Latest Tier 1b Stories

Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez announced on Tuesday that SpaceX has signed a three-year agreement to use Spaceport America for flight testing. According to a Spaceport America statement, SpaceX will be leasing land and facilities at the New Mexico site to conduct the next phase of flight testing for its reusable rocket program. “I am thrilled that SpaceX has chosen to make New Mexico its home, bringing their revolutionary...

Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo broke the sound barrier for the first time on Monday, reaching Mach 1.2 in a test flight. In a blog post today, founder of Virgin Galactic Richard Branson announced the “momentous” feat that the company had achieved. "It marks the moment when we put together two key elements of our spaceflight system – the spacecraft and its rocket motor, which have both been tested extensively by themselves over...

Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online Virgin Galactic announced that SpaceShipTwo achieved a spectacular "Cold Flow" flight over the Mojave Desert today. The company was working on preparing the craft for its first powered flight, and it said its test objectives during this flight were successfully met. During the test, Virgin Galactic's WhiteKnightTwo carrier plane took off from the Mojave Air and Space Port, carrying the SpaceShipTwo underneath. It rose to an altitude...

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 26, 2013 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- All things considered, it's not surprising that George Whitesides is president and CEO of Virgin Galactic. Earlier in his career, he served as vice president of marketing for private space-tourism company Zero Gravity before becoming executive director at the National Space Society--and then NASA's chief of staff. And when Virgin Galactic was launched in 2004, Whitesides immediately contacted Virgin headquarters to tell them he...

Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online Virgin Galactic is begrudgingly agreeing to pay New Mexico rent on the spaceport the state built for Richard Brandon's space tourism business, according to a report by The Associated Press (AP). The report said that Virgin Galactic wrote to the New Mexico Spaceport Authority that it does not believe the state has finished the work necessary to trigger activation of its $1 million annual rental obligation. Virgin also said that if the...

redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports - Your Universe Online Officials from Virgin Galactic are reportedly threatening to pull their support from a $200-plus million, publicly financed spaceport in New Mexico unless an accident liability waver is extended to cover manufacturers and component suppliers. According to Edward Helmore of The Guardian, Sir Richard Branson’s space tourism company has been displeased with state lawmakers failure to grant the extension. New Mexico legislators...

Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo today undertook its 23rd glide flight in the pre-powered portion of its incremental test flight program. This was a significant flight as it was the first with rocket motor components installed, including tanks. It was also the first flight with thermal protection applied to the spaceship’s leading edges. It followed an equally successful test flight last Friday which saw SpaceShipTwo fly in this configuration, but remain mated to its WhiteKnightTwo...

ORLANDO, Fla., Dec. 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- I/ITSEC, Booth #2401 -- Quantum3D, Inc., a leading provider of visual computing solutions for government and commercial applications, today announced Virgin Galactic, the world's first commercial spaceline, has ordered Quantum3D's six-channel Independence(®) IDX 7000 image generator. Virgin Galactic will use Quantum3D's most advanced real-time image generator to train pilots on spaceship equipment and command. "Our first priority in...

Michael Harper for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online Many businesses and companies have some sort of reward program for frequenting customers. I, for instance, am rewarded with at least two free cups of coffee every month at my local coffee conglomerate, as well as free syrups, refills and soy milk. Credit card companies have cash back programs, giving these card-wielding customers a small percentage back of how much they’ve charged. Sure, it’s not a way to save any significant...

Lawrence LeBlond for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online Growing demand for commercial spaceflight could turn a young market into a $1.6 billion industry within ten years, according to a new jointly-funded study. Tourism is driving about 80 percent of the market for suborbital flights to space, with more than 900 reservations already in place, according to Carissa Bryce Christensen of the Tauri Group. The Tauri Group conducted the study -- “Suborbital Reusable Vehicles: A Ten-Year...