Editing SpaceShipTwo (section)

== Fleet and launch sites ==
=== Fleet history ===
SpaceShipTwo (and the [[WhiteKnightTwo]] launcher aircraft) were built by [[The Spaceship Company]], originally formed as a joint venture between Scaled Composites and Virgin Galactic.<ref name=aw20110708>{{cite news|last=Norris|first=Guy|title=Scaled And Virgin Lift Veil on Spaceship Production Progress|url=http://aviationweek.com/awin/scaled-and-virgin-lift-veil-spaceship-production-progress|access-date=8 July 2011 |publisher=Aviation Week & Space Technology|date=11 July 2011}}</ref> Virgin Galactic bought out Scaled Composites' interest in TSC in 2012, and TSC became a wholly owned subsidiary of Virgin Galactic.<ref name=yf20121005>{{cite web|title=Virgin Galactic Acquires Full Ownership of The Spaceship Company|url=http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20121005005907/en/Virgin-Galactic-Acquires-Full-Ownership-Spaceship-Company#.VFvXsPnF98E|publisher=Business Wire|date=5 October 2012|access-date=6 October 2012}}</ref>

The launch customer of SpaceShipTwo was Virgin Galactic, who {{as of|2005|lc=y}} had publicly announced they had ordered five vehicles,<ref name=Sdc20050725 >{{cite news |url=http://www.space.com/news/050727_branson_rutan.html |title=Richard Branson and Burt Rutan Form Spacecraft Building Company |publisher=SPACE.com |date=27 July 2005 |access-date=17 October 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.space.com/news/080123-virgingalactic-ss2-design.html|title=Virgin Galactic Unveils Suborbital Spaceliner Design|access-date=25 January 2008|date=23 January 2008|publisher=SPACE.com|first=Tariq|last=Malik}}</ref> but only three had been ordered by 2015.<ref name="NBCNews-2015-02-07"/> The first SS2 was named [[VSS Enterprise|VSS ''Enterprise'']].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/virgin_space_040927.html|title=Virgin Galactic to Offer Public Space Flights|access-date=20 December 2007|publisher=SPACE.com|date=27 September 2004}}</ref> The "VSS" prefix stands for "Virgin Space Ship". VSS ''Enterprise'' was the first to fly;<ref name="gizmodo">{{cite web|url=http://cache.gizmodo.com/assets/resources/2006/09/Comparison_SS1-SS2.jpg |title=Scale comparison chart of Spaceshipone and Spaceshiptwo|access-date=6 April 2007|publisher=Gizmodo|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070317222044/http://cache.gizmodo.com/assets/resources/2006/09/Comparison_SS1-SS2.jpg|archive-date=17 March 2007}}</ref> it was [[VSS Enterprise crash|destroyed in a crash]] on 31 October 2014.<ref name="NYT-20141031-KC"/><ref name="WRD-201410312-AR">{{cite web|last=Rogers|first=Adam|title=Space Tourism Isn't Worth Dying For|url=https://www.wired.com/2014/10/virgin-galactic-boondoggle/|date=31 October 2014|publisher=Wired (magazine)|access-date=1 November 2014}}</ref><ref name="BBC-20141031">{{cite news|title=Virgin Galactic spacecraft crash kills pilot|date=31 October 2014 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-29857182|publisher=BBC News|access-date=8 November 2014}}</ref> The build of [[VSS Unity|VSS ''Unity'']] was about 65% complete in early November 2014, and Virgin Galactic expected it to be complete in 2015. It was unveiled in February 2016<ref name=nw20141102>{{cite news|url=http://www.newsweek.com/virgin-galactic-ceo-sees-new-spacecraft-ready-next-year-281652 |title=Virgin Galactic CEO Sees New Spacecraft Ready Next Year|publisher=Newsweek|date=2 November 2014}}</ref> and performed its first powered flight in April 2018. The third SpaceShipTwo was expected to commence construction by the end of 2015.<ref name="NBCNews-2015-02-07">{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/virgin-voyage/virgin-galactic-gears-building-third-spaceshiptwo-n302191|title=Virgin Galactic Gears Up for Building Third SpaceShipTwo|date=7 February 2015|publisher=NBC News}}</ref><ref name=vg20160310>{{cite web|url=http://www.virgingalactic.com/update-from-mojave-testing-testing-1-2-3/ |title=Update from Mojave: Testing Testing 1-2-3|publisher=Virgin Galactic|date=10 March 2016|access-date=15 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315120901/http://www.virgingalactic.com/update-from-mojave-testing-testing-1-2-3/|archive-date=15 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

