NASA has added Virgin Galactic and Masten Space Systems as awardees on a $45M multiple-award contract to help the agency test payloads on suborbital reusable launch vehicles as part of the Flight Opportunities program.

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Virgin Galactic plans to conduct its first spaceflight launch from its Spaceport America complex in New Mexico as part of NASA's Flight Opportunities Program focused on Earth imaging and space-based research data collection.

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Virgin Galactic has completed a second glide flight test of its SpaceShipTwo VSS Unity spacecraft from Spaceport America in New Mexico.

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Virgin Galactic“™s Spaceship Company subsidiary will support NASA in the development of high-speed technologies under a Space Act Agreement.

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TYSONS CORNER, VA, October 16, 2019 “” Boeing (NYSE: BA), through its HorizonX Ventures organization, will invest $20M in Virgin Galactic as both companies aim to expand access to commercial space services,  ExecutiveGov reported Oct. 8.

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Virgin Galactic launched its SpaceShipTwo spacecraft on Friday carrying four NASA-supported research payloads into suborbital space. NASA said Saturday the payloads aboard the second test flight are the Microgravity Multi-Phase Flow Experiment for Suborbital Testing from the agency“™s Johnson Space Center; Vibration Isolation Platform from Controlled Dynamics; Collisions into Dust Experiment from the University of Central Florida in Orlando; and Electromagnetic Field Measurements from Johns Hopkins University.

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Virgin Galactic has completed a flight test of a company-built manned space vehicle carrying four NASA technology experiments to suborbital space. The agency said Thursday SpaceShipTwo‘s payloads were designed to examine the behavior of dust particles on planetary surfaces, the effects of microgravity on life support systems and plant growth, and vibration during launch, re-entry […] More

Virgin Galactic and Italy’s space agency have signed a letter of intent to perform suborbital flight on the company’s SpaceShipTwo spaceplane. The Italian space agency will conduct scientific research and suborbital experiments during the planned mission, which is scheduled to occur in 2019 at Spaceport America in New Mexico, Virgin Galactic said Monday. The partnership will also include on-site […] More

Orbital ATK has announced plans to procure parts of the Defense Department“™s Cold War-era intercontinental ballistic missiles and use them for commercial satellite launches, The Washington Post reported Monday. Christian Davenport writes the company“™s plan comes ahead of the Tuesday hearing in Congress on a two-decade ban on the sale of DoD’s stockpile of ICBMs for commercial use. “It“™s […] More

The Federal Aviation Administration has given Virgin Galactic the go-ahead to offer space travel through the company“™s facilities in New Mexico and commercial chartered flights could be available as early as December, The Wire reported Friday. Polly Mosendz writes the approval from the aviation authority includes rules on how Virgin Galactic“™s space flights will operate […] More

Virgin Orbit, the small satellite launch venture spun out of commercial space company Virgin Galactic, has secured a contract to demonstrate its air-launched rocket technology through the Defense Department‘s Space Test Program, TechCrunch reported Thursday. The report said Long Beach, California-based Virgin Orbit expects the LauncherOne prototype flight to take place as early as January 2019. LauncherOne […] More

Dan Hart, a 34-year veteran of Boeing and former vice president of its government satellite systems business, has been appointed president of Virgin Orbit — a small satellite launch services venture spun out of Virgin Group‘s commercial space company Virgin Galactic. Virgin Orbit is headquartered in Long Beach, California, and aims to help clients launch small satellites with the LauncherOne […] More