Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Pilot Kelly Latimer
Credit: Virgin Galactic

Virgin Galactic announced today the appointment of female pilot, Kelly Latimer, as part of the company’s commercial operations team.

Latimer is a former combat veteran and retired US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel and joins Virgin Galactic with extensive experience with heavy aircraft and as an experimental test pilot for NASA, Boeing, and the US Air Force.

“I have wanted to go to space ever since I can remember doing anything,” Latimer said in a Virgin Galactic press statement. “Flying is the tip of the iceberg: some the most meaningful work for me will be joining Virgin Galactic’s team with their incredible experience and organization to complete the vehicles’ design and test and setting up operations before the first flight. I’m thrilled that my test pilot experience has led me to Virgin Galactic and look forward to making access to space for everybody a reality,” she said.

Upcoming return to flight

Latimer was the first female research test pilot hired by NASA’s Dryden (now Armstrong) Flight Research Center. She conducted experimental flight test and test support on the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) 747SP, T-38, C-17, 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, BE200 and T-34 for various NASA research projects.

Latimer has logged more than 6,000 flight hours and more than 1,000 hours in test flight in over 30 aircraft.

Virgin Galactic’s Senior Vice President of Operations Mike Moses added that Latimer’s heavy aircraft and test pilot experience “make her well-suited for our upcoming return to flight. We look forward to Kelly’s contributions in what is sure to be a busy and exciting year ahead.”

In October 2014, there was an in-flight loss of VSS Enterprise, a SpaceShipTwo test mishap that killed co-pilot Michael Alsbury and seriously injured pilot Peter Siebold.

Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo is shown making a rocket-powered test flight on Jan. 10, 2014.
Credit: MarsScientific.com/Clay Center Observatory

Passenger manifest

Virgin Galactic is the world’s first commercial spaceline.

Founded by Sir Richard Branson and owned by the Virgin Group and Aabar Investments PJS, Virgin Galactic’s suborbital passenger list totals 700 men and women from over 50 countries—greater than the total number of humans who have ever been to space—all having reserved places to fly on Virgin Galactic’s reusable space launch system.

That system consists of carrier aircraft, WhiteKnightTwo and spacecraft, SpaceShipTwo.

SpaceShipTwo and WhiteKnightTwo are manufactured and tested in Mojave, California, by its manufacturing wing, The Spaceship Company.

Spaceflight operations will be based at Spaceport America in New Mexico, the world’s first purpose-built commercial spaceport.

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