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| Virgin Galactic launches its first spaceflight soon |
Virgin Galactic announced that it has decided to open the launch window for a test flight over the sub-orbital space shuttle SpaceShipTwo, which is scheduled to fly between November 19 and 23.
The company was preparing for its first space flight outside the US spaceport at its new headquarters in New Mexico last month.
The airline said at the time: The flight plan window will open on October 22, but no more precise departure date has been set.
The company compiled the announcement with its financial report for the third quarter of 2020, and it is clear that SpaceShipTwo will carry a payload capable of generating revenue for the company under NASA's Aviation Opportunities Program. To the task.
Virgin Galactic also confirmed an agreement that allows planetary specialist (Alan Stern) Alan Stern (Alan Stern) to lead SpaceShipTwo. So he could conduct experiments in suborbital space.
The company said it will reopen ticket sales for sub-orbital flights in 2021 after Richard Branson's flight, and hopes to achieve sales in the first quarter of 2021.
The company said it suspended the One Small Step program, which brought eligible customers to the front lines of corporate bookings, on December 31, and attendance reached nearly 900 on October 31.
The program allows serious travelers to register online and receive a refundable $ 1,000 deposit to get into the orbit once they get a ticket.
Financially, Virgin Galactic posted a net loss of $ 77 million, well above $ 63 million in the previous quarter.
Although the next flight is the first from the US spaceport, SpaceShipTwo has flown into space twice in the past.
As part of its preparations, the company used VMS Eve ground simulators and aircraft carriers to train pilots. The airframe and controls are very similar to SpaceShipTwo.
The company also examined the spacecraft through a series of pre-flight ground inspections.
Virgin Galactic is an aviation company of the British Virgin Group, dedicated to the development of commercial spacecraft. The goal is to enable tourists to undertake sub-orbital space flights and sub-orbital launches of space science missions.