When looking for inspiration in Technology, specifically technology within transport, @RichardBranson is always a good place to start. To be honest, he’s a good place to start with most things. Richard Branson’s ‘Virgin Group’ founded the Virgin Galactic brand in 2004 and the seven years since have simply added to the excitement of the project. With sporadic announcements, rumours and now, tweets, the project seems to be coming together nicely. The idea is that Virgin Galactic will run ‘commercial’ flights into Space for a rather reasonable price of $200,000. Now, though it isn’t exactly a few weeks wages, there are plenty of people that will be willing to part with that sort of money to not only experience something that would inevitably be life-defining, but also be one of the first people to do so. It is not unimaginable that within certain circles of society, engaging in this sort of frivolity would be seen as a badge of honour, a sign of inclusion. SpaceShipTwo, unveiled in December 2009, was required to undertake an 18 month monitoring program before being allowed to charge commercial passengers. That probation period is nearly over and the online anticipation (admittedly by many unlikely to be a passenger in the near future) is reaching fever pitch. This has not been abated by Branson’s twit pic updates recently which you can find at here
But, as you’ve found this article on a Technology blog (a very good one too), let’s get technological and look at the details shall we? The journey itself begins with a carrier aircraft, known as the WhiteKnightII, which will take the SpaceShipTwo up 52,000ft. When the two separate the SST will continue to over 100km where it will reach the Karman line, known as being where ‘space’ begins. The whole journey, there and back again, will last 3hrs 30 minutes and only 6 of those minutes will allow the passengers (initially 6 within the SST) to unbuckle and float around the cabin. The speeds involved in this project are phenomenal. Though not necessarily able to sustain this speed consistently, the SST will achieve Mach 3 (around 1000 m/s) which is faster than any aircraft that currently operates within our atmosphere. On return to said atmosphere, the SST will fold its wings (just how cool is that) before levelling out, re-establishing a normal wing shape and landing on a runway. Find out more about the workings, the goings on and the price structures at http://www.virgingalactic.com/. Also, if you do plan on booking a trip up there, will you send us a picture?
No comments:
Post a Comment