Virgin Galactic appoints George Whitesides as Senior Advisor

Virgin Galactic has appointed George T Whitesides, Executive Director of the National Space Society, as Senior Advisor to the company.

Virgin Galactic, founded by Sir Richard Branson, was established to undertake the challenge of making private space travel more readily available.

Will Whitehorn, President of Virgin Galactic, said "George is recognized as a leader in the U.S. space policy and business communities, and has been a strong advocate for the developing personal spaceflight industry. We are pleased to have him join our team in this capacity."

As Senior Advisor, Whitesides will provide guidance on regulation, markets and government relations, as well as provide general advocacy for the commercial spaceflight industry and the company.

His appointment strengthens the company's presence in the United States, in preparation for the transfer of Virgin Galactic's operations to the US.

Whitesides will continue his duties as Executive Director of the National Space Society during this appointment as Senior Advisor to the company.

Whitesides began his career at Orbital Sciences Corporation, a leading manufacturer of space vehicles and satellites. As Vice President  of Zero Gravity Corporation, he helped launch that company's weightless flight service, now a thriving space tourism business. As the Executive Director of National Space Society, he leads the largest public space organization focused on human space flight.

He earned a bachelor's degree in public and international affairs from Princeton University and a master's degree in remote sensing and geographic information systems from Cambridge University in England.

 Virgin Galactic has collected over US$25 million of customer deposits and plans to begin flying private passengers as early as 2009. The company has partnered with Burt Rutan to commercialize the revolutionary spaceship technologies pioneered during Scaled Composites' successful campaign to win the X Prize.

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