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takyon writes:

Virgin Galactic unveils luxury lounge at its airport for space tourism

Richard Branson's space tourism startup, Virgin Galactic, is showing off a luxurious lounge area and top-shelf amenities for its wealthy clientele. The company on Thursday shared images of the interior at Spaceport America in New Mexico. Ticket holders, most of whom paid $200,000 or more for a Virgin Galactic flight, will one day congregate at the spaceport before they board a supersonic plane for a 90-minute ride into the upper atmosphere.

The renovations are another sign that Virgin Galactic is preparing to open for business at Spaceport America, a controversial facility that was built a decade ago using local taxpayer dollars. Images of the first-floor lounge area show a large coffee bar made of "back-lit Italian marble hovering above hand-crafted oak," according to a press release. Modern couches line the floor-to-ceiling windows at the spaceport with panoramic views of the surrounding desert. Other new facilities include a mission control center, a working area for pilots, and a briefing center.

Hundreds of people are lined up to ride a short high-speed trip aboard a Virgin Galactic space plane. Branson, who founded the venture in 2004, plans to be the first tourist aboard a Virgin Galactic space plane. The company said it has additional test flights planned and will be ready to start flying paying customers in the first half of 2020.

Also at TechCrunch.

Older article: Virgin Galactic prepares to move vehicles, staff to Spaceport America

Related: Virgin Galactic: Rocket Reaches Space Again in Test Flight (Update)

Original Submission

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson on Wednesday introduced the custom suits that will be worn by the first private astronauts.

US sportswear designer Under Armour "worked day and night for about two years on this project" said Branson, who himself served as a model at the presentation at a skydiving simulator near New York.

The 69-year-old British billionaire donned the personalized royal blue suit that he plans to wear during his company's inaugural flight—sometime in 2020.

"Spacesuits are a part of the iconography of the first space age. Our visual impressions of human spaceflight and what astronauts wear are inextricably linked," Branson explained. "I love the way the spacewear looks and I love the way it feels."

"I also love the fact that the next time I put it on, I will be on my way to space."

[...] The material for the suits, undergarments and boots were chosen for their ability to aid in the body's temperature and moisture regulation.

A transparent interior pocket was added so space-exploring customers can keep pictures of their loved ones "literally... close to the heart," according to a statement from Virgin Galactic.

[...] Every space tourist will get their own custom suit that they can take home with them back on Earth, complete with a label of their name and their country's flag.

[...] Virgin Galactic, which was founded in 2004, has spent years developing its space program, and after a fatal accident in 2014, has twice crossed the barrier into the final frontier.

But the company has still not yet piloted a space flight with clients on board.

Previously:
NASA's New Artemis Spacesuits Make It Easier for Astronauts of All Sizes to Move on the Moon

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Submitted via IRC for SoyCow1337

Virgin Galactic begins 'Astronaut Readiness Program' for first paying customers – TechCrunch

Virgin Galactic has begun its “Astronaut Readiness Program” this week, which is being run out of Under Armour Global HQ to start. Under Armour is Virgin Galactic’s partner on its official astronaut uniforms, which its first paying space tourists will don on the company’s initial trips beyond Earth.

The Astronaut Readiness Program is a preparatory course that all of Virgin Galactic’s passengers undertake before they can get their trip aboard the company’s VSS Unity sub-orbital spaceplane. It involves guidance and instruction provided by Virgin Galactic team members, including its Chief Astronaut Instructor Beth Moses and Chief Pilot Dave Mackay. Both Mackay and Moses were on Virgin’s February demonstration flight to space, and so can provide not only guidance based on their considerable expertise, but also share insights from actually having flown aboard the same vessel that will take the company’s paying passengers up. Moses will advise on how to get around on board the spacecraft, too.

