Evidently being executive director of the National Space Society isn’t keeping George Whitesides busy enough (hard to believe, given all the energy he puts into NSS activities): he has signed on to be a “senior advisor” to Virgin Galactic, according to a report by Space News (subscription required). He’ll work with Virgin on government and regulatory issues, according to the report, as well as being a general advocate for the company; he’ll split his time between Virgin Galactic and the NSS. Perhaps now he’ll get a discount on the reservations he and his wife, Loretta, have on SpaceShipTwo…
Getting a discount, eh? I wonder how long it will be before Virgin Galactic has interline fares or jumpseats so I can go on the cheap!
When Alex Tai made the announcement about George at ‘Flight School’, he indicated that Whitesides’ dual duties would last about 6 months, until they found a successor to him as NSS.
George is a good guy and will do a lot of good for them.