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This Is Virgin Galactic’s Second Spaceship

The build of the second spaceship in the Virgin Galactic fleet is entering the final stages at the company’s facilities in the Mojave desert, bringing Richard Branson one step closer to fulfilling his dream of having a full-scale space tourism business.
Virgin Galactic second spaceship 6 photos
Photo: Virgin Galactic
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Virgin announced this week work on the project is progressing rapidly, with the fuselage and cabin being finally paired. Also, the two tail booms have been attached, and the part fabrication for the wing, fuselage, cabin, nose and feather flap primary structures is now over.

There is no official timetable for when the ship should be ready, but when it is it will be joining the existing VSS Unity in becoming the second ship in the Virgin fleet.

“Our passionate and talented team has made great progress on the next SpaceShipTwo,” said in a statement Enrico Palermo, president of the Spaceship Company in charge with building the machine.

“Seeing VSS Unity adjacent to the assembly of the next vehicle as well as the cabin of our third spaceship makes it very clear that we are building a fleet of remarkable spaceplanes for commercial service.”

Technically, the craft now under construction is the third ever made. Back in 2014, the one named VSS Enterprise crashed in the Mojave, killing pilot Peter Siebold.

The ship now in operation, VSS Unity, is the most successful to date, having flown to the edge of space and beyond it several times already.

In December 2018, the ship reached an altitude of 51.4 miles (82.7 km), crossing the border into space with three people on board, and marking the first time since 2011 when humans took off for such a trip from American soil.

Just like the Unity, the new and still-unnamed ship will launch horizontally at 50,000 feet (15 km) from the underbelly of a two-bodied carrier aircraft, avoiding the cost and logistical nightmare caused by launchpad departures.

When the build and testing are complete, both ships will fly private citizens into space in exchange for $200,000, including pre-flight medical checks and pre-flight training.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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