Virgin Galactic selects pilot for spaceflights

After combing through a long list of astronauts, fighter pilots, and space geeks, British billionaire Richard Branson named a new astronaut pilot to join his start-up space venture that aims to lift paying passengers into space. Branson's company Virgin Galactic announced Wednesday that former U.S. Air Force test pilot Keith Colmer will join chief pilot David Mackay to begin flight training and testing of the company's revolutionary aircraft, WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo. Colmer was selected from more than 500 applicants, which included about 10 current and former astronauts, Virgin Galactic Chief Executive George T. Whitesides said in a recent interview at the company's office in Pasadena. "We selected the best pilot for our vehicles," he said. "Unlike most spacecraft, SpaceShipTwo is actually flown to space. So the emphasis is on people who have tremendous pilot skills." In the past, the way people have reached outer space is aboard a high-powered rocket. Instead, Virgin Galactic will depart from Spaceport America in New Mexico using a WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft. It will fly with the reusable SpaceShipTwo rocket plane under its wing to 50,000 feet, where the spaceship will separate, blast off and, after their journey, be flown back to New Mexico...more