Now beginning the Virgin Galactic portion of today's conference, with Palermo interviewed by UBS analysts Myles Walton and Jarrod Castle.
Live thread:
Live thread:
Palermo: The spacecrafts built after Unity are built in a block design, much more modular.
Palermo: VMS Eve (a jet aircraft launchpad) allows us to get aviation-like unit economics for spaceflight.
The Virgin Galactic approach also allows us to abort a mission at any time - before release, just after release, and even during the 0 to 60 seconds of engine burn.
The Virgin Galactic approach also allows us to abort a mission at any time - before release, just after release, and even during the 0 to 60 seconds of engine burn.
Palermo: Our ~600 customers represent 60 countries, with many nations never having had a person fly to space before.
Palermo: We now have every part of designing, building, and testing a Mach 3 vehicle in house.
UBS: Walk us through milestones from here to flying Branson.
Palermo:
- Have a number of glide flights and powered flights
- Finishing interior of Unity
- Final pieces data to the FAA
- Everything will be completed at Spaceport America in New Mexico
Palermo:
- Have a number of glide flights and powered flights
- Finishing interior of Unity
- Final pieces data to the FAA
- Everything will be completed at Spaceport America in New Mexico
Palermo: We can certainly open up for more customers once we have a second spacecraft flying. But we need to serve our very loyal existing customers first.
UBS: Biggest obstacles when signing customers?
Palermo: Having met some of our current customers, many look first at the safety/infrastructure of the mission - often there's dialogue about how we've made this method of flying to space as safe as possible.
Palermo: Having met some of our current customers, many look first at the safety/infrastructure of the mission - often there's dialogue about how we've made this method of flying to space as safe as possible.
Palermo: Alongside SpaceX and Blue Origin we're at an inflection point in spaceflight, as essentially only flown 10 people per year to space in the past 60 years. That's about to change.
UBS: What does the hypersonic landscape look like?
Palermo: We're going to work with partners to develop a door-to-door solution, because we can't just reduce travel time in the air if it still takes you 2 hours to get to the spaceport and 2 hours to get through security.
Palermo: We're going to work with partners to develop a door-to-door solution, because we can't just reduce travel time in the air if it still takes you 2 hours to get to the spaceport and 2 hours to get through security.
Palermo: People associate spacecraft turn around times with the Space Shuttles, but we can load our rocket motor in under 4 hr, propellant in 24 hr, mate with the mothership in less than an 1hr.
So far been conservative to give ample time for inspection but can speed that up.
So far been conservative to give ample time for inspection but can speed that up.
What's the customer experience like?
Palermo: Takeoff feels like a normal aircraft, 45 min climb to altitude, drop ("only a few hundred feet"), you experience 3Gs during rocket acceleration, and then, after shut down, you go into a surreal silence and weightlessness.
Palermo: Takeoff feels like a normal aircraft, 45 min climb to altitude, drop ("only a few hundred feet"), you experience 3Gs during rocket acceleration, and then, after shut down, you go into a surreal silence and weightlessness.
Palermo: At apogee of the flight customers will be able to see about 1000 miles.
Palermo: The carbon footprint of a seat on a Virgin Galactic flight is the same as the footprint of a Transatlantic commercial flight.
Did you have to get special permission for flights that create a sonic boom?
Palermo: No, because our flight profile is vertical, not horizontal. While a sonic boom may technically hit the ground, I don't think you can hear it.
Palermo: No, because our flight profile is vertical, not horizontal. While a sonic boom may technically hit the ground, I don't think you can hear it.
After his presentation, Palermo told me that Virgin Galactic will move VSS Unity to Spaceport America by mating it with VMS Eve and flying them together from Mojave.
