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Virgin Galactic, Aurora Partner for Air Launch Carrier Aircraft Production

Virgin Galactic, Aurora Partner for Air Launch Carrier Aircraft Production - top government contractors - best government contracting event

Boeing‘s Aurora Flight Sciences subsidiary has signed a partnership agreement to help Virgin Galactic design and manufacture two spaceship carrier airplanes for use beginning in 2025.

Both motherships are intended to carry and release spacecraft at 50,000 feet from the ground, Virgin Galactic said Thursday.

Virginia-based Aurora will build the motherships at its West Virginia and Mississippi facilities.

Virgin Galactic, the commercial space venture formed by Richard Branson‘s Virgin Group, expects to start flying payloads with its first Delta-class spaceship in three years.

Todd Citron, chief technology officer of Boeing, said the company seeks to help advance human spaceflight through the partnership.

The aerospace and defense contractor’s venture capital arm HorizonX invested $20 million in Virgin Galactic in October 2019.

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Written by Mary-Louise Hoffman

is a writer of news summaries about executive-level business activity in the government contracting sector. Her reports for ExecutiveBiz are focused on trends and events that drive the GovCon industry to include commercial technologies that private companies are developing for federal government use. She contributes news content to ExecutiveBiz’s sister sites GovCon Wire and ExecutiveGov.

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