Latest news with #MikeMoses
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Virgin Galactic spaceflight chief encourages Florida Tech grads as company builds new rocket plane
After assembling model rockets as a kid in rural Pennsylvania and dreaming of becoming an astronomer, Mike Moses embarked on a distinguished 17-year NASA career centered on human spaceflight — where he oversaw the final 12 space shuttle missions from Kennedy Space Center. Today, Moses is guiding development of Virgin Galactic's next-generation Delta-class rocket planes. These sleek spacecraft may start transporting private astronauts on flights soaring more than 50 miles above Earth's surface by fall 2026 from Spaceport America in New Mexico. "Your goals should not be big. They should be enormous," Moses told hundreds of Florida Institute of Technology graduates during a Saturday, May 10, spring commencement speech. Fall 2024 commencement: STARCOM commander gives Florida Tech commencement speech, warns of high-tech space threats "Starting a new industry? Enormous. Taking people to space monthly? Enormous. Doing so as a small commercial company safely, repeatedly, with a whole lot of heart? Enormous," Moses said. "Never discount that what you learn along the way is invaluable for tomorrow," he said. Moses — who earned a Florida Tech master's degree in space sciences in 1991 — delivered the College of Engineering and Science commencement speech at the Clemente Center to a crowd of graduates and their relatives and well-wishers. This semester, the university bestowed degrees on 1,842 students hailing from all 50 states; Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands; and 69 countries. Moses' space career launched in 1995 as a contracted flight controller at Johnson Space Center in Houston. By 2005, he became a NASA flight director, overseeing space shuttle mission planning and operations. He was promoted to launch integration manager from 2008 to 2011 at KSC. After shuttle Atlantis' final flight in July 2011, he started working for Virgin Galactic, the California-headquartered spaceplane tourism company founded by British billionaire-entrepreneur Richard Branson. Branson logged a well-publicized suborbital flight in July 2021 aboard his company's VSS Unity rocket-powered spacecraft. Virgin Galactic retired the VSS Unity last year. In March, the company started assembling its first two next-generation Delta rocket planes at a newly constructed hangar complex at Mesa Gateway Airport in Arizona. In a pre-speech interview with FLORIDA TODAY, Moses said roughly 100 people are working there building the six-passenger spacecraft, with a "surge" of New Mexico-based employees expected to join later. "Production is going well. We had been doing everything in-house, so now we've got out-of-house vendors. In the Dallas-Forth Worth area, we're making carbon-fiber parts like crazy. And they're starting to flow into Phoenix and Mesa," Moses said. "We've started assembly. So we have the wing and the fuselage coming together first," he said. The first Delta glide test flight should occur next spring, followed by the inaugural spaceflight carrying research payloads in summer 2026. The first private astronaut flights are planned for fall 2026. Moses said this schedule remains on track, with more details to come during the company's May 15 first-quarter earnings call. Moses said the Delta will sport superior avionics and components — while being easier to maintain — than its four-passenger predecessor, the VSS Unity. The flight profile will remain the same: "Release from the mother ship. Light the rocket motor. Go Mach 3 straight up, about a minute of rocket motor burn. You're in space. Weightlessness — floating out of your seat for about three or four minutes. And then, come back and land at the runway you took off from," Moses said. "We'll now have six passengers on board instead of four. The ship's more robust. But the big difference is, we can now turn and do that every three days, as opposed to once a month. Unity was once a month," he said. "So that's the big economic engine of the Delta class, right? It allows us to fly faster," he said. Moses said Virgin Galactic has a list of about 700 future passengers, though the company probably will not begin actively selling tickets until test flights start next year. Looking ahead, he said Virgin Galactic plans to "fill out" Spaceport America, which is located near Las Cruces in southern New Mexico, by offering daily missions using four Delta rocket planes. These vehicles will fly across about 1,000 miles of territory from the spaceport. More locations are planned later. "We've got lots of interest around the world for additional spaceports," Moses said. "Then you'll see us start to go back to what we originally had the vision of, but maybe we were biting off more than we could chew with the initial startup. Now, you can look at point-to-point travel, hypersonic research or other missions for our vehicles," he said. "But I think the science research-private astronaut experience, that's our bread and butter for 10 years," he said. For the latest news from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA's Kennedy Space Center, visit Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale at Rneale@ Twitter/X: @RickNeale1 Space is important to us and that's why we're working to bring you top coverage of the industry and Florida launches. Journalism like this takes time and resources. Please support it with a subscription here. This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Virgin Galactic-NASA leader encourages Florida Tech grads to follow dreams
