Virgin Galactic has signed a partnership with NASA to develop high Mach technologies for commercial space travel.
This week, Sir Richard Branson's aerospace company signed The Space Act Agreement with the American space agency "...to advance the United States' efforts to produce technically feasible, high Mach vehicles for potential civil applications."
Through the partnership, the two agencies will work together on developing next-generation, high-speed technology for commercial space tourism, which can adapt to changing economic and ecological conditions, said Virgin Galactic.
"This Space Act Agreement will enable NASA to collaborate with Virgin Galactic and The Spaceship Company to allow our organizations to take advantage of new tools, techniques, and technologies developed over the last 50 years and to explore potential new solutions for the commercial aviation industry," added Dr. James Kenyon, Director of the NASA Aeronautics Advanced Air Vehicles Program in a press release.
Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo completed its first successful solo flight in New Mexico last week, reaching a glide speed of Mach 0.70.
