Dylan Tweney
Wired

Video: Spaceship Lands at San Francisco Airport

One of the first planes to dock at Virgin America’s new San Francisco International Airport terminal was a spaceship. Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo arrived hitched between the twin fuselages of WhiteKnightTwo, its mothership and launch platform. “For the first time we’ve brought the spaceship and W
Dylan Tweney 1 min read

runMobileCompatibilityScript('myExperience892566803001', 'anId');brightcove.createExperiences();

One of the first planes to dock at Virgin America’s new San Francisco International Airport terminal was a spaceship.

Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo arrived hitched between the twin fuselages of WhiteKnightTwo, its mothership and launch platform.

“For the first time we’ve brought the spaceship and WhiteKnight to a commercial airport…. It’s just a fantastic, exciting day,” says an obviously amped-up Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides. Before he was the company’s CEO, Whitesides was one of the first people to sign up for a $200,000 ticket to ride on the space plane.

Commercial flights will begin in a year or two, Whitesides added.

The spaceship/mothership combination landed at SFO in formation with a more typical Virgin vehicle, an Airbus A320, which carried celebrity passengers such as Virgin founder Richard Branson (seen peering out the window in the video above) and pioneering astronaut Buzz Aldrin.

Full story: Video: Spaceship Lands at San Francisco Airport | Autopia | Wired.com.

Share
Comments
More from Dylan Tweney
Wired

How Microsoft Researchers Might Invent a Holodeck

My final story for Wired.com appeared August 31. It’s a look at some of the work that the scientists and engineers in Microsoft’s research division are doing to create the computer interface — and communications screens — of the future. REDMOND, Washington — Deep inside Microsoft is the brain of a m
Dylan Tweney 2 min read
Wired

Infiniti Hybrid Is a Green Sedan for Silver Foxes

If you’re old enough to remember the energy policies of the Carter administration, green enough to have donated to the Nature Conservancy and young enough to get a rush of testosterone from dusting that polo-shirt-wearing jerk in his BMW, Nissan has the car for you. And though its styling walks a fi
Dylan Tweney 1 min read
Wired

How to Make a Clock Run for 10,000 Years

High on a rocky ridge in the desert, nestled among the brush, is the topmost part of a clock that has been ticking for thousands of years. It looks out over the ruins of a spaceport, built by a rich man whose name was forgotten long ago.
Dylan Tweney 28 min read

Storylines

Subscribe to my newsletter on writing & storytelling

Great! You’ve successfully signed up.

Welcome back! You've successfully signed in.

You've successfully subscribed to Dylan Tweney.

Success! Check your email for magic link to sign-in.

Success! Your billing info has been updated.

Your billing was not updated.