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Virgin Galactic spaceflight chief encourages Florida Tech grads as company builds new rocket plane
After assembling model rockets as a kid in rural Pennsylvania and dreaming of becoming an astronomer, Mike Moses embarked on a distinguished 17-year NASA career centered on human spaceflight — where he oversaw the final 12 space shuttle missions from Kennedy Space Center. Today, Moses is guiding development of Virgin Galactic's next-generation Delta-class rocket planes. These sleek spacecraft may start transporting private astronauts on flights soaring more than 50 miles above Earth's surface by fall 2026 from Spaceport America in New Mexico. "Your goals should not be big. They should be enormous," Moses told hundreds of Florida Institute of Technology graduates during a Saturday, May 10, spring commencement speech. Fall 2024 commencement: STARCOM commander gives Florida Tech commencement speech, warns of high-tech space threats "Starting a new industry? Enormous. Taking people to space monthly? Enormous. Doing so as a small commercial company safely, repeatedly, with a whole lot of heart? Enormous," Moses said. "Never discount that what you learn along the way is invaluable for tomorrow," he said. Moses — who earned a Florida Tech master's degree in space sciences in 1991 — delivered the College of Engineering and Science commencement speech at the Clemente Center to a crowd of graduates and their relatives and well-wishers. This semester, the university bestowed degrees on 1,842 students hailing from all 50 states; Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands; and 69 countries. Moses' space career launched in 1995 as a contracted flight controller at Johnson Space Center in Houston. By 2005, he became a NASA flight director, overseeing space shuttle mission planning and operations. He was promoted to launch integration manager from 2008 to 2011 at KSC. After shuttle Atlantis' final flight in July 2011, he started working for Virgin Galactic, the California-headquartered spaceplane tourism company founded by British billionaire-entrepreneur Richard Branson. Branson logged a well-publicized suborbital flight in July 2021 aboard his company's VSS Unity rocket-powered spacecraft. Virgin Galactic retired the VSS Unity last year. In March, the company started assembling its first two next-generation Delta rocket planes at a newly constructed hangar complex at Mesa Gateway Airport in Arizona. In a pre-speech interview with FLORIDA TODAY, Moses said roughly 100 people are working there building the six-passenger spacecraft, with a "surge" of New Mexico-based employees expected to join later. "Production is going well. We had been doing everything in-house, so now we've got out-of-house vendors. In the Dallas-Forth Worth area, we're making carbon-fiber parts like crazy. And they're starting to flow into Phoenix and Mesa," Moses said. "We've started assembly. So we have the wing and the fuselage coming together first," he said. The first Delta glide test flight should occur next spring, followed by the inaugural spaceflight carrying research payloads in summer 2026. The first private astronaut flights are planned for fall 2026. Moses said this schedule remains on track, with more details to come during the company's May 15 first-quarter earnings call. Moses said the Delta will sport superior avionics and components — while being easier to maintain — than its four-passenger predecessor, the VSS Unity. The flight profile will remain the same: "Release from the mother ship. Light the rocket motor. Go Mach 3 straight up, about a minute of rocket motor burn. You're in space. Weightlessness — floating out of your seat for about three or four minutes. And then, come back and land at the runway you took off from," Moses said. "We'll now have six passengers on board instead of four. The ship's more robust. But the big difference is, we can now turn and do that every three days, as opposed to once a month. Unity was once a month," he said. "So that's the big economic engine of the Delta class, right? It allows us to fly faster," he said. Moses said Virgin Galactic has a list of about 700 future passengers, though the company probably will not begin actively selling tickets until test flights start next year. Looking ahead, he said Virgin Galactic plans to "fill out" Spaceport America, which is located near Las Cruces in southern New Mexico, by offering daily missions using four Delta rocket planes. These vehicles will fly across about 1,000 miles of territory in varying directions from the spaceport. Expansion is planned later. "We've got lots of interest around the world for additional spaceports," Moses said. "Then you'll see us start to go back to what we originally had the vision of, but maybe we were biting off more than we could chew with the initial startup. Now, you can look at point-to-point travel, hypersonic research or other missions for our vehicles," he said. "But I think the science research-private astronaut experience, that's our bread and butter for 10 years," he said. For the latest news from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA's Kennedy Space Center, visit Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale at Rneale@ Twitter/X: @RickNeale1 Space is important to us and that's why we're working to bring you top coverage of the industry and Florida launches. Journalism like this takes time and resources. Please support it with a subscription here. This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Virgin Galactic-NASA leader encourages Florida Tech grads to follow dreams
New Paper
09-05-2025
- Science
- New Paper
Singapore spaceport: Did you know the nation is ideal for space travel?
