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| Branson unveils space tourism jet | Branson unveils space tourism jet |
| (4 days later) | |
| The British business tycoon Sir Richard Branson has unveiled an aircraft in the US that will be used for his project to launch tourists into space. | |
| The high-altitude jet will act as the mothership for a spacecraft, releasing it in mid-air to take two crew and six passengers on sub-orbital flights. | The high-altitude jet will act as the mothership for a spacecraft, releasing it in mid-air to take two crew and six passengers on sub-orbital flights. |
| More than 250 people have already paid $200,000 (£100,000) each to be among the first making the tourist trips. | More than 250 people have already paid $200,000 (£100,000) each to be among the first making the tourist trips. |
| Sir Richard predicts the maiden space voyage will take place in 18 months. | |
| It represents... the chance for our ever-growing group of future astronauts and other scientists to see our world in a completely new light Sir Richard Branson In pictures: Space tourism jet | |
| A crowd of engineers, dignitaries and space enthusiasts gathered inside a hangar in the Mojave Desert in California for the unveiling of WhiteKnightTwo "Eve". | A crowd of engineers, dignitaries and space enthusiasts gathered inside a hangar in the Mojave Desert in California for the unveiling of WhiteKnightTwo "Eve". |
| Virgin Galactic has contracted the innovative aerospace designer Burt Rutan to build the mothership and spacecraft at his Scaled Composites factory in California. | Virgin Galactic has contracted the innovative aerospace designer Burt Rutan to build the mothership and spacecraft at his Scaled Composites factory in California. |
| But some hurdles remain before Virgin Galactic customers can experience zero gravity. | But some hurdles remain before Virgin Galactic customers can experience zero gravity. |
| WhiteKnightTwo must undergo a rigorous flight testing programme, beginning in the autumn. | WhiteKnightTwo must undergo a rigorous flight testing programme, beginning in the autumn. |
| The mothership is a white, four-engined jet designed to cradle SpaceShipTwo under its wing and release it at 50,000 feet (15,200m) in the air. | The mothership is a white, four-engined jet designed to cradle SpaceShipTwo under its wing and release it at 50,000 feet (15,200m) in the air. |
| Once separated, SpaceShipTwo will fire its hybrid rocket and climb some 60 miles (100km) above the Earth. | Once separated, SpaceShipTwo will fire its hybrid rocket and climb some 60 miles (100km) above the Earth. |
| Engineers still need to finish building SpaceShipTwo, which is now about 70% complete, according to Virgin Galactic. | Engineers still need to finish building SpaceShipTwo, which is now about 70% complete, according to Virgin Galactic. |
| Sir Richard said the name of the WhiteKnightTwo reflected the pioneering spirit of his space tourism venture. | |
| "We are naming it Eve after my mother, Eve Branson, but also because it represents a first and a new beginning, the chance for our ever-growing group of future astronauts and other scientists to see our world in a completely new light," he said. | "We are naming it Eve after my mother, Eve Branson, but also because it represents a first and a new beginning, the chance for our ever-growing group of future astronauts and other scientists to see our world in a completely new light," he said. |
| Rutan and Branson have high hopes for WhiteKnightTwo, and its carbon composite technology, that go beyond merely lofting SpaceShipTwo to its launch altitude. | Rutan and Branson have high hopes for WhiteKnightTwo, and its carbon composite technology, that go beyond merely lofting SpaceShipTwo to its launch altitude. |
| Scaled and Virgin have set up a new joint venture, called The Spaceship Company, which will exploit the wider capabilities of the aircraft. | Scaled and Virgin have set up a new joint venture, called The Spaceship Company, which will exploit the wider capabilities of the aircraft. |
| Richard Branson on the likely timetable for space tourism | Richard Branson on the likely timetable for space tourism |
| The capabilities of this mothership are unbelievable," Sir Richard told the BBC. "For instance, we could put satellites in space at a fraction of the price that satellites are currently put up there. It has enormous weight capability, so if there were a [humanitarian] crisis in Africa it could carry enormous loads [for aid]." | The capabilities of this mothership are unbelievable," Sir Richard told the BBC. "For instance, we could put satellites in space at a fraction of the price that satellites are currently put up there. It has enormous weight capability, so if there were a [humanitarian] crisis in Africa it could carry enormous loads [for aid]." |
| SpaceShipTwo should be finished in about a year's time. Sir Richard said he intended to take his family into space but would not fly them until a thorough testing programme had "been completed and every box has been ticked". | SpaceShipTwo should be finished in about a year's time. Sir Richard said he intended to take his family into space but would not fly them until a thorough testing programme had "been completed and every box has been ticked". |
| Longer-term, Sir Richard envisages many tens of thousands of people taking holidays in space. | Longer-term, Sir Richard envisages many tens of thousands of people taking holidays in space. |
| "Let's go 20 years forward, if all of this goes to plan, I hope that we will have a hotel in space; and in that hotel I hope we will have small spaceships that can go around the Moon - an excursion," he explained. | "Let's go 20 years forward, if all of this goes to plan, I hope that we will have a hotel in space; and in that hotel I hope we will have small spaceships that can go around the Moon - an excursion," he explained. |