• Select Content
• View only Live shows
• View only SpacePods
• View only Podcasts
• View only Articles
• View only Launch Events

Virgin Galactic is getting closer to launch, STS-131 is ready to go and today in space history on your daily Spacevidcast for March 29th, 2010.

On March 22nd, 2010 Virgin Galactic made it one step closer to bringing paying passengers in to sub-orbital space. VSS Enterprise, also known as SpaceShip Two made its first “Captive Carry” test with VMS Eve or White Knight Two.

For the first time ever, VSS Enterprise flew up to 45 thousand feet and was in the air for just a pinch under 3 hours. Engineer test pilot Mark Stuckey seemed to have a boyish grin on his face when he describes how the test flight went.

Virgin Galactic and Scaled Composites still have a lot more work before they will be ready to take paying passengers up. The tests will continue through 2011 moving from captive carry to independent glide, much like how they tested the first space shuttle, also named Enterprise. Once they are happy with the independent glide, the next test will be powered flight followed by, yup, actual commercial launches. Get your checkbooks ready, it will cost you $200,000 to fly aboard VSS Enterprise and that will get you 5 minutes of actual space time. Of course you’ll be among a select few who have actually made it in to sub-orbital space and the view will be, well, like nothing on Earth.

Also preparing to launch, STS-131. We’re only 7 days away from one of the final 4 space shuttle missions, ever.

Starting late April 4th and going in to April 5th Spacevidcast will be streaming live coverage of STS-131′s launch in High Definition. Not only is Spacevidcast.com the only place on the planet that you can get live high definition streaming of shuttle launches, but you can also ask your questions of astronauts, reporters and crew working down at KSC during the launch. If you can’t watch one of the final 4 launches in person, then at least watch it in HD!

Today in space history, Mariner 10 did its first flyby of the planet Mercury in 1974. The pictures sent back to Earth on this first flyby revealed that the surface was cratered much like our own moon and that our inner most planet also has a slight atmosphere made up mostly of helium.

And finally, don’t forget to join us this Friday at 2 am Coordinated Universal Time for a live interview with Ed Buckbee. Ed was NASA PAO working with the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo astronauts and is also the founder of Space Camp. Grab a copy of his book “The Real Space Cowboys” from Apogee books and ask your questions of Ed live!