14 DAY TRIAL // On Friday, October 22, officials at Spaceport America participated in a ceremony to inaugurate the facility's main runway. This is the first spaceport to be constructed in the United States specifically for commercial spaceflight.
To mark the occasion, Virgin Galactic did a flyover with its SpaceShipTwo craft, which was attached to the WhiteKnightTwo carrier. The two aircraft landed on the runway to mark its dedication.
A crowd of around 600 was in attendance at the event, which marks an important milestone in the quest of private space companies of bringing the dream of seeing outer space closer to people.
There is still a lot of work to be done at the facility. A huge, hangar-like structure is still under construction, and additional facilities are also scheduled to be completed soon.
Once construction wraps up, Spaceport America will house Virgin Galactic-built suborbital spacecrafts, and will also represent a platform for other private companies to set up their base of operations.
“I can't wait for our first day of commercial operations here. Today is very personal as our dream becomes more real,” says Sir Richard Branson, a billionaire and the founder of Virgin Galactic.
Even if the current aircraft Virgin is developing can only reach suborbital altitude, the company plans to do orbital joyrides in the future as well, Space reports.
“Obviously, we want to move on to orbital after we've got suborbital under our belts, and maybe even before that,” Branson explained at the dedication ceremony.
The corporation is already pushing hard to secure a NASA contract, that would allow it to develop new spacecraft, capable of transporting American astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS).
Also in attendance at the inauguration was NASA deputy administrator Lori Garver, who took the opportunity to ensure representatives of the private space industry that they have the agency's support.
“I can assure you, we wish you nothing but clear skies and success ahead. Godspeed,” the NASA official said. “We plan to start work on an orbital program quite quickly,” Branson added.
At this point, Virgin Galactic has more than 380 customers signed up in advanced for a seat on their spacecrafts, of which a portion already paid the $200,000 price tag in full.
“It's like Christmas, you want to go, you can't wait. I'm not scared, just excited. It was always a childhood dream to go to space. Now I'm the first German woman to come to space,” says Sonja Rohde, who already paid for her ticket.
Official SpaceShipTwo operations are expected to begin at the spaceport in a year and a half tops. Branson and his family will be the first passengers to fly to the edge of space.