Billionaire Branson And Rolls-Royce To Build Virgin Galactic Concorde Of The Future

Virgin Galactic, the space tourism arm of billionaire Richard Branson’s Virgin empire, will work with engine maker Rolls-Royce to develop an aircraft capable of travelling at around three times the speed of sound.

Virgin Galactic announced Monday  that Branson’s The Spaceship Company – an arm of Virgin Galactic – has signed a deal with Rolls-Royce “to collaborate in designing and developing engine propulsion technology for high speed commercial aircraft.”

Virgin describes the new aircraft as a Mach 3 certified delta-wing aircraft with capacity for 9 to 19 people at an altitude above 60,000 feet. George Whitesides, chief space officer at Virgin Galactic, says in the statement that the new aircraft will blend “safe and reliable commercial travel” and that Virgin would continue to work with regulators “to ensure our designs can make a practical impact from the start.” Adding, “We look forward to opening up a new frontier in high speed travel.”

Rolls-Royce North America Chairman Tom Bell says  in the statement that his company “brings a unique history in high speed propulsion, going back to the Concorde, and offers world-class technical capabilities to develop and field the advanced propulsion systems needed to power commercially available high-Mach travel.”

Virgin says  that it has already demonstrated that its design concept “can meet the high-level requirements and objectives of the mission.” The successful return to super-sonic flight will mark the first time since 2003 that Concorde planes have been in commercial use.

The Virgin Galactic’s New York Stock Exchange-listed shares rose 5% Monday as of 1:45 pm E.T. to $23.49.  Shares are still some way off a high of $37.35 in mid February

Branson In Space 

Back in June, Brason sold around $500 million of Virgin Galactic shares as the pandemic threatened his airline and business empire. Now he is pushing forwards with his plans in space tourism and small satellites.

Branson invested a significant chunk of the money raised in the May through June Virgin Galactic share sale to invest in Virgin Orbit, a small satellite launch provider, according to a company insider.

A sister company to Branson’s Virgin Galactic, Virgin Orbit hit the headlines last May after its attempts to launch a rocket over the Pacific Ocean failed.The plan to launch a rocket from under the wing of a retired 747, known as Cosmic Girl from Mojave Air and Space Port to the north of Los Angeles was “safely terminated” after the LauncherOne rocket “ignited” but failed to climb into orbit.

However, the launch was not viewed as a major failure inside Orbit, with one insider telling Forbes the launch “proved” that dropping the rocket from the wing of a plane “could and would work.”

Following an investigation, Orbit confirmed Monday that the rocket failed due to a breach in a high-pressure line carrying cryogenic liquid oxygen to the first-stage combustion chamber. The engine soon stopped providing thrust and the demonstration launch ended.

As the entrepreneurial space race hots up, Mark Boggett, CEO of space specialists Seraphim Capital, told Forbes that although Branson is a little way behind Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, Branson has a distinct advantage in his ability to get satellites into space from virtually any airport in the world, other than purpose built sites typically in a desert.

Boggett told Forbes that it was “no surprise” that after the uncertainty of the pandemic, Branson is focusing on space for business value in the years to come.