WhiteKnight2 Completes Taxi Test; New Mexico Spaceport OK'd

A maiden flight may be imminent for the WhiteKnight2, a huge double-hulled aircraft that was rolled out last summer in Mojave. At the time of its unveiling, the media was told to expect a first flight by the end of this year.

This week, Flight International reports that at least one low-speed taxi trial took place last Firday at about 3 p.m. local time, and the first flight may take place as soon as December 19. 

The plane was designed to carry space tourists for Virgin Galactic. WhiteKnight2 will fly to approximately 50,000 feet with a spaceship suspended beneath its wing. The spaceship will then fall free and light a rocket to reach altitudes above 100,000 feet, where tourists can experience weightlessness and view the curvature of the Earth. 

This week, the age of space tourism took another step forward whenthe FAA issued a license for vertical and horizontal launches for Spaceport America, in New Mexico. Virgin Galactic is expected to sign a lease for the facility by the end of December, and construction is anticipated to begin in early 2009. The project will be the first purpose-built commercial spaceport in the United States. 

Several commercial launches for various clients have already taken place at the site since April 2007, and more launches are planned. The terminal and hangar facility for horizontal launches are scheduled to be completed by late 2010.  

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