16 months have passed since the test flight of Virgin Galactic’s first spaceship ended up as a disaster, but you know what they say – if at first you don’t succeed, try again. This has led Virgin Galactic to show off a second vehicle which was meant to ferry well heeled passengers to have an adventure of a lifetime – that into suborbital space. Commercial space travel would never be the same again with the new SpaceShipTwo, as Virgin Galactic took over both manufacturing and testing of future ships.
During the ill fated accident, the pieces for the second spaceship were over 75% complete, which could be the reason that Virgin Galactic’s investors intend to see the program all the way through to the end. This new spaceship will come with its fair share of upgrades, where some were already in the pipeline prior to the accident, while others were introduced due to the results of the accident investigation.
The new SpaceShipTwo will now be equipped with a feather locking pin, which will be controlled by the ship’s flight computer so that means pilots are unable to unlock the tail section early, which would definitely do its bit to reduce the risk of any unwanted accident. Regardless, it is going to cost a whole lot to get yourself up to space, but if you have money to burn, why not?
Filed in . Read more about Virgin Galactic. Source: news.discovery