Virgin Galactic Partners with Global Publisher DK

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.