Virgin Galactic to attempt flight to space this week

Virgin Galactic plans to perform the next test flight of its SpaceShipTwo suborbital spaceplane as soon as Dec. 13, a flight that could be the first by the vehicle to reach at least one definition of space.

Virgin Galactic, founded by Branson in 2004, is working to carry tourists on a brief journey to space, dozens of miles above the Earth's surface.

Richard Branson's space firm says its next test flight, currently scheduled for Thursday, will  'burn the rocket motor for duration's which will see our pilots and spaceship reach a space altitude for the first time.'

Virgin has not specified what it means by 'space altitude,' but company officials have previously said they were using the altitude of 50 miles, or approximately 80 kilometres, used by NASA and the U.S. Air Force for awarding astronaut wings.

The flight would be the fourth powered flight for this vehicle and the first since July. The statement came shortly after the publication of airspace restrictions in the vicinity of the airport “for rocket launch and recovery” for the 13-15th Dec.

“At a basic level, this flight will aim to fly higher and faster,” the company said in its statement. “We plan to burn the rocket motor for longer than we ever have in flight before, but not to its full duration.”

On that previous flight, SpaceShipTwo reached a peak altitude of 52 kilometres, and the company suggested the vehicle could go much higher on the upcoming flight. “At the end stages of the rocket burn in the thin air of the mesosphere and with the speeds that we expect to achieve, additional altitude is added rapidly,” it stated.

'If all goes to plan our pilots will experience an extended period of micro-gravity as SpaceShipTwo coasts to apogee, although they will remain securely strapped in throughout. 

'They should also have some pretty spectacular views which we look forward to sharing as soon as possible post flight.'

The company added that, on this test flight, it is carrying four unnamed payloads through NASA’s Flight Opportunities program, which provides suborbital and related flights of research payloads. Those experiments, the company said, are part of an effort by the company “to start simulating the commercial weight distribution in the spaceship represented by our future passengers.”

The company first promised to fly tourists into space by the start of 2009, but multiple delays and a fatal test flight crash in 2014 have pushed its first spaceflight back numerous times.

'Whether we complete all our objectives during the next flight or need to wait a little longer, we remain committed to completing the final stages of this extraordinary flight test program as quickly, but more importantly as safely, as possible.'

Whenever those flights begin, there is no suspense over who will be the first tourist in space. Branson made it very clear in his CNN interview he is holding that reservation himself. 

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