The Spaceship Company
| The Spaceship Company
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|---|---|
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| legal form | society |
| founding | 2005 |
| Seat | Mojave , California , USA |
| management | George T. Whitesides ( CEO ), Doug Shane (Chairman) |
| Number of employees | over 450 |
| Branch | Aerospace Engineering |
| Website | thespaceshipcompany.com |
The Spaceship Company (TSC) is a British-American company founded in mid-2005 by Burt Rutan and Sir Richard Branson . Until Virgin Galactic became sole owner in 2012, it was jointly owned by Virgin Group (70%) and Scaled Composites (30%). The task of the Spaceship Company is to build and test the SpaceShipTwo space aircraft and its WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft for Virgin Galactic.
history
The company was founded in 2005 by Burt Rutan and Richard Branson and was initially jointly owned ( joint venture ) by the Virgin Group and Scaled Composites. It should have the technology developed by Scaled for Virgin Galactic. Virgin Galactic also became the launch customer for the SpaceShipTwo and WhiteKnightTwo vehicles: Virgin placed an order for five SpaceShipTwos and two WhiteKnightTwos, with “exclusive use of the systems for the first 18 months of commercial passenger operation”.
Since the first WhitKnightTwo and the first SpaceShipTwo were built by Scaled Composites, TSC is only responsible for manufacturing the second WK2 aircraft and the second SS2 spaceship for Virgin Galactic.
Virgin Galactic acquired 100% of TSC in 2012 by acquiring interests in Scaled Composites, previously acquired by Northrop Grumman .
In 2016 it was announced that TSC, Virgin Galactic and the Virgin Group with Boom Technology will work together to create a supersonic - passenger aircraft to be developed.
production
In March 2010, The Spaceship Company announced that it would start commercial production. In November 2010 , the groundbreaking ceremony for a new 6300 m² factory was set at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave , California . The production facility should "employ up to 170 people when production is in full swing". TSC completed the construction of the new facility for $ 8,000,000 on schedule in September 2011.
Already in July 2011 TSC announced that in autumn 2011 in the “Final Assembly, Integration and Test Hangar” ( FAITH ) with the production of the “first sections for a second carrier aircraft WhiteKnightTwo together with the first of several SpaceShipTwo suborbital vehicles for Virgin Galactic and ultimately more customers ”will begin.
The FAITH hangar is also used for major maintenance work and serves as the company's operations center.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Where we are. In: thespaceshipcompany.com. The Spaceship Company, accessed June 19, 2018 .
- ↑ Our team. In: thespaceshipcompany.com. The Spaceship Company, accessed June 19, 2018 .
- ↑ Our team. In: thespaceshipcompany.com. The Spaceship Company, accessed June 19, 2018 .
- ^ A b Virgin Galactic acquires full ownership of The Spaceship Company. In: thespaceshipcompany.com. The Spaceship Company, October 5, 2012, accessed June 19, 2018 (American English).
- ↑ Who we are. In: thespaceshipcompany.com. The spaceship Company. Retrieved June 19, 2018 (American English).
- ^ The Spaceship Company announced. In: thespaceshipcompany.com. The Spaceship Company, July 25, 2005, accessed June 19, 2018 .
- ^ Leonard David: Richard Branson and Burt Rutan Form Spacecraft Building Company. In: Space.com. Purch Group, July 5, 2005, accessed June 19, 2018 .
- ^ Branson And Rutan Launch New Spaceship Manufacturing Company. In: spacedaily.com. Space Media Network, July 28, 2005, accessed June 19, 2018 .
- ↑ Guy Norris: Scaled And Virgin Lift Veil On Spaceship Production Progress. In: Aviationweek.com. July 11, 2011, accessed June 19, 2018 .
- ↑ Rich Smith: Virgin Galactic Is Back! (But Keep Your Ticket in Your Pocket). February 28, 2016, accessed June 19, 2018 .
- ^ Supersonic Travel and The Spaceship Company. In: thespaceshipcompany.com. The Spaceship Company, November 16, 2016, accessed June 19, 2018 .
- ↑ TSC breaks gound on New Assembly hangar. In: thespaceshipcompany.com. The Spaceship Company, November 9, 2010, accessed June 19, 2018 .
- ↑ TSC Opens Facility at Mojave Air and Space Port to Build Virgin Galactic Spaceships. In: thespaceshipcompany.com. The Spaceship Company, September 11, 2011, accessed June 19, 2018 .
- ^ Doug Shane Named President of The Spaceship Company. In: citizensinspace.com. July 30, 2011, accessed June 19, 2018 .
- ^ Guy Norris: Spaceship Two Maker Opens For Business. In: aviationweek.com. September 21, 2001, accessed June 19, 2018 .