Virgin Galactic, the privately-funded space company owned by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group and Abu Dhabi’s aabar Investments PJS, today announced a partnership with global book publisher DK to create seven exclusive titles over the next two years. The first book under the agreement, Virgin Galactic: The Ultimate Experience, will be published in October 2014 as Virgin Galactic moves toward the launch of commercial spaceflight.
Capturing the wonder and possibility of space, the books are designed to narrate Virgin Galactic’s story of building the world’s first spaceline and the journey of spaceflight through beautiful storytelling and photography. The flagship book, Virgin Galactic: The Ultimate Experience, will publish in October 2014 and inspire excitement surrounding the build-up to Virgin Galactic’s inaugural commercial spaceflight. This fully-illustrated family reference book will take an exclusive look at the revolutionary spacecraft and take readers through each step of the journey planned for Virgin Galactic astronauts.
Critically-acclaimed and bestselling publishers DK share Virgin Galactic’s vision to capture the story of modern human spaceflight. The books aim to draw young people in particular into the excitement surrounding the democratization of space and Virgin Galactic’s commitment to inspire and enable young people to pursue STEM- (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) based education and careers. The books explore the importance of better access to space to the future of humanity, along with the enterprising personalities and the visionary entrepreneurism that commercial spaceflight represents.
“DK is thrilled to be working on this historic project,” said Simon Beecroft, DK’s Director of Licensed Publishing, who brokered the agreement. “We know that the appetite for information about our universe, space and Virgin Galactic’s historic mission will appeal to readers of all ages. Our range of books will give readers unprecedented access to this ground-breaking initiative in the inimitable DK style.”
“Human space flight has a universal capability to inspire and educate. Through Virgin Galactic’s partnership with DK, we can creatively bring this powerful experience to life and to a global audience with an emphasis on beautiful images and one-of-a-kind storytelling,” said Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides.
Other titles planned for 2014 include, Make Your Own: Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo, and Ultimate Sticker Collection: Virgin Galactic. Four more titles are planned for release in 2015.
About Virgin Galactic
Virgin Galactic, owned by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group and aabar Investments PJS, is on track to be the world’s first commercial spaceline. To date, the company has accepted more than $80 million in deposits from approximately 700 individuals, which is 20% more than the total number of people who have ever gone to space. The new spaceship (SpaceShipTwo, VSS Enterprise) and carrier craft (WhiteKnightTwo, VMS Eve) have both been developed for Virgin Galactic’s vehicle fleet by Mojave-based Scaled Composites. Founded by Burt Rutan, Scaled developed SpaceShipOne, which in 2004 claimed the $10 million Ansari X Prize as the world’s first privately developed manned spacecraft. Virgin Galactic’s new reusable vehicles, which will be manufactured by The Spaceship Company in Mojave, Calif., share much of the same basic design, but are being built to carry six customers, or the equivalent scientific research payload to space. The vehicles will allow an out-of-the-seat, zero-gravity experience with astounding views of the planet from the black sky of space for tourist astronauts and a unique microgravity platform for researchers. The VSS Enterprise and VMS Eve test exhaustive test flight program is in its final stages leading to Virgin Galactic commercial operations, which will be based at Spaceport America in New Mexico.
About DK
DK is the bestselling and award-winning publisher known for informing, entertaining, and educating global audiences through beautifully designed content. DK also publishes the Eyewitness series for children and Eyewitness Travel Guides. BradyGames, Alpha Books, and Rough Guides are also available from DK, a division of Penguin Random House.
