In 2004, the Advanced Composites Group Limited (Heanor, UK), a part of the Composites Division of Umeco plc, assisted Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites company win the Ansari X prize for being the first private company to put a manned craft into space twice within a 2 week period. The SpaceShipOne vehicle and the White Knight carrier plane were both built from ACG's LTM^®45EL prepregs at the Scaled Composites Mojave California facility.

Now, with the launch of Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group's new commercial spaceline, Virgin Galactic, commercial spaceflight will take a further step forward by offering the first commercial suborbital passenger space service. Virgin Galactic will operate five spaceship systems manufactured by The Spaceship Company, a joint venture between Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group and Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites with options for more to follow.

The SpaceShipTwo vehicle and the White Knight 2 carrier plane are to be built from a new generation of out of autoclave prepregs developed by the Advanced Composites Group. The MTM^®45-1 prepreg resin system selected for the new vehicles represents an advance over the older LTM^® systems in terms of performance and toughness. In addition, the MTM^®45-1 system is supported by extensive property databases. The Advanced Composites Group is proud to be a part of what promises to be an exciting new chapter in man's exploration of space.

Jon Mabbitt, Managing Director of Advanced Composites Group, said: "We are delighted that our technology will be used again to help Scaled Composites and Virgin Galactic reach their goals of commercial spaceflight. At ACG we continuously strive to achieve advances in materials that help to make these feats possible."