SpaceShipOne ushered in a new era of commercial spaceflight by winning the Ansari X-Prize in 2004. Founded that same year, Virgin Galactic plans to provide suborbital spaceflights to the public and perform suborbital science missions. The company currently has deposits from over 455 individuals for its spaceflight experience. Today, there are numerous companies poised to enter the space market. These companies are marketing a range of services including suborbital, orbital, in-space experiences. Capitalizing on the innovation of American industry, NASA is partnering with the U.S. commercial space industry to enable safe, reliable, and cost-effective access to low Earth orbit for crew and cargo. In this seminar, Mr. Whitesides will provide an overview of the commercial space industry with a focus on the accomplishments and plans of Virgin Galactic.

George Whitesides is the CEO and President of Virgin Galactic, the spaceflight company founded by Sir Richard Branson. With Scaled Composites, Virgin Galactic has developed the WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo vehicles, based on the X Prize-winning SpaceShipOne. In this role, Mr. Whitesides is responsible for guiding all aspects of the company to commercial operation at Spaceport America in New Mexico. Prior to Virgin Galactic, Whitesides served as Chief of Staff for NASA, where he provided policy and staff support to the NASA Administrator. Upon departure from the agency, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, the highest award the agency confers. Prior to his work at NASA, Mr. Whitesides served as Executive Director of the National Space Society (NSS). Mr. Whitesides currently serves on the board of Virgin Unite USA (the philanthropic organization of Virgin Group), the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Space Security, and the advisory board of the Rotary National Award for Space Achievement Foundation. He is a fellow of the UK’s Royal Aeronautical Society and served for four years on the Board of Trustees of Princeton University. With his wife Loretta Hidalgo Whitesides, he co-founded Yuri's Night, an annual global celebration of space that has been celebrated in over 50 countries. Mr. Whitesides co-founded Permission to Dream, a global space education program that donates telescopes to underprivileged children. He has testified on American space policy before the United States Senate and the President's Commission on Implementation of United States Space Exploration Policy. Mr. Whitesides received his undergraduate degree in public and international affairs with honors from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School, a master’s degree in geographic information systems and remote sensing from the University of Cambridge in England, and was a Fulbright Scholar to Tunisia. He is a licensed private pilot and certified parabolic flight coach.