Virgin Galactic takes its next step towards space operations today as its mother ship, WhiteKnightTwo, makes its public debut in Mojave, California. Ground tests of the plane's various systems will be conducted over the next several weeks, and test flights will begin after that. No firm schedule has been set.
WhiteKnightTwo is a huge plane, with its double fuselage and 140-foot wingspan. Not only will it be used to carry SpaceShipTwo up 40,000 feet for its launch on a suborbital arc, but it can also be used as a launch platform for unmanned satellites and a platform for short duration microgravity experiments, among other things. VG is developing plans to fully exploit the plane's capabilities.
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