Could there be a spaceport in Singapore some day, launching both satellites and humans into space? In late 2024, an executive at space-tourism company Virgin Galactic, Mr Mike Moses, told The Straits Times it could envision building spaceports in locations such as Singapore. A similar idea was floated as far back as 2006, when a bold plan to build a US$115 million "Spaceport Singapore" near Changi Airport was announced by a consortium of investors and an American space-tourism firm. At the time, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore even said it had begun formulating regulations for commercial spaceflight. That plan never materialised, however. When contacted recently, a spokesperson for Singapore's Office for Space Technology & Industry (OSTIn) said there are currently no near-term plans for a spaceport. But she added: "We believe our space sector has a solid foundation for multiple space-related opportunities." Industry players and analysts agree, noting that a spaceport here could leverage Singapore's transport-hub status and proximity to the Equator - with the latter also offering fuel-saving advantages for certain launches. In 2023, the Center for Space Policy and Strategy - a think-tank within The Aerospace Corporation, a non-profit funded by the United States government to support its space programmes - published a paper arguing that Singapore has "all the makings of a serious space nation". It is not the only one in the region with spacefaring ambitions. Indonesia is keen to have its own spaceport, while Thailand and South Korea have partnered to study the feasibility of building a Thai one. But the paper highlighted Singapore's wealth, well-educated workforce, advanced manufacturing, equatorial location, and status as a maritime and aviation hub. These are "characteristics that suggest it could play a more prominent role in the domain in the years ahead". Crew member and scientist Kellie Gerardi enjoying a few minutes of weightlessness on a Virgin Galactic flight. PHOTO: VIRGIN GALACTIC Mr Richard Lamb, systems director at The Aerospace Corporation and an expert on spaceports, tells ST it would be reasonable for Singapore to consider operating one. "It's a timely question because we're on the verge of seeing humanity start to travel in space far more frequently. "Space tourism represents a component of that, but we can also look forward to point-to-point space transportation," he says, referring to the possibility of using suborbital space flights to travel from one point on Earth to another. And Singapore's location, demographics and economy are all "good arguments for entering the spaceport conversation". That sentiment is echoed by Mr Simon Gwozdz, founder of Equatorial Space, a Singapore-headquartered start-up developing rockets and space-launch services. "Space logistics are a natural extension of the other types of logistics Singapore has already mastered, including maritime and aviation," he says. A 2020 photo of Mr Simon Gwozdz inspecting a prototype rocket in Malaysia. He is the founder and chief executive of Equatorial Space, a Singapore-based start-up developing rockets and space launch services. PHOTO: EQUATORIAL SPACE Too small for a spaceport? But in land-scarce Singapore, the first question that comes to mind with any large infrastructure project is whether there is enough room. Says Ms Lynette Tan, chief executive of Space Faculty, a Singapore-based organisation developing talent for the space industry through education: "The current requirements for a spaceport do involve significant land use, which Singapore may not be able to provide." This may not be a deal-breaker, though. "That's the beauty of horizontal space launch missions like Virgin Galactic's and point-to-point space transportation," Mr Lamb says. In these launches, the initial phase sees an aircraft take off horizontally from a runway, similar to a conventional plane. Then, once it is airborne, a rocket is fired to carry the payload into space. "There are a number of companies around the world trying to build the next space planes. All of that is horizontal, so you can operate adjacent to or as part of an airport because the take-off and landing are no different," says Mr Lamb. While launches near an airport such as Changi would require careful planning, horizontal space launches, even in populated areas, are probably going to be a very exciting sector in the future, he predicts. "And I think Singapore is as reasonable a location as any." Many space flights are already launched close to big cities, Mr Gwozdz points out. "I don't think people realise just how close many launch sites are to popular areas. "In Florida, many launch facilities are within a few kilometres of Port Canaveral, a tourist destination. And you can go there and view some launches from fairly up close. "For testing and R&D, there's always the possibility of something going wrong, so you do want to give yourself some additional safety buffer," he adds. "However, if you already have an operational and well-validated system, the space constraints can be reduced." Mr Gwozdz also raises the possibility of launching spacecraft from the seas around Singapore - by using a modified barge as a platform, for instance. "What we really have going for us is the South China Sea. There is a massive area there that is reserved mostly for military exercises and comes under the Singapore Flight Information Region (airspace) - and it's larger than the airspace SpaceX has for launches in Florida." Equatorial advantage