Virgin Galactic + NASA

NASA Ames Research Center signed a memorandum of understanding today with well-known suborbital space tourism company Virgin Galactic. This is not the first high-profile partnership for Ames: Google signed a somewhat similar MOU in 2005 and solidified their relationship with a formal Space Act Agreement in late 2006.

This new arrangement allows Ames and Virgin Galactic to explore areas that could be good for research collaboration including space suits, heat shields for spaceships, hybrid rocket motors and hypersonic vehicles. The two-year agreement was was negotiated through NASA’s Space Portal, a newly formed organization in the NASA Research Park at Ames. The agreement does not require NASA nor Virgin Galactic to pay any fees or provide funds to support the areas of possible collaboration.