Virgin Galactic SpaceShip Two cutaway showing payload racks

Virgin Galactic has taken delivery of its first payload racks from NanoRacks, LLC. The racks will help Virgin prepare for scientific payloads from NASA’s Flight Opportunities Program and other customers.

Flight Opportunities has chartered a dedicated flight for its first science campaign on SpaceShip Two. The flight is scheduled for summer 2014, if the SpaceShip Two flight-test program is finished by then.

According to Virgin Galactic and NanoRacks, the standard racks will provide up to 108 cubic feet of payload volume. The racks support form factors used by NASA aboard the International Space Station, including middeck lockers and cargo transfer bags, and common standards such as server racks. Racks also allow experiments to be positioned for viewing through SpaceShip Two’s 17-inch windows.

Written by Astro1 on June 10th, 2013 , NanoRacks, Virgin Galactic

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *