Orbital Outfitters « Retro Futurist

One Huge Plane

I was able to briefly attend the rollout of Virgin Galactic’s new carrier aircraft, White Knight 2.

Here are my photos on flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/spacemansam/sets/72157606433514833/

Richard Branson and Burt Rutan unveiled the new carrier plane for Space Ship Two. Called EVE, after Richard’s mother, this craft has a 140 foot wingspan, twin booms for carrying pilot, crew and guests, and four Pratt & Whitney PW308 engines. It is the largest carbon composite aircraft ever built.

After the rollout, I visited my friends Rich Pournelle and Henry Vanderbilt at XCOR Aerospace. Only a small crew was home. The rest were in Oshkosh for the world premiere of the Rocket Racing League rocketplane. Also visiting XCOR was Chris Gilman of Orbital Outfitters. XCOR has a contract to lease his new generation space suit when XCOR is ready to fly the Lynx, a sub-orbital rocket plane that will soon compete with Space Ship Two.

Competition is a good thing.

July 29, 2008 Posted by spacemansam | space tourism | aircraft, Mojave Spaceport, Orbital Outfitters, Space Ship Two, space tourism, space travel, Spaceship, spacesuit, Virgin Galactic, White Knight 2, XCOR Aerospace | Leave a comment

About

Sam-NeverwasHaul.jpg, originally uploaded by Spaceman Spiffy.

Photographer and social adventurer, I tend to seek my own path. By day, I am a mild mannered teacher of all things Apple. By night I participate in unusual events such as Burning Man, Dickens Fair, Renaissance Faire, RoboGames, the X PRIZE Cup, and Space Frontier Foundation Conferences. My love of space travel and all things Apple are matched by a fascination for underground art and alternative living.

It is tough being an artistic person in an industry dominated by engineers and programmers. I learned to translate their language into a human tongue, so that novices can understand the technology that surrounds our modern world.

The goal of this blog is twofold:
1. Encourage me to write! And to write as much as possible.
2. Gather ideas and interesting resources for my books
I want to publish books about space tourism and my other unique experiences.

Check out the my efforts with the Space Tourism Society here.

Check out my photographs on my Flickr site to get a feel for who I am and places I’ve been.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/spacemansam/sets/