Posted: Sat, Jul 21, 2007, 10:40 AM ET (1440 GMT)
![SpaceShipTwo conceptual illustration (Virgin Galactic)](/images/ss2-illustration.jpg)
Northrop Grumman confirmed Friday that it has acquired Scaled Composites, the developer of the SpaceShipOne and SpaceShipTwo suborbital spacecraft. Northrop, which previously acquired 40 percent of the Mojave, California-based company, increased its stake to 100 percent in a transaction earlier this month. A formal announcement about the deal is expected to be made on Monday. The acquisition will not affect the ongoing development of SpaceShipTwo, a suborbital commercial passenger spacecraft, for space tourism company Virgin Galactic.