Mockup of Virgin Galactic's Spaceplane at Spaceport America.
The vehicle is powered by a rocket engine designed to use a rubber-based fuel called HTPB and liquid nitrous oxide as an oxidizer. It can rocket at more than three times the speed of sound — about 2,300 miles per hour — to more than 50 miles above ground. It is able to reach space as defined by the U.S. Air Force, NASA and the FAA, by going over 50 miles (80.5 km) above sea level. However, it is unable to go above the Karman line of 62.1 miles (100 km), defined as the space boundary by the FAI (Federation Aeronautique Internationale).
The rocket engine is manufactured by The Spaceship Company, a California-based company owned by Virgin Galactic.
With a wingspan of 141 ft (43 meters), the mothership, VMS Eve, carried the spaceplane to an altitude of around 50,000 ft (15,000 m), where it was released to fly into space under the thrust of its rocket engine.
[Note: Jeff Bezos' New Shepard spacecraft did go above the Karman line. It transported William Shatner to an altitude of 351,000 feet (about 66 miles up).]
Mockup of Virgin Galactic's Spaceplane at Spaceport America.
The vehicle is powered by a rocket engine designed to use a rubber-based fuel called HTPB and liquid nitrous oxide as an oxidizer. It can rocket at more than three times the speed of sound — about 2,300 miles per hour — to more than 50 miles above ground. It is able to reach space as defined by the U.S. Air Force, NASA and the FAA, by going over 50 miles (80.5 km) above sea level. However, it is unable to go above the Karman line of 62.1 miles (100 km), defined as the space boundary by the FAI (Federation Aeronautique Internationale).
The rocket engine is manufactured by The Spaceship Company, a California-based company owned by Virgin Galactic.
With a wingspan of 141 ft (43 meters), the mothership, VMS Eve, carried the spaceplane to an altitude of around 50,000 ft (15,000 m), where it was released to fly into space under the thrust of its rocket engine.
[Note: Jeff Bezos' New Shepard spacecraft did go above the Karman line. It transported William Shatner to an altitude of 351,000 feet (about 66 miles up).]