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On December 7th 2006, Joshua E. Bush a graduate of the University of Richmond, was named by Virgin Galactic as an Accredited Space Agent. This prestigious appointment made him one of only 45 in the United States authorized to sell trips to space on Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic. Over the years Joshua has distinguished himself as a true Virgin Galactic expert through his training, physical experiences and involvement with the Virgin Galactic team and space community.
ASA Training:
In February of 2007, Joshua attended Virgin Galactic training at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral Florida. During this intense training he learned the history, physics, medical implications, and specific flight details that are involved in suborbital flight.
Zero Gravity Training:
In August of 2007, Joshua participated in a Zero Gravity flight on Zero-G. He boarded a specially modified Boeing 727 that performed parabolic arcs creating a weightless environment. He completed 15 of these parabolas for over 7 minutes of weightlessness. Joshua was able to do flips, barrel rolls and enjoyed the Zen feeling of being completely free.
 This experience enabled Joshua to fully understand how the body feels and reacts to weightlessness – just the same sensations as during a Virgin Galactic flight. One of the main reasons that people purchase a Virgin Galactic flight is to experience of Zero Gravity. Joshua’s weightless experience allows him to fully comprehend what people are looking for and to accurately describe this phenomenon to potential astronauts.
G-Force Training:
In January of 2008, Philadelphia hosted the Virgin Galactic Global ASA Forum. This multiday event was conducted in conjunction with the Spacecraft and Mothership design unveiling held by Virgin Galactic in New York. The first two days were dedicated to training and information sessions about recent developments in the Virgin Galactic project as well as instruction on G-Forces and how the body responds to them. The majority of this training was conducted at the NASTAR Center in Southampton Pennsylvania. This state of the art facility is home to the STS-400 Space Training Simulator.
 The STS-400 is a human centrifuge that integrates genuine out-the-window visuals with rapid onset G accelerations featuring combined pitch and roll axes positioning systems. This makes the NASTAR simulator the most accurate space training environment short of the real thing.
Joshua was involved in the planning and operation for the Philadelphia portion of this major Forum. He also was one the participants who spent time in the STS-400 where he endured spins greater than 3G’s. Fully understanding the effects of G forces both theoretically and practically represents another critical experience for the Accredited Space Agent.
Necker Island:
In April of 2008, Joshua and his wife Jennifer were invited to Necker Island, the private home of Sir Richard Branson. Here they were able to enjoy the matchless beauty, serenity and exclusivity of this private island in the Caribbean while spending some quality time with Virtuoso CEO Matthew Upchurch as well as Sir Richard. One of the purposes for this trip was for Matthew and Sir Richard to complete an article and interview for Virtuoso Life. This article can be downloaded here.
Whiteknight 2 Rollout and Scaled Composites Tour:
In late July of 2008 Whiteknight 2, the mothership, was unveiled to clients, press and the world. A few weeks later, in early August, Joshua flew to Scaled Composites to see firsthand the completed plane. Here he had a private tour of Scaled Composites where he was able to discuss the development of the project with Burt Rutan, Brian Binnie and many other core engineers responsible for building the space craft. During the tour he was able to see the massive flight simulator created for testing both WK2 as well as SS2. The highlight, however, was that Joshua had the opportunity to see Whiteknight 2 up close and personal.
Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta:
 In October of 2008, Joshua and Park Avenue Travel joined together with three other ASAs to sponsor a Hot Air Balloon at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. For 10 days, the Virgin Galactic Balloon flew amongst hundreds of other hot air balloons. In addition to the balloon, Joshua’s team had a massive tent to provide information to the public. Being so close to the future site of Spaceport America, the Balloon Team’s efforts were recognized by many of the local attendees.
NASTAR Wings:
In March of 2009, Joshua returned to NASTAR to complete his training and earn his NASTAR wings. This visit was actually done in conjunction with an interview for CNN. The story can be viewed below. This trip included a more in depth classroom experience where Joshua learned about GLOC (G-Force Loss Of Consciousness) and how to combat G’s. Joshua’s trip culminated in multiple spins including one of a full Virgin Galactic launch and reentry profile. This profile is the exact match to what a Virgin Galactic Astronaut will experience and reaches over 6.6 Gs. At the end of the training, Joshua earned his NASTAR Wings and became the world’s first ASA to do so. He has the most time in the STS-400 of any ASA. 
By completing the Virgin Galactic profile he has also experienced those same physiological effects that occur during a Virgin Galactic flight - in a sense going to space without having taken the trip. Experiencing the two core effects, weightlessness and G-Force, has equipped Joshua to speak first hand and knowledgably about space travel.
EAA Airventures in Oshkosh 2009:
 In July of 2009, Joshua attended the EAA Airventures show in Oshkosh Wisconsin, the world’s largest airshow. He participated with the Virgin Galactic team as Whiteknight 2 became the main feature and ultimate star of the airshow. Two days of speeches, lectures and demonstration flights were completed for an audience just shy of 1 million people. This was the first chance for a large public group to see WhiteKnight2 in action. During one of the test flights Sir Richard Branson actually served as crew.
Future Events – The Best is Yet to Come
On December 7th 2009 Joshua will be part of history once again by traveling to Scaled Composites to witness the rollout of Space Ship 2. This will be one of the last Milestone events that Virgin Galactic has prior to launch. Visit this page frequently as there will be live updates in the Twitter feed as well as links to videos and photos.
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