SpaceShipTwo
The Scaled Composites Model 339 SpaceShipTwo (SS2) is an air-launched suborbital spaceplane type designed for space tourism. It is manufactured by The Spaceship Company, a California-based company owned by Virgin Galactic.
SpaceShipTwo VSS Unity in the Virgin Galactic Final Assembly Integration Test Hangar | |
| Manufacturer | Scaled Composites (VSS Enterprise) The Spaceship Company (VSS Unity) |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | United States |
| Operator | Virgin Galactic |
| Applications | Suborbital space tourism |
| Specifications | |
| Spacecraft type | Crewed spaceplane |
| Launch mass | 13,154 kg (29,000 lb) |
| Dry mass | 6,123 kg (13,500 lb) |
| Crew capacity | 8 |
| Volume | 14 m3 (500 cu ft) pressurized |
| Regime | Suborbital |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 18.3 m (60 ft) |
| Height | 5.5 m (18 ft) |
| Width | 8.3 m (27 ft) |
| Capacity | |
| Payload to Suborbital | |
| Mass | 600 kg (1,300 lb) |
| Production | |
| Status | Active |
| Built | 2 |
| Operational | 1 (VSS Unity) |
| Lost | 1 (VSS Enterprise) |
| Maiden launch | 10 October 2010 (glide flight) 29 April 2013 (powered flight) 13 December 2018 (spaceflight) |
| Related spacecraft | |
| Derived from | SpaceShipOne |
| Derivatives | SpaceShip III |
| Engine details | |
| Powered by | 1 RocketMotorTwo engine |
| Maximum thrust | 310 kN (70,000 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 250 s |
| Propellant | Nitrous oxide / Hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene |
SpaceShipTwo is carried to its launch altitude by a Scaled Composites White Knight Two, before being released to fly on into the upper atmosphere powered by its rocket engine. It then glides back to Earth and performs a conventional runway landing. The spaceship was officially unveiled to the public on 7 December 2009 at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California. On 29 April 2013, after nearly three years of unpowered testing, the first one constructed successfully performed its first powered test flight.
Virgin Galactic plans to operate a fleet of five SpaceShipTwo spaceplanes in a private passenger-carrying service and has been taking bookings for some time, with a suborbital flight carrying an updated ticket price of US$250,000. The spaceplane could also be used to carry scientific payloads for NASA and other organizations.
On 31 October 2014, during a test flight, the first SpaceShipTwo VSS Enterprise broke up in flight and crashed in the Mojave desert. A preliminary investigation suggested that the craft's descent device deployed too early. One pilot, Michael Alsbury, was killed; the other was treated for a serious shoulder injury after parachuting from the stricken spacecraft.
The second SpaceShipTwo spacecraft, VSS Unity, was unveiled on 19 February 2016. The vehicle is undergoing flight testing. Its first flight to space (above 50 miles altitude), VSS Unity VP03, took place on 13 December 2018.