VSS Enterprise
Photo Credit: Steve Jurvetson
Launches
- SpaceShipTwo | VSS Enterprise GF13
- SpaceShipTwo | VSS Enterprise GF27
- SpaceShipTwo | VSS Enterprise GF10
- SpaceShipTwo | VSS Enterprise PF01
- SpaceShipTwo | VSS Enterprise GF12
- SpaceShipTwo | VSS Enterprise PF02
- SpaceShipTwo | VSS Enterprise CF02
- SpaceShipTwo | VSS Enterprise GF24
- SpaceShipTwo | VSS Enterprise GF09
- SpaceShipTwo | VSS Enterprise GF17
- SpaceShipTwo | VSS Enterprise GF20
- SpaceShipTwo | VSS Enterprise GF25
- SpaceShipTwo | VSS Enterprise PF03
- SpaceShipTwo | VSS Enterprise GF18
- SpaceShipTwo | VSS Enterprise GF28
- SpaceShipTwo | VSS Enterprise GF30
- SpaceShipTwo | VSS Enterprise GF07
- SpaceShipTwo | VSS Enterprise GF08
- SpaceShipTwo | VSS Enterprise CC12
- SpaceShipTwo | VSS Enterprise GF11
- SpaceShipTwo | VSS Enterprise PF04
- SpaceShipTwo | VSS Enterprise GF14
- SpaceShipTwo | VSS Enterprise GF23
- SpaceShipTwo | VSS Enterprise GF16
- SpaceShipTwo | VSS Enterprise GF15
- SpaceShipTwo | VSS Enterprise GF19
- SpaceShipTwo | VSS Enterprise GF21
- SpaceShipTwo | VSS Enterprise GF29
- SpaceShipTwo | VSS Enterprise GF22
- SpaceShipTwo | VSS Enterprise CF01
- SpaceShipTwo | VSS Enterprise GF26
- SpaceShipTwo | VSS Enterprise GF01
- SpaceShipTwo | VSS Enterprise GF02
- SpaceShipTwo | VSS Enterprise GF03
- SpaceShipTwo | VSS Enterprise GF04
- SpaceShipTwo | VSS Enterprise GF05
- SpaceShipTwo | VSS Enterprise GF06
The VSS Enterprise spacecraft embarked on 37 flight(s), showcasing its capability of 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. and designed with a flight life of Short suborbital flights. Notably, it boasts a crew capacity accommodating up to 8 astronauts. VSS Enterprise was the first SpaceShipTwo (SS2) spaceplane, built by Scaled Composites for Virgin Galactic. As of 2004, it was planned to be the first of five commercial suborbital SS2 spacecraft planned by Virgin Galactic. Enterprise was destroyed during a powered test flight on 31 October 2014, killing one pilot, Michael Alsbury, and seriously injuring another, Peter Siebold. An investigation revealed the accident was caused by premature deployment of the "feathering" system, the ship's descent device; the NTSB also faulted the spacecraft's design for lacking fail-safe mechanisms that could have deterred or prevented early deployment.
The Scaled Composites Model 339 SpaceShipTwo 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.
- Serial Number: N339SS
- In Space: No
- Height: 18 m
- Diameter: 8.2 m
- Status: Destroyed
History
The spaceship was officially unveiled to the public on 7 December 2009 at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California. On 29 April 2013, after nearly three years of unpowered testing, the first one constructed successfully performed its first powered test flight.
Agency
Virgin Galactic
Virgin Galactic is an American spaceflight company within the Virgin Group. It is developing commercial spacecraft and aims to provide suborbital spaceflights to space tourists. Virgin Galactic's suborbital spacecraft are air launched from beneath a carrier airplane known as White Knight Two.
