Futuristic fly-by: Wing-to-wing, Virgin's spaceship and Airbus soar over San Francisco en route to new £238m airport terminal

By GRAHAM SMITH


Air show: Virgin America's A320 Airbus (left) flies in tandem with White KnightTwo, carrying SpaceShipTwo, over San Francisco Bay yesterday


San Francisco International Airport's Terminal 2 will be home to both Virgin America and Virgin Galactic


Even by Virgin's standards it was a markedly grand opening ceremony.

The new Virgin America A320 Airbus yesterday flew over San Francisco in tandem with WhiteKnightTwo, a carrier aircraft holding SpaceShipTwo, the world's first commercial passenger spaceship.

The planes were en route to land at San Francisco International Airport to become the first aircraft to arrive at the redeveloped £238million ($388million) Terminal 2, which officially opens on April 14.

Guests onboard the A320 - aptly named My Other Ride Is A Spaceship - included Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson and legendary astronaut Buzz Aldrin.


City by the bay: The planes were en route to land at San Francisco International Airport to become the first aircraft to arrive at its redeveloped Terminal 2, which officially opens on April 14


Virgin America will occupy seven gates at the new terminal. American Airlines will occupy six gates and there will be one common-use gate.

David Cush, Virgin America spokesman, said: 'We’re proud to unveil a new home that similarly reinvents the travel experience for the modern flyer - and that also reflects the innovative, forward-looking spirit of our San Francisco home.'


Star-studded: Guests onboard the A320 (left) included Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson and legendary astronaut Buzz Aldrin


Terminal 2 will also be the home of Virgin Galactic, the world's first commercial spaceline.

Carrier craft WhiteKnightTwo represents a giant leap forward in aerospace design and will enable access to space for private individuals and academic researchers.

The world’s largest all carbon composite aviation vehicle and the most fuel efficient aircraft of its size, WhiteKnightTwo possesses the high-altitude heavy-lift capability to air-release the world’s first commercial manned spaceship – SpaceShipTwo – on its journey into sub-orbital space.

SpaceShipTwo is a rocket-powered space plane, which is intended to air-launch via a ground-breaking feather re-entry system.


WhiteKnightTwo (top) carries SpaceShipTwo, a rocket-powered space plane intended to air-launch via a ground-breaking feather re-entry system


Virgin Galactic spokesman George Whitesides said: 'Virgin America has the most advanced and carbon-efficient commercial fleet in the U.S. and when it touches down today at its new home it will share the runway with the future of commercial aerospace – SpaceShipTwo and WhiteKnightTwo.

'We’re proud that two Virgin-branded companies can link the cutting-edge present to the future of commercial aviation. It is also fitting that yesterday’s flights are helping to inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers and aviators.'

Virgin Galactic's flight test program is set to run throughout this year before passenger travel is scheduled to begin in 2012.

SpaceShipTwo will be carried to an altitude of about 50,000ft and then released by the mothership.

Powered by a single rocket motor, the spaceship will be flown by a crew of two and carry six passengers on a Mach 3 thrill ride through the edge of the atmosphere for a brief zero-gravity experience and views of the Earth far below before gliding to a landing.


Looking to the future: Virgin Galactic's flight test program is set to run throughout this year before passenger travel is scheduled to begin in 2012

Such suborbital flights are similar to the 1961 flights of Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil Grissom - up into space and then back down without circling Earth.
But by launching SpaceShipTwo from a high-flying carrier aircraft, there's no need for the massive rockets that propelled the Mercury capsules.

Motherships have been used for decades by Nasa and the military for 'captive-carry' tests and launches of such craft as the X-15 rocket planes.

The novel part of its design is its 'carefree re-entry' system.

SpaceShipTwo has tailbooms extending rearward from its wings. In space, the booms pivot upward to a 65-degree angle. The position causes drag and slows the descent in the upper atmosphere before the booms pivot back to horizontal.



Guided tour: Sir Richard Branson is shown around San Francisco International Airport's Terminal 2 by its architect Arthur Gensler (left)


Virgin Galactic over San Francisco Bay



source: dailymail