George T. Whitesides was chosen in 2010 to lead Virgin Galactic, the spaceflight company founded by Sir Richard Branson. After winning the X Prize with SpaceShipOne, a rocket plane that is lifted initially by a carrier vehicle, Branson unveiled SpaceShipTwo in 2009. Whitesides is responsible for guiding all aspects of the company to commercial operation in the U.S. and a proposed spaceport in Abu Dhabi. This includes The Spaceship Company, a joint venture to manufacture additional space vehicles. More than 540 individuals have plunked down deposits for seats on planned spaceflights. Before joining Virgin Galactic, Whitesides served as chief of staff for NASA and earlier as executive director of the National Space Society. Whitesides holds a master’s degree in geographic information systems and remote sensing from the University of Cambridge. He is a licensed private pilot and certified parabolic flight coach and cofounder of Yuri’s Night, an annual global celebration of space.