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Main hangar - detail
This image was taken on a recent tour of the Spaceport America construction site, near Truth or Consequences, NM USA.
Copyright Chad Person for Ideum, 2011
do not use without written permission
Mojave goof-off session at Virgin Galactic's White Knight (EVE) unveiling, shot by Brian Lam (gizmodo.com)
Virgin Galactic mothership VMS Eve taxiing at Edwards AFB open house. Off in the distance on the right side of the picture you can see the B-2 taxiing for the runway.
Shown in feathered configuration. The raised wings keep the reentry speed down by presenting the whole bottom surface to the atmosphere while the vehicle descends almost vertically - a shuttlecock effect.
From left to right, Virgin Galactic founder and owner Sir Richard Branson and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson strike a pose for continued solidarity and success at the dedication Ceremony of Spaceport America on the newly completed runway that will serve vehicles for regular space travel, adventurers and research companies.
Virgin Atlantic Airways - Boeing 747-41R - G-VWOW (c/n 32745/1287) - Cosmic Girl
UPDATE (December 2015) "Cosmic Girl" was withdrawn from Virgin Atlantic operation in October 2015. She is slated to become Virgin Galactic's "LauncherOne" air-launched satellite lifter after modifications are made to strengthen the vestigial structure of the inboard left wing formerly intended to ferry a spare "fifth" engine to now hold a 55,000-lb. rocket.
UPDATE (January 2017) - On November 12, 2015 this aircraft was re-registered by Virgin Galactic as N744VG.
UPDATE (November 2017) - On March 2, 2017, Richard Branson announced the splitting of LauncherOne operations from Virgin Galactic to a new entity, Virgin Orbit.
Signed in person by Dan Barry following his "Future of Space Exploration" presentation at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, New York, NY, 26 Sept. 2016.
I missed out on Frederick "C.J." Sturckow in New York City that year. However, I was able to add him at the Commercial Astronaut Wings presentation for the VSS Unity crew at the U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, DC, 7 Feb. 2019. (Sturckow was co-pilot during the fourth powered flight of VSS Unity, which exceeded 50 miles during that flight.)
Sure looks graceful in scale. It'll be something when Virgin Galactic gets going out of New Mexico. For more details: To learn more about this commercial space venture... go to www.virgingalactic.com/