The Spaceship Company
35°03′20″N 118°09′18″W / 35.0555664°N 118.155105°W
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aerospace |
| Founded | Mojave, California (2005) |
| Founders | Burt Rutan and Richard Branson |
| Headquarters | Mojave, California |
Key people | George Whitesides (CEO) Enrico Palermo (President) Jon Campagna (CFO) |
| Products | Spacecraft and aircraft production |
Number of employees | 430 (July 2018) |
| Parent | Virgin Galactic |
| Website | www.virgingalactic.com/ |
The Spaceship Company (TSC) is a British/American spacecraft manufacturing company that was founded by Burt Rutan and Richard Branson in mid-2005 and was jointly owned by Virgin Group (70%) and Scaled Composites (30%) until 2012 when Virgin Galactic became the sole owner. TSC was formed to own the technology created by Scaled for Virgin Galactic's Virgin SpaceShip program. This includes developments on the care-free reentry system and cantilevered-hybrid rocket motor, licensed from Paul Allen and Burt Rutan's Mojave Aerospace. The company is manufacturing Virgin Galactic's spacecraft and has plans to sell spacecraft to other buyers.
The suborbital launch system offered included the SpaceShipTwo (SS2) spacecraft and the White Knight Two (WK2) carrier aircraft.