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  News Science HEAVENS ABOVE  When will SpaceX Starship SN20 launch and go to the Moon, Mars? Harry Pettit , Deputy Technology and Science Editor 17:11,  26 Nov 2021 Updated : 17:11,  26 Nov 2021 SPACEX is building a spacecraft that billionaire CEO Elon Musk says will one day take people to the Moon and Mars. It's called Starship, and the California rocket firm's latest prototype, SN20, is due for launch soon as part of the craft's first orbital test flight. 2 SpaceX is developing Starship, a spacecraft that it hopes will take people to the Moon and Mars Credit: AFP 1) When will SpaceX's Starship SN20 launch? SpaceX has said that SN20 will be its first Starship prototype to reach space. Previous versions have performed short "hops" of up to 10 km (6 miles). Lifting off atop SpaceX's huge deep-space rocket booster, Super Heavy, the 165-foot-tall (50 meters) spacecraft is expected to fly in early 2022. The precise timing of the liftoff is unclear, as SpaceX

  Pilot profile: Virgin Galactic chief pilot, Dave Mackay Dave Unwin 0 Published:   10:52 AM November 19, 2021 Virgin Galactic Chief Pilot Dave Mackay   - Credit: Virgin Galactic Richard Branson was chauffeured into space by a man whose piloting experience spans the whole era of wing-borne powered flight − everything from Blériot, WWI biplanes, WWII warbirds and Boeing 747s to... yes; spaceships When Virgin Galactic seriously got going, Dave was invited to be its test pilot   - Credit: Virgin Galactic Unless you’ve been living on the Moon, it can’t have escaped your attention that on Sunday 11 July, Virgin Galactic founder and serial entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson’s childhood dream came true, when he flew into space aboard the VSS Unity. This is a Virgin Galactic spaceship commanded by VG’s Chief Pilot and the subject of this Pilot Profile, Dave Mackay.  Like I suspect many Pilot readers of a certain age, who were raised on a diet of Dan Dare, Mach 2-capable airliners and the space r