Virgin Galactic to launch space travel brand designs

Thu, 20 Dec 2007

Richard Branson is to unveil the official branding and marketing plans of his space-travel project Virgin Galactic, next month in New York.

The event, taking place on January 23 at the American Museum of Natural History, will see designs for the spacecraft White Knight II and SpaceShip Two revealed, along with a new logo.

Will Whitehorn, president of Virgin Galactic, says/ “We will be unveiling the entire design and structure of the project, and it looks nothing like what we’ve had before.”

He says the new branding and livery for the craft will be revealed: “The eye will remain, but it will have new branding around it and a new colour scheme.”

Whitehorn adds that new aspects of the project will be revealed in January - including the use of the planes to launch low-level satellites and how the research so far can benefit other airlines.

He also said that Virgin Galactic would be announcing aspects of its marketing plans, including deals with broadcasters, although he would not reveal the details.

The project’s new aircraft are 70% ready, says Whitehorn, and test flights will commence in the Mojave desert in the summer of 2008. If they are successful, tests in space will begin in 2009 and the first commercial passengers could fly into space by the end of 2010.