Virgin Galactic White Knight 2 Roll Out

[TheSupaCamaMan]

Left plane: "Turn left,"

Right plane: "No right!"

Left plane: "No, Left"

Right plane: "NO RIGHT!"

*planes break apart*

[TheSupaCamaMan]

Left plane: Turn left

Right plane: No right!

Left plane: NO LEFT

Right plane: No RIGHT!

*planes break apart*

[LouSaydus]

"Virgin White Knight" Naming coincidence? I think not.

[dubaron84]

i would love to work for them but......scaled composites only hires if your stil going through puberty.

[applesweeter]

Dear All,

I have some questios about psychology:

(1) Why do we want to spend million of dollars to travel to space?

(2) What motivate us to invest so much time and enegry to invent a space-travel-vehicle?

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE for your creativce ideas and brainstorm!!! :)

[azzy223]

Anyone else think that the guys who invented this went

"I've got it, if we put two small planes side by side and join them at the wing tips, we make one space worthy plane!"

[AdamEtheredge]

With all due respect to Branson and Rutan, and god knows I'd bow down to ANYONE with a plan to get us off this rock...

But I wouldn't get on that thing if you put a gun to my head. I mean, really, I'm terrified of at the flapping wings of any 747 I'm riding, and there isn't ANOTHER 747 stuck to the edge of wing!

I'm sure it flies like a dream, but...

This bastard looks flimsy as all can get out.

[mathewology]

damn, all this space travel and potential galatic colonization is blowing my mind!!!! im only 16, so i cant wait to see how this all plays out over my years

[iJul1609]

One piece of advice kid: the way it looks, you better start learning Chinese... :(

[origamyichi]

@mathewology

you'll prolly die and and still the human race wont be able to even reach the cosest solar system. you even undrestand what galactic means?sorry kid but you need to watch some starwars movies.

[Shermingtan]

@mathewology

Sorry to burst your bubble, but the only planet that is a little like earth and could be potentially used for colonization is about 20 light years away....meaning with todays technology it would take about 300.000 years to get there. And don't count on the magical advancing technology (there will be limits sooner or later), even with 50% speed of light it would take many generations to get there. The only thing you will see is rich people drinking expensive alcohol and go "aaaahh"

[jeffpeacefisher]

Hey all keep posting on all of my partners youtubes.

I am called the Idolmaker by Richard

I will be in 2013 the Prez of america & Pot will be very legal

Google Idolmaker bootstrap fisher & tell all to check out the youtubes of me & always the comments. Start with Jeff Fisher addresses the world 3 & Jeff fisher addrssses the world part one & spread it globally. Please its time for all the Boys to come home so Jane & I can get some time at Necker island doing a lot of necking,touching & hugging

[m1k3x0]

2012 escape pods

[geophys55]

1. No, we just envy birds and have come up with ways to surpass the most daring bird dreams.

2. Tokyo has nothing to do with it. Nevermind the triteness...it is to go where no man has gone before...that's what it's all about.

3. Mike Melville, Brian Binnie, Burt Rutan, et al. show us the common man as a hero. What more do you want of life?

[recovercast]

Rutan is awesome!

[sirvanderhoot]

I saw the plane up close at the Oshkosh airshow. Beautiful plane, really lovely design.

Surprisingly nimble in the air, too. Looks kind of fragile but flies with a lot of confidence.

[freesk8]

It is WONDERFUL that the private sector is getting in to spaceflight!

[NoLongerFooled]

Is this going to be successful in a bad economy? I guess there's still a lot of rick folk out there.

How are we going to get in orbit? Isn't this just a rich mans play toy?

[kdraper2007]

the automobile & the airplane was at one time considered just a rich man's toy. but today they are important modes of transportation. this is the first step to practical space flight. once you can get to orbit safely, & cheaply then it's childs play to get to the moon, once on the moon it's fairly easy to go further out into the solar system. not to mention the moon's treasure trove of helium 3. which can be used to produce clean energy, lunar solar power stations, etc.

[applesweeter]

Dear all,

I have some questions about psychology:

Why do we love flying? Why do we enjoy space travel? Why do we like spacecrafts and aeroplanes?

Thank you in Adavnce for your creative idea and brainstorms :)

[thejaceofspades]

i, for one, just dont want to be on the ground when this god forsaken rock explodes.

[Mizeras]

The love is not just flying, but in travel. The same affection has been present for ocean liners and trains, sailing ships, and who knows what else. All of these machines represent freedom of a sort.

[sidewwinder]

Because we were birds in previous life

[applesweeter]

Are you saying that we (human) evoluted form birds? Or, are you saying that we are birds in our past life?

[chejmarquez]

i can see a lot of people talking about richard branson ,almost kissing his ass, but what about burt rutan, the real genius here is him. Branson is just a simple millionare with plenty of time for adventures. But the mind behind the success of the ansari prize was just one Burt Rutan. And it's amazing how anybody could see the potential of this airplane to put into orbit small satellites...

