Virgin Galactic VSS Enterprise (SpaceShip 2) unveiled - 7 Dec 09

[JetMech72]

The history books will look back on these two men, Burt Rutan and Sir Richard Branson, and tell a tale that rivals most pioneering stories; the story of space flight and how long it took to finally privatize the exploration of space. These moments, people, are the moments of true historical value. Events that will revolutionize society and mankind as a whole.

[triforcelink]

If only more rich people did cool stuff like this...

[Sandrine1o1]

the age of space as begun!!!

[ilion12345]

It would be very cool if they actually used it as means of trans-oceanic transportation... it would take much less to travel

[greenseaships]

The X-20 Dyno-soar has returned! It's the sixties all over again! lol

[greenseaships]

Richard Branson is as close to Howard Hughes as the world now has.

He's just a SANE version.

[datzfast]

when will this one fly, and can we get to watch it land for free?

[VVUULDTUURRM]

w ww . theorionconspiracy .c om

[cappermeh]

The three guys eho are looking at the ships look more like swedish people. I think this is a video from sweden :P

[bammagamma]

I betcha he's Batman

[MissAdolphHitler1988]

"and Captain!" .."It's The Enterprise!" :)

Biz hundert un tsvantsik!

[sinshine1985]

Awesome... great work!

[crystalidx]

Near future space travel = anti-gravity propulsion

[wrylie188]

@crystalidx We have absolutely no idea how to generate gravity or anti-gravity without extremely large amounts of mass. I doubt the force of gravity will be used as a propulsion method within the next few centuries.

[crystalidx]

@wrylie188 Yeah we do, its just locked up in the goverment top secret vaults and used by shadow goverment.

[wrylie188]

@crystalidx Ok, sure buddy. Why don't you let the nice men in the whitecoats handle the computer from now on.

[crystalidx]

@wrylie188 Dude, we live in a world of illusion, lies and manipulation. Your perception of reality has been molded by daily use of mainstream media and public social interaction. This illusion has been created by professionals. Your exactly the way the goverments want you to be, in a trap. Many ex-military, goverment, airline, scientific personels have already come forward and proved that anti-gravity is very practical and real. Search ""the disclosure project" and "Dr. Steven Greer."

[wrylie188]

@crystalidx The Disclosur Project is a joke. I understand the idea, and I think their intentions are good, but they don't have any outstanding evidence or facts that can't be explained by conventional science without including government plots, UFO's, or some "new world order". And you have to realise, UFO does no mean alien spacecraft or little green men. It could be any kind of falling space debri, unregistered civilian aircraft, gliders, etc.

[jizzmonger]

@wrylie188 Maybe Branson's "long blonde locks" have the energy density necessary to power the ship?

[wrylie188]

@jizzmonger LOLZORS

[crystalidx]

@wrylie188 Of course not all UFOs are alienships. When people say UFOs, they don't mean Unidentified Flying Object, they mean an alien spacecraft. Its a slang or an expression. You should be knowing this by now showing that you did research.

[wrylie188]

@crystalidx why not call them alien spacecraft?

[crystalidx]

@wrylie188 The reason why people chose to call them "UFOs" instead of alien spacecraft are because fear of being ridiculed. Dr. Steven Greer in a lecture states that UFO, unidentified flying object, was a term created by a group in relationship to the goverment in the 1950s. It is a widely misconcepted term as these objects (refering to aliencraft) are not flying (like airplanes do) but floating or hovering as they do not have any aerodynamic pulpusions. Always remember, think beyond the public!

[wrylie188]

@crystalidx fly·ing (flng) KEY

ADJECTIVE:

Of or relating to aviation: a flying time of three hours between cities.

Capable of or engaged in flight: The bat is a flying mammal.

Situated, extending, or functioning in the air: a flying deck.

But by your idea of "flying" A hot air balloon does not fly. Remember, Flying does not simply mean lift created by wings. For instance, ornithopters gain a good deal of their lift by forcing air downward, as do the majority of helicopters.

[crystalidx]

@wrylie188 Actually my usuage of "flying" was referring to only means of air for the motion above a surface, not such helicopters or so.

[wrylie188]

@crystalidx If you would kindly give me a link to the article on this: "Very pactical and real" anti-gravity, I'd be more willing to listen to you and your ideas, becaue insofar they have little basis in actual science.

[crystalidx]

@wrylie188 I highly appreciate your openness towards something you are very doubtful. Not much people have this ablity. Here's a source: Go search "AlienScientist channel," a majority of his videos are about anti-gravity and electrogravitic technology that have personal accounts from corporational employees and much more.

[StefBasson]

It looks like an advanced, modern version of the p38 lightning lol.. Awesome though, wouldn't mind having a ride in one of those!

[Etaukan]

Sweet nose art.

[opiewan81]

would have taken the government 20 years and $50 billion to do the same thing. Awesome job!

[Gort54]

Now THAT is a SpaceShip!

Congratulations to the Scaled Team!

[iryan74656]

not yet look like a space ship. Why not Make USS Enterprise NCC 1701-D

[157GOLIATH]

@iryan74656

...or Enterprise NX-01

[ja0129]

why won't they just put jets turbines and rocket boosters all together?

