Base
Test launches are planned to take place from the Mojave Spaceport, where Scaled Composites is constructing the spacecraft. Virgin Galactic expects that initial passenger flights will take place there, as well.
An international architectural competition was held for the design of Virgin Galactic's operating base, Spaceport America in New Mexico. The contract was awarded to URS and Foster + Partners architects. Upon the completion of the spaceport, flight operations will transfer from the California desert to the new bases.
Virgin Galactic also announced on April 3, 2008 that in future they will operate in Europe out of Spaceport Sweden.
Will Whitehorn stated in an interview with Space.co.uk on April 29, 2008 that the company was considering flying from a UK base: RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland, during the summer months only. There are also rumors that the base could be located in RAF Machrihanish (Campbeltown, Scotland) or an unnamed location in south-west England.
In October 2010, the company held an event at Spaceport America where it ceremoniously opened the first runway. New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson attended the ceremony, and SpaceShipTwo, also known as the "VSS Enterprise," was landed during the event. For the landing, the VSS Enterprise was carried underneath the fuselage of Virgin Galactics' Mother Ship Eve.
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