Virgin Galactic, And the Path to Space

Pioneering a commercial space company is not easy. Impossible as it may sound, Virgin Galactic believes it can get commercial passengers into space as soon as 2009 or 2010, eventually making space adventures affordable to the average person. We are approaching the private space age, which in my opinion, was bound to come, as NASA's innovations have been somewhat lacking after a few terrible accidents. The time is ripe for a commercial space race.

However great, and affordable, the new age space flight sounds, it does have
its costs. Not just money, but like anything truly pioneering, it has a cost of lives. Accidents are bound to happen in unexplored fields. Recently, it has come to knowledge that Virgin Galactic's partner, Scaled Composites, LLC had an accident when it was secretly testing a cold-flow test of nitrous oxide. A cold-flow test is a test on a rocket engine without actually firing the rocket, in order to test its proficiency. Concerning the accident, Virgin Galactic has said "We have heard the news of a serious incident at Scaled Composites at Mojave Airport. We extend our deepest sympathies to those involved and their familes.". They have said they will await investigations before making anymore comments.

I truly feel for the families of those killed, and wish the injured a quick recovery. Although accidents such as these are terrible, I hope it does not effect the advancement of space travel. The people working for space companies know the dangers, and I believe they wouldn't want their deaths to be taken for granted. More then anyone else, I think they wanted to be a part of the evolution of man-kind, and will be forever engraved in space history for their sacrifices in helping bring space travel to life. Virgin Galactic has also said the accident has not affected the customers booked for flight, and 4 new customers have even signed up.

In end to this story, here's a few videos from Virgin Galactic that I think you'll find interesting:





-CNN article: Virgin Galactic keeps low profile after explosion
-Virgin Galactic's Website
-Scaled Composites, LLC's website