Victoria Principal is Future Virgin Galactic tourist!

Best known for her role as Pamela Ewing on the TV drama show "Dallas" from 1978 to 1987, Ms Victoria Principal will also be one of the future space tourists for Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic space tour service.

Now 61 years old, Victoria Principal is in training so that she can make the space trip. No date has been given yet as to when the first tourists will take flight.

In the article, the news about her being a future space tourist took second place to the news that she would not be a part of the big Dallas reboot to take place on TNT in the summer of 2012. The other actors of that series that will be reprising their roles. Larry Hagman as JR Ewing, Patrick Duffy as Bobby Ewing. Linda Grey will also be returning to the series as well.

The show will now focus on their children - now all grown up. Jessie Metcalfe will be playing Bobby and Pam Ewing's son Christopher.

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Ref.

1. Daily Mail. "As Dallas gets a reboot, original cast member Victoria Principal, 61 , proves that some classics really don't get old..." by Amelia Proud. December 26, 2011. (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2078562/Dallas-star-Victoria-Principal-61--looks-youthful-Malibu.html). images are from same article.

Burt Rutan - Manned Space Flight For the Future

Please check out my post about Burt Rutan on my other blog - The Shanks Dimension. And the recent email/letter he sent out. (http://www.theshanksdimension.com/2010/02/burt-rutan-recent-letter-to-the-new-media/). NOTE: Just in case you don't know who Burt Rutan is, he's the guy on the right standing next to Sir Richard Branson of Virgin Galactic. The mothership and VG's first passenger carrying spacecraft in the background.

Virgin Space Ship (VSS) ENTERPRISE!

Sir Richard Branson - founder of Virgin Galactic, and Burt Rutan, designer of SpaceShip 2 (SS2) revealed that ship to the public today.

This is a big milestone for Virgin Galactic's mission to be the first civilian commercial space line.

SS2 draws a great deal from its history from SpaceShip1(SS1) that had its first successful flight in 2004. SS1 won the famous Ansari X-Prize for completing the world's first manned private space flight. SS2 can carry 6 passengers and 2 pilot astronauts into sub-orbital flight.

The unvealing took place at the Mojave Air and Spaceport.

The flight profile will have SS2 attached to the White Knight 2 carrier craft nickname EVE after Sir Branson's mother. The WK2 will carry the SS2 up to 50,000 feet before it is dropped and fires off her rocket motors.

What I found special about this article is the news of what they intend to name this first spaceliner... Governors Schwarzenegger of California, and Governor Richardson of New Mexico, christened the SS2 as the Virgin Space Ship (VSS) ENTERPRISE. This is in line with the tradition of using the word Enterprise in the naming of Royal Navy, US Navy, NASA spacecraft - and of course of a certain science fiction tv series.

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Ref. Commercial space watch, December 7, 2009. (http://www.comspacewatch.com/news/viewpr.rss.html?pid=29757).

photo of Sir Branson and Burt Rutan December 7, 2009 (http://www.virgin.com/travel/inside-virgin-travel/virgin-galactic-unveils-spaceshiptwo-1/)

Commerical Spaceport America Groundbreaking Took Place Today

Ground breaking at the New Mexico commercial spaceport near the town of Truth or Consequences took place today. This is the $198 million dolar project, funded by the New Mexico state governement for commercial companies to have access to space. The facility will be known by the name of Spaceport America.

Gov. Bill Richards was in attendance. "After all of the hard work to get this project off the ground, it is gratifying to see Spaceport America finally become a reality."

Sir Richard Branson's space tourism company known as Virgin Galactic will be based at this location. Virgin Galactic will offer suborbital space flights costing $200,000 a ride. Virgin Galactic's President Will Whitehorn said that the company has taken in 300 advanced bookings. First planned spaceflights will began hopefully in two years.

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Ref. Reuters.com, "New Mexico breaks ground on commercial spaceport." by Tim Gaynor, June 19, 2009. ( http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSTRE55I5NK20090619).

White Knight Two Unveiled!

The twin fuselage four engine jet plane known as the White Knight Two was unveiled on July 28, 2008 at Scaled Composites. That facility is located in Mojave, California. Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites designed and built the Virgin Galactic's mothership, nicknamed “Eve” after Sir Richard Branson's mother. Eve Branson was also present for the debute of the large aircraft. Burt Rutan, the aircraft designer and is also still working on SpaceShipTwo. SpaceShipTwo is a larger version of the famous SpaceShipOne that tested the sub-orbital vehicle concept several years ago. SpaceShipTwo will be able to carry eleven people up into sub-orbit.
But the WhiteKnightTwo can also launch other spacecraft such as satellites, and other projects (manned and unmanned) in the future. SpaceShipTwo will ride between the twin fuselages of the mothership.
(ref. Space.com article by Leonard David posted on July 31, 2008).