According to the report, space travel company Virgin Galactic released a new generation of space aircraft and plans to resume flight testing in the next few months. Virgin Galactic announced that the new generation of space planes is expected to conduct gliding flight tests at Spaceport America in southern New Mexico this summer.
This coincides with the last round of testing of Virgin Galactic’s current generation spacecraft. Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier stated that the addition of a new generation of space planes marks the beginning of a fleet of Virgin Galactic that will one day be able to transport paying customers and scientifically effective from spaceports around the world.
After testing and months of downtime for maintenance, and other upgrades, Virgin Galactic’s goal is still to begin commercial operations next year. Earlier, Virgin Galactic went into space twice. The first time was in December 2018, taking off from California. Last year, Virgin Galactic successfully carried out a second flight over the “U.S. Spaceport”.
Virgin Galactic’s new-generation space plane is silver in color and full of science fiction. Its mirror appearance is not only a functional requirement but also a manifestation of aesthetics. As a key part of the space aircraft thermal protection system.
This design allows the aircraft to present the look and feel of the surrounding environment, whether it is on the earth, in the sky, or in space. For Virgin Galactic engineers, their task is to build a new version that is easier to produce and maintain.
Kergrazier responded, “It is obvious that we are going to send thousands of people into space, and we require several space planes. But what really matters is how often these planes fly. We expect that as this process progresses Advance, the turnaround time will be greatly accelerated that will really help us achieve business growth.”
(Source)