[cupera1]

to carry the weight of the turbines all the way from 40,000 feet to over 500,00 wold mean a much bigger rocket and a bigger ship to contain the fuel for the jet. and drive to cost of the system up by 10X. The system is very efficient don't load it up with bells and whistles.

[ja0129]

yeah, thats true, it will double the weight of the ship.

[jizzmonger]

@cupera1

In other words the craft is completely useless other than as a rich boy play toy.

[cupera1]

@jizzmonger a modest first step that you can use to work out all the kinks to a later system that can put people and cargo into orbit. Think of it like a baby that is just starting out in life and it growing, learning and has yet to reach its full potential.

Also, if you can make a few dollars with suborbital trips more power to Virgin

[jizzmonger]

@cupera1

We already know how to go to Space. This is a waste of money and resources that could be used to power rockets that actually serve a useful purpose and FORWARD mans desire to travel deeper into space rather than hold him back.

[wrylie188]

@jizzmonger But thi can get you into space for cheaper, and it's more environmentally friendly. Don't worry, they're working on deep-space ships as well.

[jizzmonger]

@wrylie188 What purpose does going into the Troposphere serve?

[wrylie188]

@jizzmonger Profit.

[jizzmonger]

@wrylie188 Sounds like a Noble goal and something that has never been attempted before.

[wrylie188]

@jizzmonger lulz, well they are companies and corporations, what do you expect? But the important thing is that after the commercial space line industry grows more popular, other companies will join in, and competition will beat the price down to mere several thousand, allowing extraordinary access for scientests to conduct thier experiments without spending millions of dollars for a ticket on a shuttle.

[jizzmonger]

@wrylie188 What experiments do you suppose they can do without going into Orbit and only going there for 5 seconds?

(the above "space plane" does not achieve orbit)

[wrylie188]

@jizzmonger Thats just the thing, it starts here. by 2020, Virgin Galactic and other aspiring spaceline companies are planning to have ships with the ability to achieve orbit, have several orbital space stations, and have bases on the moon. By 2025, they plan to have several bases on mars, and even on asteroids. And i know the "space plane" does not achieve orbit. Technology advances.

[jizzmonger]

@wrylie188 It takes 100 times as much energy to reach the lowest point at which an aircraft can orbit as this "Spaceplane" currently uses on one trip.

Do you suppose actually achieving orbit will affect the cost of the ride and bring it more in line with existing programs that can achieve LEO?

[wrylie188]

@jizzmonger Check your facts. It was formerly 100 times, now its closer to about 70 times, and getting lower all the time. Think how far and how fast technology has advanced from the 1990's. by 2025, space travel could likely be as commonplace as the airline industry is today.

[jizzmonger]

@wrylie188 So this aircraft would need 70 times it's current fuel capacity and horsepower to achieve the lowest LEO.

Do you think that might affect the price?

[wrylie188]

@jizzmonger No, my god. Well, as your name suggested from the beginning, I didn't expect your intelligence to be outstanding. Essentialy, what I mean is that it used to be 100 times as much energy required to reach orbit, now its 70 times, the progress of technology took a very short amout of time to occur. It will be a very short time before it is practical to launch daily space missions.

[jizzmonger]

@wrylie188 No it won't. They will fail or require taxpayer subsidies just as they do now.

[wrylie188]

@jizzmonger Well, you're entitled to your opinion, but I'll choose to believe the scientests/futurists/mechanics­/etc.

[wrylie188]

@jizzmonger and also: You don't measure the power of a rocket-powered space plane capable of achieving mach 3 and escaping the atmoshphere in horsepower. It's an insult to the machinery.

[jizzmonger]

@wrylie188 I didn't realize you were an engineer. Would you like me to rate them in Gigajoules?

[wrylie188]

@jizzmonger Lulz

[KintambosVideoBlog]

i would love to be apart of the project

[boomshanka]

If this doesn't give Boeing and Airbus the kick in the pants they need to develop their own sub orbital airliners, I don't know what else will.

[SailorBarsoom]

Gives me hope for Humanity. We can be an awful beast, but sometimes, we can be like this.

[buckfushes]

Gods invent virus'

scientists invent cures

Go science!

[Goofyfoot10]

...and quietly, hidden among the cacophony of rubbish that our society is busy obsessing about, real progress is made, and a new age begins.

[henik9]

Exactly. This is the stuff that really matters not the next Real World or Tila Tequila.

[endocondor]

Everything else in our world is getting worse or more expensive. Except for technology. and Science

[crystalidx]

@Goofyfoot10 the type of age you are talking about already happened in the 1950s. space travel was easily accessible back then.

[gmanzeroalpha]

@Goofyfoot10 This is not a big deal. Honestly. The damned thing goes 6000 km/h with a solid fuel motor. It doesn't get into orbit. It just gets to the edge of the atmosphere and imediately falls back. Nothing more. It took some money to get there, not a lot really and there is no other purpose to this other than just getting millionares to see the earth from space. this os ONE of the elements of rubbish that we are obessing over.