Land Rover among the supporting partners of Virgin Galactic - the world's first commercial 'spaceline'

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Land Rover among the supporting partners of Virgin Galactic – the world’s first commercial ‘spaceline’

By now, you would already have read news that Virgin Galactic – the world’s first commercial ‘spaceline’ – has completed its first ever fully crewed space flight yesterday. And on board the craft called the SpaceShipTwo Unity was founder Sir Richard Branson, who also established Virgin Airlines (as Virgin Atlantic) 37 years ago. The craft, launched from the uniquely designed WhiteKnightTwo aircraft, travelled with four Mission Specialists and two pilots on board, as well as Branson as passenger.

Special Astronaut Edition of Range Rover
Two years ago, Land Rover was already preparing for this historic flight with the Range Rover Astronaut Edition created by the Land Rover SV Bespoke division. It is a special model that will be offered exclusively to Virgin Galactic’s Future Astronaut customers, which already number some 600 people who are said to have signed up.

The special edition of the Range Rover has exterior elements which include unique Zero Gravity Blue paint inspired by the beautiful effects of the night sky, plus a bespoke Virgin Galactic puddle lamp design. The aluminium door handles have the Future Astronaut community constellation design. Astronaut Edition badging also features on the tailgate and side profile finishers.

Exclusive features
One-off interior design features include a custom cupholder crafted from the spaceship’s front landing skid (from the first mission in 2018), ‘DNA of Flight’ logo graphic veneer, with additional personalisation options that include stitching the Future Astronaut’s initials onto the headrests.

Customers who buy the Astronaut Edition can choose either a P400e plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) powertrain or a high-performance 5-litre V8 supercharged petrol engine.

Automotive partner since 2014
Land Rover has been the Automotive Partner of the Virgin Galactic team since 2014, providing vehicles for various roles before and after each mission. At Spaceport America in New Mexico yesterday, a Defender towed SpaceShipTwo Unity back to its hangar after the craft mission that took it about 80 kms up.