first ever commercial spacecraft successfully completed its third test flight last night over California's Mojave Desert. The space plane, named Eve after the mother of Richard Branson, owner of the Virgin company and founder of the civil space program, flew last night for two and a half hours at an altitude of over 18 feet and reached a maximum speed of 140 knots.

The "White Knight 2" space plane is the first aircraft ever made entirely of carbon alloy and powered by the 4 most powerful and economical engines ever produced. Virgin Galactic states that the success of the test flight represents a giant leap in material engineering, which is considered the most significant key in improving space travel technology.

In addition to carrying the tourist spaceship SpaceShip2 up to an altitude of 50 feet, from which it will be launched into space, the "White Knight 2" space plane will perform technological experiments and even launch satellites that will fly at a low altitude and test the effects of carbon emitted into the upper atmosphere.

"This is truly an amazing aircraft, and its aerodynamic design, although it certainly looks very strange from the ground, provides a unique flight experience," says Peter Seibold, the test pilot. "Now the stratosphere is the limit and we will continue to test the white knight until we pass the 50-foot altitude in the coming months"

Eliron Yaron, CEO of the Israeli company "Galactic Dream Lines", which owns the franchise to sell commercial space flights in Israel, closely followed the successful experiment: "Branson's vision of making space accessible to every person is closer than ever to coming true and this is a historic day not only for the company, but also forever. It is now clear that this ambitious project is not only realistic but also nerve-wracking. At the end of the year, the last experiment will be carried out in which the SS2 spacecraft will be connected to the space plane, and after it is proven that the flight is safe, the project will become operational. The first space tourists will enjoy three days of pre-flight preparation and acclimatization to the change in gravitational forces, after which they will be launched out of the atmosphere at a speed 8 times higher than the speed of sound. Although the price currently stands at $200, I have no doubt that soon we will sell the shuttle ticket to the first Israeli citizen to fly into space."