Virgin Galactic, located in Long Beach just a short distance from Downey, earlier this month held a grand opening ceremony for its latest commercial spaceflight facility for its new LauncherOne operations.
In this 150,000-square-foot building, which resembles a hangar, the LauncherOne will be created, then brought to a high altitude by the WhiteKnightTwo aircraft.
The LauncherOne is a satellite that will detach once it reaches its cruising altitude and then take its journey into orbit. Virgin Galactic already has plans for the rocket to launch asteroid-hunting orbital observatories and global broadband access satellites.
There were about 7,000 people at the ribbon cutting ceremony. George Whitesides, CEO of Virgin Galactic, opened by saying that the new plant will provide the ability for sending small satellites into space at a lower cost and quicker speed, and open access to space for people.
The event also included a job fair, which was no doubt welcomed by the community as Boeing recently announced that it would be closing its C-17 facility in the area.
According to a company spokesperson, Christine Choi, the program is expected to hire up to 250 people in the next two years, including technicians and engineers. Most likely, the company will turn to digital business card printing as people get hired over the next two years.