[...] To date, Virgin Galactic has 600 customers signed up to fly aboard its SpaceShipTwo spacecraft, which launches from a customized cargo jet aircraft to reach sub-orbital space and provides customers with a 90-minute flight, for $250,000 per ticket. It’s looking to launch its first flights for paying customers in the first half of next year.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Bigelow Aerospace lays off entire workforce

Bigelow Aerospace, the company founded more than two decades ago to develop commercial space habitats, laid off all its employees March 23 in a move caused at least in part by the coronavirus pandemic.

According to sources familiar with the company's activities, Bigelow Aerospace's 68 employees were informed that they were being laid off, effective immediately. An additional 20 employees were laid off the previous week.

Those sources said that the company, based in North Las Vegas, Nevada, was halting operations because of what one person described as a "perfect storm of problems" that included the coronavirus pandemic. On March 20, Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak signed an emergency directive ordering all "nonessential" businesses to close.

[...] Robert Bigelow said in a Jan. 28 interview that his company declined to submit a proposal [for an ISS commercial module] to NASA because of financing concerns. NASA, at the time of the competition, said it projected providing up to $561 million to support both a commercial ISS module as well as a separate solicitation for a free-flying facility. "That was asking just too much" of the company, Bigelow said. "So we told NASA we had to bow out."

Previously:
Bigelow Expandable Activity Module to Continue Stay at the International Space Station
Bigelow and ULA to Put Inflatable Module in Orbit Around the Moon by 2022
Bigelow Aerospace Forms New Company to Manage Space Stations, Announces Gigantic Inflatable Module
Bigelow Aerospace Unveils B330 Inflatable Module Mock-Up

Related:
Sierra Nevada Corporation Shows Off an Inflatable Habitat
Expanding, And Eventually Replacing, The International Space Station

Original Submission

upstart writes in with an IRC submission for SoyCow8162:

OneWeb goes bankrupt, lays off staff, will sell satellite-broadband business:

OneWeb has filed for bankruptcy and intends to sell its business, bringing an abrupt end to the company's plan to offer high-speed satellite Internet service around the world.

OneWeb announced Friday that it "voluntarily filed for relief under Chapter 11 of the [US] Bankruptcy Code," and "intends to use these proceedings to pursue a sale of its business in order to maximize the value of the company." OneWeb made the decision "after failing to secure new funding from investors including its biggest backer SoftBank," largely because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Financial Times wrote. OneWeb also "axed most of its staff on Friday," the FT article said.

OneWeb previously raised $3 billion over multiple rounds of financing and was seeking more money to fund its deployment and commercial launch. "Our current situation is a consequence of the economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis," OneWeb CEO Adrián Steckel said in the bankruptcy announcement. "We remain convinced of the social and economic value of our mission to connect everyone everywhere."

The bankruptcy announcement came a week after OneWeb said it expected "delays to our launch schedule and satellite manufacturing due to increasing travel restrictions and the disruption of supply chains globally."

upstart writes in with an IRC submission for Fnord666:

Virgin Galactic's spaceship flies from its new home base for the first time:

The pieces are finally starting to come together for Virgin Galactic's space tourism — the company has flown SpaceShipTwo from Spaceport America for the first time. It was just a glide test from 50,000 feet up, but the flight let the spaceport fulfill its intended purpose and gave pilots familiarity with the New Mexico airspace. This will also help Virgin compare performance against similar maneuvers from earlier tests.

From https://www.geekwire.com/2020/virgin-galactics-spaceshiptwo-makes-first-gliding-test-flight-new-mexico/ we read:

Unity was carried to a height of 50,000 feet by its WhiteKnightTwo mothership, VMS Eve, and then released to glide back to the spaceport's runway. Virgin Galactic said Unity achieved a glide speed of Mach 0.70 and completed all test objectives with pilots Dave Mackay and CJ Sturckow at the controls. Michael Masucci and Kelly Latimer piloted Eve.

Further test flights will clear the way for passengers to start flying suborbital space trips as early as this year. More than 600 customers from 60 countries have paid as much as $250,000 for a reservation, and Virgin Galactic resumed taking deposits for trips in February.

Original Submission