''Unity'' was retired on 8 June 2024 after its final flight took place on that date, as Virgin Galactic shifted its focus to the next generation Delta-class vehicles. At the time, the only SpaceShipTwos completed and flown were the ''Enterprise'' and the ''Unity''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Foust |first=Jeff |date=2024-05-08 |title=Virgin Galactic plans higher mothership flight rate with next-generation spaceplanes |url=https://spacenews.com/virgin-galactic-plans-higher-mothership-flight-rate-with-next-generation-spaceplanes/ |access-date=2024-05-09 |website=SpaceNews |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Launch sites ===
SpaceShipTwo was launched from the WhiteKnightTwo launcher aircraft, which took off from the [[Mojave Air and Space Port]] in [[California]] during testing. [[Spaceport America]] (formerly Southwest Regional Spaceport), a US$212 million [[spaceport]] in [[New Mexico]], partly funded by the state government,<ref name=ept20101023>[http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_16411102 New era draws closer: Spaceport dedicates runway on New Mexico ranch] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20121210172846/http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_16411102|date=10 December 2012 }} ''[[El Paso Times]]'' 23 October 2010 Retrieved 25 October 2010 "two-thirds of the US$212 million required to build the spaceport came from the state of New Mexico... The rest came from construction bonds backed by a tax approved by voters in Doña Ana and Sierra counties".</ref> became the permanent launch site for the latter part of test flight programme and for commercial launches.<ref name="flightglobal-unveil"/>

=== Ships in class ===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Ship
! Tail number
! First unpowered flight
! First powered flight
! First spaceflight
! Last flight
! Status
|-

| [[VSS Enterprise|VSS ''Enterprise'']]
| N339SS
| 10 October 2010
| 29 April 2013
| n/a
| 31 October 2014
| [[VSS Enterprise crash|Destroyed]]<ref name="NYT-20141031-KC"/><ref name="WRD-201410312-AR"/><ref name="BBC-20141031"/>
|-

| [[VSS Unity|VSS ''Unity'']]
| N202VG
| 3 December 2016 <ref name=csm20161205>{{cite web|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/Technology/2016/1205/Space-tourism-Virgin-Galactic-makes-successful-glide-test|title=Space tourism: Virgin Galactic makes successful glide test|date=5 December 2016|access-date=5 December 2015|author=Weston Williams|newspaper=Christian Science Monitor}}</ref>
| 5 April 2018
| 13 December 2018
| 8 June 2024
| Retired
|-

|}

Two further ships were under construction by 2016.<ref name="NBCNews-2015-02-07"/><ref name="SD">{{cite web|title=Second Spaceship in Virgin Galactic's fleet completes major build milestone|publisher=Space Daily |date=10 January 2020 |url=http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Second_Spaceship_in_Virgin_Galactics_fleet_completes_major_build_milestone_999.html |access-date=2020-01-11}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.engadget.com/2016/02/19/virgin-galactic-unveils-the-new-spaceship-two/|title=Virgin Galactic unveils the new SpaceShip Two, named the VSS Unity |publisher=Engadget|date=19 February 2016|access-date=20 February 2016|quote=The plans for this ship are for it to be the first Virgin Galactic ship that takes paid passengers to space, and the third and fourth ships are already under construction.}}</ref> It is unclear whether these are now designated to be [[SpaceShip III]] class vehicles. As of 2024, the only SpaceShipTwo-class vehicles completed and flown are ''Enterprise'' and ''Unity''.