Virgin Galactic taps Boeing subsidiary to build motherships | WTOP News

0

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Virgin Galactic announced Wednesday that it is partnering with a Boeing subsidiary to manufacture the next…

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Virgin Galactic announced Wednesday that it is partnering with a Boeing subsidiary to manufacture the next generation of the twin-fuselage aircraft used to carry aloft the space tourism company’s rocket ship.

Aurora Flight Sciences will build two of the special carrier planes at its facilities in Mississippi and West Virginia. Final assembly still will take place at Virgin Galactic’s facility in Mojave, California, with the first mothership produced under the contract expected to enter service in 2025.

Each of the aircraft will be designed to fly up to 200 launches per year.

Virgin Galactic officials said that outsourcing the work will provide access to labor, minimize supply chain disruptions and lead to faster production times. The company has repeatedly pushed back the timeline for launching paying customers, with commercial service now expected in 2023.

Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier said the next-generation motherships will be integral to scaling up the company’s operations.

“They will be faster to produce, easier to maintain and will allow us to fly substantially more missions each year,” he said in a statement. “Supported by the scale and strength of Boeing, Aurora is the ideal manufacturing partner for us.”

Virgin Galactic had assessed different aerospace manufacturers early in the process, but opted for Aurora in part because of its history of building cutting-edge aircraft. It has designed and built a new aircraft nearly every year for the past three decades.

Virgin Galactic officials also noted Aurora’s direct access to Boeing’s expertise and other resources.

Aurora and Virgin Galactic have been working for the last several months to develop design specifications as well as workforce and manufacturing requirements.

After reaching nearly 50,000 feet (15,000 meters), Virgin Galactic’s space plane is released from the carrier aircraft and drops for a moment before igniting its rocket motor. It shuts off once it reaches space, providing passengers with silence, weightlessness and a view of Earth below. The rocket ship then glides back to the spaceport runway.

It’s been nearly a year since Virgin Galactic launched founder Richard Branson and five Virgin Galactic employees toward the edge of space as the British entrepreneur raced to beat fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos and his rocket company Blue Origin.

Just weeks after the flight, Virgin Galactic reopened the ticket window, with prices starting at $450,000 a seat. By the fall, the company put off a planned research flight with members of the Italian air force and began scheduled assessments and maintenance of its aircrafts.

Copyright
© 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

Stay connected with us on social media platform for instant update click here to join our  Twitter, & Facebook

We are now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@TechiUpdate) and stay updated with the latest Technology headlines.

For all the latest Travel News Click Here 

Read original article here

Denial of responsibility! Rapidtelecast.com is an automatic aggregator around the global media. All the content are available free on Internet. We have just arranged it in one platform for educational purpose only. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, all materials to their authors. If you are the owner of the content and do not want us to publish your materials on our website, please contact us by email – [email protected]. The content will be deleted within 24 hours.
Leave a comment