SpaceShipTwo

SpaceShipTwo

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

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 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.^[1] The spaceship was officially unveiled to the public on 7 December 2009 at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California.^[2] On 29 April 2013, after nearly three years of unpowered testing, the first one constructed successfully performed its first powered test flight.^[3]

Virgin Galactic plans to operate a fleet of five SpaceShipTwo spaceplanes in a private passenger-carrying service^[4][5][6][7] and has been taking bookings for some time, with a suborbital flight carrying an updated ticket price of US$250,000.^[8] The spaceplane could also be used to carry scientific payloads for NASA and other organizations.^[9]

On 31 October 2014, during a test flight, the first SpaceShipTwo VSS Enterprise broke up in flight and crashed in the Mojave desert.^{[10][11][12][13]} A preliminary investigation suggested that the craft's descent device deployed too early.^[14][15] One pilot, Michael Alsbury, was killed; the other was treated for a serious shoulder injury after parachuting from the stricken spacecraft.^[16][17]

The second SpaceShipTwo spacecraft, VSS Unity, was unveiled on 19 February 2016.^[18][19] The vehicle is undergoing flight testing.^[20][21][22] Its first flight to space (above 50 miles altitude), VSS Unity VP03, took place on 13 December 2018.^[23][24]