Sir Richard Branson unveiled the model of an aircraft with a rocket engine that could carry the company's customers to the brink of space as part of the Virgin Galactic company. Virgin's spacecraft, a replica on steroids of the Spaceship-1 spacecraft
Sir Richard Branson unveiled the model of an aircraft with a rocket engine that could carry the company's customers to the brink of space as part of the Virgin Galactic company. Virgin's spacecraft, a replica of the XPRIZE-winning Spaceship-1 spacecraft on steroids, will be able to carry six passengers and two pilots to an altitude of about 140 kilometers on a suborbital space flight. The price of a ticket for a suborbital flight with Virgin Galactic will be 100 pounds (about 190 dollars). The spacecraft model was unveiled at the Gavits Exhibition and Convention Center in New York last Tuesday.
Virchin's spacecraft is based on the design of the Space Ship 1 spacecraft, which was built by aviation pioneer Brett Rutan, and became the first private aircraft to reach space in 2004. The spacecraft made three flights to an altitude of over 100 kilometers, the official limit of the atmosphere - thus winning the award The prestigious Ansari X-PRIZE.
The spacecraft was carried by an aircraft that was nicknamed the "White Knight" to an altitude of about 15 km. It was released from the aircraft and ignited the rocket engine, which raised it through the atmosphere. The prize, worth 10 million dollars, was offered to the first non-governmental body to make a manned flight into space. Group Vergin awarded the contract to Rotan's Scaled Composites to build a passenger spacecraft and Its mother plane Virgin Galtic will own and operate at least five spacecraft and two mother ships.
The program talks about the first passenger flights in 2009 from a facility known as Space Port America that is currently being built in the deserts of New Mexico at a cost of 225 million dollars. Will Whithorn, president of Virgin Galactic, said that the company is in talks with television producers to produce a reality show in this mission in which candidates will compete for a place on the flight.
"All the signs point to us being able to create a program that will give people a chance to go into space. This program will be a cross between Dr. Who, Star Trek and The Krypton Factor.
Virgin Galactic is one of several private companies seeking to open access to space to the general public.
