Virgin Galactic hires second pilot astronaut
The age of commercial astronauts has arrived. Virgin Galactic announced yesterday that it had selected former USAF test pilot Keith Colmer as its newest commercial astronaut pilot. He was the sole person chosen from a highly competitive pool of more than 500 applicants, probably comprised mostly of test pilots and former astronauts. The press release mentions that "additional selections will be made as the company nears commercial operations," so if you're an accomplished test pilot and want to fly in space, it's time to dust off that resume. Colmer joins David Mackay as Virgin Galactic's second astronaut pilot. Mackay began flight training on WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo earlier this year and has been designated as Virgin Galactic's chief pilot. He will pilot the first commercial suborbital spaceflight in 2013 . He was tapped from a pool of several Virgin Atlantic pilots who may one day also serve as pilots in the burgeoning spacelin