| White Knight Two | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Flying Spaceplane Carrier |
| Manufacturer | Scaled Composites |
| Designer | |
| Number built | 1 |
| History | |
| First flight | December 28, 2008 |
| Developed from | Scaled Composites White Knight |
The Scaled Composites Model 348 White Knight Two (WK2) is a quadjet cargo aircraft that was used to lift the SpaceShipTwo (SS2) spacecraft to release altitude. It was developed by Scaled Composites from 2007 to 2010 as the first stage of Tier 1b, a two-stage to suborbital-space crewed launch system. WK2 is based on the successful mothership to SpaceShipOne, White Knight, which itself was based on Proteus.
With an "open architecture" [citation needed] design and explicit plans for multi-purpose use, the aircraft could also operate as a zero-g aircraft for passenger training or microgravity science flights, handle missions in high-altitude testing more generally, or be used to launch payloads other than SpaceShipTwo.[3] A study of use of the aircraft as a forest fire water bomber has also been mentioned, one that would utilize a large carbon composite water tank that could be quickly replenished to make repeat runs over fires.[3]
The first White Knight Two is named VMS Eve after Richard Branson's mother Eve Branson; it was officially unveiled on July 28, 2008, and flew for the first time on December 21, 2008. The second was expected to be named VMS Spirit of Steve Fossett after Branson's close friend Steve Fossett, who died in an aircraft accident in 2007.[4][5] As of 2024[update], it is not clear if any other SS2 and WK2 vehicles than VSS Enterprise, VSS Unity and VMS Eve will actually be built (especially, as of 2024, VMS Spirit of Steve Fossett has not been built).
- ^ US patent D612791, Morgan, Robert & Tighe, James, "U.S. Design Patent 612,719 for the ornamental design for an aircraft", issued 2010-03-30
- ^ "WK2 Rollout Audio Clips (parts 4 & 6)". Movaje Skies. 2008-07-30. Retrieved 2009-03-10.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
SPACE-080606was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Burack, Ari (10 October 2007). "Sir Richard Branson..." San Francisco Sentinel. Archived from the original on 2008-07-09. Retrieved 2008-02-28.
- ^ "Spaceship Company unveils design of SpaceShipTwo". Pravda Online. 2008-01-23. Archived from the original on 2008-01-28. Retrieved 2008-01-25.