[HairTriggerRaptor]

branson looks like a bad guy from the movie stormbreaker. he's rich

[PleiadesSeven]

Branson is the sort of person more people would do well to emulate.

[beatlefriend]

Ok, for the people who don't get it, this is the carrier plane for the suborital spaceship that will take people into suborital space. THIS IS NOT THE SPACESHIP. The spaceship is dropped at high altitude from this plane. So why have a passenger plane go suborbital? Try flying as a passenger from Los Angeles to Tokyo in 3 hours. after this is acomplished point to point passenger service will soon follow.

[PleiadesSeven]

It's still damn exciting!

[patrickrameau]

Sorry, the purpose of THIS spacecraft system is not "'Cause I want to be in Tokyo". The excitement of space travel is not about finding more expensive ways to cross the ocean for sushi. We're looking for CHEAPER ways to go into space, so that more of us can have the adventure of a lifetime...not to make a meeting. It lands back at the same place it took off from. Many years from now it may be about airlines, but not yet.

[glendouglas2]

oh you could exspand the wing all together to the tail end makeing it even more stably

[glendouglas2]

oh you owe me 1 millon

for fixing your shit plane

[glendouglas2]

you can fix the plane by make the wing biger

and puting a cross bar wing along borth sides

at the back part of the plane

another wing on the back so you have double serport

[glendouglas2]

i ran my own test

the plane will cash 100%

each time it gos up the weeker it get

them snap and cash ahhhhhhhhhh

last word of the polite the wing broke apart

and we are falling to are deaths! ahhhhh

ahhhhhh ahhhhh oh shit ahhhhhhh

RIP!

[HueyTheKitten]

I'm glad it's virgin. They'll do a good job.

[boomshanka]

The idea of a twin fuselage plane like this is not a new one. There was the Heinkel 111Z, which operated as the towplane for the M323 Gigant.

[jetli80]

damn 200k i can buy a really nice car, that i can drive more than once lulz

[BozzerFace]

I have a feeling that something is going to prevent this from ever taking people into sub-orbit space. If people that are not under direct military command start going into space, what will happen when, someone see's a UFO?

No official secrets act. No classification. People see enough UFO's on planet earth; imagine what they'll see when they're in space, and all without major tom to censor it? No way. Just a hunch,but I'm not booking my seat just yet. Oh yeah, and the carbon footprint's a bitch.

[toosober]

You need to smoke another bong load, put your burkies back on, and go hug a tree.

[boomshanka]

The people who would really be worried are the retards who claim that the Apollo landings were faked, due to the fact that a vital piece of 'evidence' on their part will finally be discredited: the myth that you can see stars in space at the same time the sun is visible.

[csbauer]

lol why dont people understand that this is not the spaceship. I guess nobody watched the Ansari X prize. Branson is the man and spaceshiptwo is going to be badass. I wish I could ride it but $200k is too much for me.

[milkbox350]

this has fail written all over it

[sierrawhiskykilo]

Try searching for the original White Knight launch where they successfully launched the pilot into space as a demonstrator vehicle for this larger version. The two fuselages are assumedly for non space going passengers/observers whilst the rocket propelled centre slung vehicle is not built yet but releases from the middle wing area the builders believe this to be the safest and cheapest way into low "space" giving passengers minutes of weightlessness.

[crossfire1234]

can someone tell me what the point of this is?

[modelun12]

to put normal people like you and me into space for about 200,000 dollars.

[crossfire1234]

ha i guess so, im telling you know im not gonna pay that much unless im rich ha

[Masterplaymaker]

this airplane looks extremely weird to me... what's the purpose of having two airplanes in one? was it the best design available?

[IWIpartyhatIWI]

i know right?

[Zimpaz]

so it can carry a shuttle in the middle!

[ExtraCholesterol]

cant wait to see how far they take it. it should be capable of doing a lot more by 2010.

[hara001]

Airplanes cannot fly in space because there is no air to make it lift. This project will fail surely.

[Tideh]

You do not need lift in zero gravity. You only need 'lift' in our atmosphere which i think is the point. I cant help looking at the center wing and feeling how it will obviously snap causing the 'two planes' to seperate, unless that is the point?

[ParkAveTravel]

hara001: The plane, Whiteknight 2 carries the spacecraft to altitude. This is an air launch system. The plane does not actually go to space, its payload does.

[falcan0]

Ah lol, now you've got them! What will they do now with their airplane? Looks like they'll have to launch a rocket out of it..perhaps?:P They might call it SpaceShip 2, just for fun.

[wrylie188]

@hara001 YOU MAKE ME LULZ

[ramans11]

@hara001 hahahahhahahahahahahahaha.....­. no one ever thought of that :)