The privatization of commercial space travel has taken a step forward.
On November 9, The Spaceship Company (TSC) broke ground on a new assembly, integration and test hangar at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California.
A subsidiary of Northrop Grumman Corporation, Scaled Composites of Mojave has joined forces with Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group to form TSC as a new aerospace production company.
TSC’s mission is to build the fleet of SpaceShipTwos and WhiteKnightTwos for its customer Virgin Galactic – the private spaceline firm backed by Branson. When operational, the WhiteKnightTwo/SpaceShipTwo launch system will fly paying customers to the edge of space on suborbital sojourns.
Once the facility is completed, the 68,000 square foot, clear span, 737-sized hangar will include offices and serve as TSC’s operating headquarters.
The TCS building is sized to support the production of two WhiteKnightTwos and at least two SpaceShipTwos in parallel.
In ceremonies marking the occasion – with a “Spaceship Landing Way” street sign in position, George Whitesides, chief executive officer of Virgin Galactic and TSC said that “TSC’s new hangar is another significant milestone in developing Virgin Galactic’s commercial spaceflight operations – following on from recent achievements including the maiden and second glide flights of SpaceShipTwo and the dedication of Spaceport America’s runway in New Mexico.”
By Leonard David