Sir Richard Branson, owner of Virgin Galactic, made a surprise visit to Mojave Air and Space Port Nov. 12.
He complemented both Spaceship Co. and Scaled Composites on their achievements in producing and testing WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo, bringing his vision of affordable manned access to space to reality.
The Virgin Group and aab Investments PJS own Galactic and have just bought out the Scaled Composites interest in Spaceship Co.
It is being rebranded as a Virgin Galactic firm. Branson also met with Virgin Galactic engineering and design staff and enjoyed a preview of the yet-to-be-revealed spaceship interior. After visiting the vehicle test sites, he joined the whole team at the Final Assembly, Integration and Test Hangar for a tour and updates on operations, assembly and propulsion.
There are now 175 Spaceship Co. Mojave employees. The events concluded with a celebration and one-on-one time with employees.
