Bucking Bar

Guess we need a new thread above Majors? The job sounds pretty neat. These guys are getting Gulfstream Type Ratings to fly customers out to Mojave. Then they fly the launch vehicle and the space vehicle.

Wonder what it pays?

Virgin Galactic to use Virgin Atlantic pilots as astronauts for SpaceShipTwo-31/03/2006-London-Flight International

Pictures: First pictures of Virgin Galactic SpaceShip2 tourist spacecraft interior unveiled in New York-28/09/2006-New York-Flightglobal.com

taylorjets

Except that the pilots are from Virgin Atlantic, not America.

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Bucking Bar

Half of them are quoted as being US Citizens and some, if not all, were former Virgin sort of America.

No kidding, I'd apply. Sounds like a great job while it lasts.

Homa

I heard they are going to use the VA pay scale for their space ops with a $4/hr. override for the CA and $2 for the FO.

Martin404

So what does that make it? $8 for CA and $4 for FO?

ToiletDuck

Which could be a short few seconds after melting apart on reentry. NASA accepts around a 7% fail factor in their space flights. I have no idea how they calculate that but I wonder how close the ratio actually is to accidents vs. successful flights. Either way they have all the money in the world thrown at them. VirG doesn't. I don't see how it's that safe to meat the "airline standard". If 5 out of 100 burn up you think they'll still get business?

seaav8tor

The Space Shuttle has a great safety record. Currently you have only a 1 in 50 chance in getting killed. Not bad. They are going to stop the program before flying it 150 times; Since they have already had 2 losses chances are there will be no more fatalities!

Just think if Southwest had a safety record TWICE as good as the Space Shuttle on a flight per flight basis they would only crash 12,000 aircraft per year!

Not if but when Branson's space vehicle kills a couple high rollers and the story runs on CNN unabated for a month, that news will end the program. There is no cheap in space.

Scoop

I used to think a lot more of astronauts before one stapped on some Pampers and drove 800 miles to assault a romantic rival in a parking lot. I can't decide whose careers fell further faster - Astronauts or commercial Pilots.

Scoop

Bucking Bar

Astronaut

Astro - nut

Astro-not

B757200ER

My name, Jose Jimenez...