Video summarizing SpaceShip Two flight (prepare/take-off/powered rocket/landing)

After one day of the test flight a video of the SpaceShip two play has been released by +Virgin Galactic.
The video summarizes of the different steps of the flight:

• Taxiing
• Take-off from Mojave
• Powered rocket
• The landing at the Spaceport in Mojave, California, USA

Enjoy the video 

(Credit : +Virgin Galactic )

Huge hurricane on Saturn, first time in color

The spacecraft Cassini, sent by +NASA  has provided scientists of the +NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory  the first close-up, visible-light views of a behemoth hurricane swirling around Saturn's north pole. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of +NASA , the +European Space Agency, ESA and the Italian Space Agency.
High-resolution pictures and video indicated the hurricane's eye is about 1,250 miles wide, 20 times larger than the average hurricane eye on Earth.

(Credits: +NASA )

Photos and Video of the successfull SpaceShipTwo test flight

Dear followers,

yesterday was a big step of space tourism and for the team of +Richard Branson and +Virgin Galactic . After some rumor, finally the #SS2 with WK2 take-off from the spaceport in Mojave, California, USA.
For the first time, the spacecraft SpaceShipTwo (SS2) fired her rocket motor in flight. The vehicle exceeded the speed of sound. 

(Credit : +Virgin Galactic )

(Credit: Ken Brown)

(Credit: Kenneth Brown/Aerospace Photography

SpaceShipTwo test flight successfully done ! More Photos, video, and details to follow

Dear follower,

this morning, the rumor about a new test of rocket-powered fight of the SpaceShip two has been shared we you.

Today we have the confirmation about this flight from +Richard Branson and +Virgin Galactic . The weather seems be perfect, cool morning temperatures and light winds out of the west at  Spaceport at Mojave, California, USA. All world news will be attended to this great event.

16:03 GMT or 7:03 PDT: The take-off was performed at  with success !

7:47 (PDT): WhiteKnightTwo (pilots: Mackay, Nichols) has reached today's target release altitude of 47K ft. SpaceShipTwo release and it is now flying freely.

You could find here several picture taken by Mark Greenberg from +Virgin Galactic

Photo: Mark Greenberg

Photo: +Virgin Galactic 

A video of the first part of the flight is proposed by 23ABC  News  http://www.turnto23.com/video/video

Other pictures and video will be proposed soon

Rumor : first Rocket-Powered Flight of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo in Mojave California !

The space tourism company +Virgin Galactic  seems ready to be go for its first rocket-powered test flight of SpaceShipTwo — a commercial rocket ship for passenger space travel.

There is a palpable buzz of a possible test flight of SpaceShipTwo on Monday April 29, (TODAY !!!!) at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California. The test is rumored to be a 20-second burn of SpaceShipTwo's novel hybrid rocket motor in flight.

SpaceShipTwo is designed to use the rocket motor to power private launches that will carry six passengers and two pilots to suborbital space and back. So the possible test flight would be a major milestone for the spacecraft and +Virgin Galactic .

"We're hoping to break the sound barrier. That's planned Monday," Branson told the Las Vegas Sun. "It will be a historic day."

Few words about ESA

The +European Space Agency, ESA  (ESA) is Europe's gateway to space. Its mission is to share the development of Europe's space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.

+European Space Agency, ESA  is an international organization with 20 Member States. By coordinating the financial and intellectual resources of its members, it can undertake programs and activities far beyond the scope of any single European country.

What does ESA do?

ESA's job is to draw up the European space program and carry it through. ESA programs are performed to learn more about Earth, its immediate space environment, our Solar System and the Universe. Moreover, ESA take care about the development of satellite-based technologies and services, and to promote European industries. ESA also works closely with space organizations outside Europe.

Who belongs to ESA?

Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom. Canada is also involved in some projects under cooperation agreements. Poland exchanged accession agreements with ESA, in September 2012 to become the 20th Member State of us.

Hungary, Estonia and Slovenia are 'European Cooperating States. " Other countries have signed cooperation agreements with ESA.

Where is the headquarters of the ESA?

ESA's headquarters are located in Paris, where decisions are policies and programs. ESA also has positions in a number of European countries, each of which has different responsibilities:

EAC, the European Astronauts Centre in Cologne, Germany;
ESAC, the European Centre for Space and Astronomy in Villanueva de la Canada, Madrid, Spain;
ESOC, the European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany;
ESRIN, ESA's center for Earth Observation in Frascati, near Rome, Italy;
ESTEC, the European Space Research and Technology Centre, Noordwijk, the Netherlands.
A new ESA center has opened in the UK, at Harwell, Oxfordshire. ESA also has liaison offices in Belgium, the U.S. and Russia; A launch base in French Guiana and ground / tracking stations in various parts of the world.

This article has be written by Alexandra triantopoulou