Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson and Burt Rutan took the wraps off two new aircraft yesterday. These aircraft are meant to carry travelers into space through Virgin Galactic, the company founded by Branson.
The two machines are a spacecraft called Spaceship Two and its carrier airplane, which is named the WhiteKnight Two. Mr Branson and Mr Rutan unveiled these machines at the American Museum of Natural History.
WhiteKnight Two will carry the SpaceShip Two high into the sky before releasing it, from where the spacecraft's pilot will maneuver the ship high into space. The fuel that will propel the craft is made from nitrous oxide and a solid fuel, which is based on rubber technology.
Mr Rutan has a deal with Virgin Galactic, which will see him create 5 SpaceShip Two machines for the company. Virgin Galactic also has the option of buying seven more of these machines if required.
Mr. Rutan is the creator of SpaceShip One, which had the backing of Microsoft honcho Paul Allen. The machine was awarded the Ansari X Prize in 2004 after a pilot was able to journey to the edge of space twice within a span of five days.
Virgin officials said testing for SpaceShip Two would begin in June this year. However they were not able to provide any timeframe for the start of commercial flights. Virgin Galactic's president, Will Whitehorn said the main concern was safety. "We're not in a race with anyone. We're in a race for safety, for our own sake and the sake of our customers," he added.
Virgin has 200 confirmed passengers for the first flights and has $30 million in deposits. The company is charging $200,000 for each passenger. Victoria Principal, Stephen Hawking and Princess Beatrice are some of the famous names to have booked their seats.
