Sure, they’re a part of the European Space Agency (ESA). And, yes, they spend £270 million on space-related programs each year. But the British have traditionally largey neglected space flight, especially manned flight. That’s about to change.

Britain is getting a space agency.
Think about this: the first British citizen to fly in space was Helen Sharman, [...]

Virgin Galactic is set to show its sub-orbital tourist spacecraft on Monday. There shouldn’t be too many surprises—the design of SpaceShipTwo is all over the company’s website.
The “mothership”, WhiteKnightTwo, has already flown a couple of test flights publicly. But WhiteKnightTwo two won’t be going into space—SpaceShipTwo will. The spacecraft will carry two pilots and six [...]

Richard Branson’s new “mothership” which will carry SpaceShipTwo—and paying space tourists—into sub-orbital space—made an appearance at an Oshkosh, Wisconsin airshow. Branson is head of the private space tourism company, Virgin Galactic, which operates WhiteKnightTwo.

After making a couple of passes over the crowd, the aircraft made a smooth and quiet landing on runway 18. This [...]