suborbital

Mk-II Aurora reusable rocket ship to be the first spaceplane to access space multiple times per day

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  Sustainable space race: Mk-II Aurora is on track to reach low-space orbit in 2022. Dawn Aerospace, a New Zealand-Dutch space transportation company, has conducted five flights of the company’s Mk-II Aurora suborbital spaceplane. The flights were to assess the airframe and avionics of the vehicle, and were conducted using surrogate jet engines. The campaign … Read more

Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic aims to test fly ship in space this year

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Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, expects to test fly its first spacecraft beyond the Earth’s atmosphere this year, with commercial suborbital passenger service to follow in 2013 or 2014, company officials said to reuters. Virgin Galactic is the most visible of a handful of companies developing spaceships for tourism, research, educational and business purposes. The suborbital … Read more