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Virgin Galactic has opened its first commercial spaceport "Spaceport America" in New Mexico. The facility will be able to launch all known types of spacecraft. Fresh off its first successful solo space flight, Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic airline has completed the runway to its first commercial spaceport. “Spaceport America,” in Upham, New Mexico, is now operational. The port includes a two-mile long runway with a thickness of 42 inches, or 3.5 feet. It’s built to support any form of spacecraft currently in existence–a short compatibility list. Virgin CEO Richard Branson: “The last few weeks have been some of the most exciting in Virgin Galactic’s development. Our spaceship is flying beautifully and will soon be making powered flights, propelled by our new hybrid rocket motor, which is also making excellent progress in its own test program. The investment deal with our new partners Aabar has successfully closed, securing funding for the remainder of ...

That's right, SpaceShipTwo has successfully completed its first flight with a full crew aboard, which "lasted more than six hours and included tests of systems aboard board the spacecraft, according to Virgin Galactic. Video after the break. "There have been several preparation flights during the last month, suggesting the team is preparing for the glide flight even though no date has been released." Source: Via[ Techeblog ]

Scientists have discovered the first cometary planet, one with a huge tail, a stream of gas being ripped off by solar winds at 22,000 miles per hour. This jovian world is located 153 light-years from Earth. The planet—called HD 209458b—orbits 100 times closer to its home star than our Jovian neighbor, traveling in an astonishingly fast 3.5-day orbit. For comparison, Mercury—our solar system fastest planet—has an 88-day orbit. Since HD 209458b is so close to the sun, the stellar winds are ripping the planet's atmosphere apart. Scientists have used the Hubble's Cosmic Origins Spectrograph to gather evidence that support the theory that its 2,000ºF atmosphere is being ejected from its body at 22,000 miles per hour. According to astronomer Jeffrey Linsky, of the University of Colorado in Boulder: Since 2003 scientists have theorized the lost mass is being pushed back into a tail, and they have even calculated what it looks like. We think we have the best observational eviden...