With the retirement of the space shuttle in 2010, and no American manned program until Constellation is ready in 2015, NASA is beginning to look at alternatives to continue space research through that gap. One way is to buy Soyuz flights from Russia to ferry astronauts between Earth and ISS. Another possibility is to purchase suborbital flights from private carriers to conduct research over a range of scientific disciplines.
Should NASA decide to go that way, Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic plans to be in position to accomodate the space agency. The company's flight combination of WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo has been designed to handle research flights as well as tourist flights, and the company expects flight testing of the system to be completed this summer. So, by 2011, if all goes well, NASA experiments and researchers could be reaching the fringe of space onboard VG craft.
Such a program would no doubt be a welcome added revenue stream in VG's early years, clearly helping it secure such business from other customers, as well. A prospering, busy VG would also be a big plus for its headquarters, Spaceport USA, currently being developed in the Las Cruces-Truth Or Consequences area of New Mexico.
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