Company pilots flew Virgin Galactic’s mother ship VMS Eve above Spaceport America Thursday morning conducting test maneuvers in preparation for commercial space flights. Eve is now permanently parked in the hangar at Virgin Galactic’s newly opened “Gateway to Space” – a three-story, futuristic operations center.
With the progress that has been made on the interior of the operations center, “this means that Spaceport America’s Gateway to Space is now functionally operational — ready to host the remaining portion of Virgin Galactic’s test-flight program before welcoming its very first future astronauts,” Virgin Galactic representatives said in a statement, according to Space.com.
The press was given a tour of the ground-floor Gaia lounge and the second floor. The Gaia lounge is centered on a posh marble and oak “Barista Island” where “space tourists” and their families can mingle with VG employees and pilots over breakfast and coffee – talking about the adventure they are about to make.
Upstairs and overlooking the Gaia is the Cirrus Level, home to Mission Control, the mission briefing room and the pilot’s corp. The Gateway to Space building, which houses VG’s operations is futuristic and alien-looking all by itself. The building is actually the centerpiece of New Mexico’s Spaceport America, a state-owned facility that has been sitting empty for years in the desert next to the White Sands Missile Range, waiting for Virgin Galactic to finally move in.
“It’s just a wonderful, special day for us,” Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides told reporters here this morning. “It’s just a really important day, to share with you some of the progress and to declare operational readiness.”
A ticket to ride
A ticket to ride SpaceShipTwo currently costs $250,000, and more than 600 people have put down a deposit to reserve a seat, Virgin Galactic representatives have said.
VMS Eve will soon be joined by VG’s passenger rocket, VSS Unity in a few months after some interior cabin updates are finished. “When both vehicles are in place in New Mexico, we will continue Unity’s flight test program,” said Chief Pilot Dave Mackay. “Following the completion of that program, we will move to the start of commercial service and begin flying our future astronauts into space.
“In the coming days, the team will use VMS Eve to fly simulated spaceship launch missions, with pilots and Mission Control ensuring that all in-flight communications and airspace coordination work as planned,” Mackay wrote in a blog post. “The pilots will replicate some of SpaceShipTwo’s low-altitude flight profile and familiarize themselves with the New Mexico airspace and landmarks.”