Singapore's location near the Equator, where the Earth rotates fastest, means rockets launched eastwards on some missions get a boost. PHOTO: VIRGIN GALACTIC Singapore's low latitude - just over one degree north - is a plus too. The Earth rotates fastest at the Equator, where it spins eastwards at 1,670kmh. This creates a slingshot effect that gives rockets launched eastwards from here a free boost, reducing fuel needs or increasing payload capacity. However, Mr Lamb notes that this benefits only some missions, such as those launching spacecraft into geostationary orbits circling the Earth directly above the Equator. "And the space tourism or point-to-point space transportation market will probably be driven less by orbitology and more by the commercial demand signals," he says. Concerns about inclement tropical weather - think monsoon season, or Singapore's high rate of lightning strikes - are also overblown, Mr Gwozdz believes. "Many locations used as launch sites, such as French Guiana and Florida, have weather very similar to Singapore's. So it's just something you have to deal with." Flourishing space industry Another advantage is that Singapore already has a nascent but flourishing space industry, largely focused on satellites. According to OSTIn, there are more than 70 companies and 2,000 professionals and researchers here working on everything from satellite design and manufacturing to data processing. Many of them would love to see a spaceport on these shores. Mr Lim Wee Seng, executive director of Nanyang Technological University's Satellite Research Centre, says: "Singapore could be a good place to build a spaceport, and one part could be for space tourism and the other part for satellites." He thinks it could also make sense to operate this as a regional network of launch sites. "It may or may not be in one central location, and we could even launch in our neighbouring countries. "It would be more ambitious if all of South-east Asia worked together, with different ports in different places." If Singapore does construct a spaceport, regional relationships will be more important than ever - and could be a hurdle. "Rockets can appear kind of scary, including to the neighbours," says Mr Gwozdz. So, if a launch involves another country's airspace, "the biggest challenge we'll have to overcome is operational cooperation with our neighbours". But if there is enough will, there's definitely going to be a way, he adds. "And we've got a lot of the building blocks already in place."
Straits Times
09-05-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Singapore spaceport: Did you know the nation is ideal for space travel?
Spaceport America in New Mexico. Experts say spaceport development and launches are possible even in land-scarce Singapore, experts say. PHOTO: VIRGIN GALACTIC Singapore spaceport: Did you know the nation is ideal for space travel? Could there be a spaceport in Singapore some day, launching both satellites and humans into space? In late 2024, an executive at space-tourism company Virgin Galactic, Mr Mike Moses, told The Straits Times it could envision building spaceports in locations such as Singapore. A similar idea was floated as far back as 2006, when a bold plan to build a US$115 million 'Spaceport Singapore' near Changi Airport was announced by a consortium of investors and an American space-tourism firm. At the time, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore even said it had begun formulating regulations for commercial spaceflight. That plan never materialised, however. When contacted recently, a spokesperson for Singapore's Office for Space Technology & Industry (OSTIn) said there are currently no near-term plans for a spaceport. But she added: 'We believe our space sector has a solid foundation for multiple space-related opportunities.' Industry players and analysts agree, noting that a spaceport here could leverage Singapore's transport-hub status and proximity to the Equato r – with the latter also offering fuel-saving advantages for certain launches. In 2023, the Center for Space Policy and Strategy – a think-tank within The Aerospace Corporation, a non-profit funded by the United States government to support its space programmes – published a paper arguing that Singapore has 'all the makings of a serious space nation'. It is not the only one in the region with spacefaring ambitions. Indonesia is keen to have its own spaceport, while Thailand and South Korea have partnered to study the feasibility of building a Thai one. But the paper highlighted Singapore's wealth, well-educated workforce, advanced manufacturing, equatorial location, and status as a maritime and aviation hub. These are 'characteristics that suggest it could play a more prominent role in the domain in the years ahead'. Crew member and scientist Kellie Gerardi enjoying a few minutes of weightlessness on a Virgin Galactic flight. PHOTO: VIRGIN GALACTIC Mr Richard Lamb, systems director at The Aerospace Corporation and an expert on spaceports, tells ST it would be reasonable for Singapore to consider operating one. 'It's a timely question because we're on the verge of seeing humanity start to travel in space far more frequently. 'Space tourism represents a component of that, but we can also look forward to point-to-point space transportation,' he says, referring to the possibility of using suborbital space flights to travel from one point on Earth to another. And Singapore's location, demographics and economy are all 'good arguments for entering the spaceport conversation'. That sentiment is echoed by Mr Simon Gwozdz, founder of Equatorial Space, a Singapore-headquartered start-up developing rockets and space-launch services. 