Monday, May 17, 2010

Virgin Galactic Snags NASA Chief of Staff As CEO

Virgin Galactic, the commercial spaceflight firm developing vehicles for delivering tourists into space, said Monday that it has appointed George T. Whitesides -- former Chief of Staff of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), as its CEO. Whitesides also has served at the FAA, Orbital Sciences Corporation, Blastoff Corporation, and Zero Gravity Corporation. Whitesides was previously a senior advisor to Virgin Galactic. Virgin Galactic is developing a space vehicle based on SpaceShipOne, the winner of the X Prize and the first commercial spacecraft to reach space.