'Space logistics are a natural extension of the other types of logistics Singapore has already mastered, including maritime and aviation,' he says. A 2020 photo of Mr Simon Gwozdz inspecting a prototype rocket in Malaysia. He is the founder and chief executive of Equatorial Space, a Singapore-based start-up developing rockets and space launch services. PHOTO: EQUATORIAL SPACE Too small for a spaceport? But in land-scarce Singapore, the first question that comes to mind with any large infrastructure project is whether there is enough room. Says Ms Lynette Tan, chief executive of Space Faculty, a Singapore-based organisation developing talent for the space industry through education: 'The current requirements for a spaceport do involve significant land use, which Singapore may not be able to provide.' This may not be a deal-breaker, though. 'That's the beauty of horizontal space launch missions like Virgin Galactic's and point-to-point space transportation,' Mr Lamb says. In these launches, the initial phase sees an aircraft take off horizontally from a runway, similar to a conventional plane. Then, once it is airborne, a rocket is fired to carry the payload into space. 'There are a number of companies around the world trying to build the next space planes. A ll of that is horizontal, so you can operate adjacent to or as part of an airport because the take-off and landing ar e no different,' says Mr Lamb. While launches near an airport such as Changi would require careful planning, horizontal space launches, even in populated areas, are probably going to be a very exciting sector in the future, he predicts. 'And I think Singapore is as reasonable a location as any.' Many space flights are already launched close to big cities, Mr Gwozdz points out. 'I don't think people realise just how close many launch sites are to popular areas. 'In Florida, many launch facilities are within a few kilometres of Port Canaveral, a tourist destination. And you can go there and view some launches from fairly up close. 'For testing and R&D, there's always the possibility of something going wrong, so you do want to give yourself some additional safety buffer,' he adds. 'However, if you already have an operational and well-validated system, the space constraints can be reduced.' Mr Gwozdz also raises the possibility of launching spacecraft from the seas around Singapore – by using a modified barge as a platform, for instance. 'What we really have going for us is the South China Sea. There is a massive area there that is reserved mostly for military exercises and comes under the Singapore Flight Information Region (airspace) – and it's larger than the airspace SpaceX has for launches in Florida.' Equatorial advantage Singapore's location near the Equator, where the Earth rotates fastest, means rockets launched eastwards on some missions get a boost. PHOTO: VIRGIN GALACTIC Singapore's low latitude – just over one degree north – is a plus too. The Earth rotates fastest at the Equator, where it spins eastwards at 1,670kmh. This creates a slingshot effect that gives rockets launched eastwards from here a free boost, reducing fuel needs or increasing payload capacity. However, Mr Lamb notes that this benefits only some missions, such as those launching spacecraft into geostationary orbits circling the Earth directly above the Equator. 'And the space tourism or point-to-point space transportation market will probably be driven less by orbitology and more by the commercial demand signals,' he says. Concerns about inclement tropical weather – think monsoon season, or Singapore's high rate of lightning strikes – are also overblown, Mr Gwozdz believes. 'Many locations used as launch sites, such as French Guiana and Florida, have weather very similar to Singapore's. So it's just something you have to deal with.' Flourishing space industry Another advantage is that Singapore already has a nascent but flourishing space industry, largely focused on satellites. According to OSTIn, there are more than 70 companies and 2,000 professionals and researchers here working on everything from satellite design and manufacturing to data processing. Many of them would love to see a spaceport on these shores. Mr Lim Wee Seng, executive director of Nanyang Technological University's Satellite Research Centre, says: 'Singapore could be a good place to build a spaceport, and one part could be for space tourism and the other part for satellites.' He thinks it could also make sense to operate this as a regional network of launch sites. 'It may or may not be in one central location, and we could even launch in our neighbouring countries. 'It would be more ambitious if all of South-east Asia worked together, with different ports in different places.' If Singapore does construct a spaceport, regional relationships will be more important than ever – and could be a hurdle. 'Rockets can appear kind of scary, including to the neighbours,' says Mr Gwozdz. So, if a launch involves another country's airspace, 'the biggest challenge we'll have to overcome is operational cooperation with our neighbours'. But if there is enough will, there's definitely going to be a way, he adds. 'And we've got a lot of the building blocks already in place.' Global Design is a series that explores design ideas and experiences in Singapore and beyond. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
