Virgin Galactic Reveals Spacecraft Design

AEROSPACE

Will Whitehorn (L), President Virgin Atlantic, Sir Richard Branson (C), founder Virgin Group, and Stephen Attenborough, head of Astronaut Relations, unveil a scale model of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShip2 at a news conference 28 September, 2006 in New York. The craft is designed to take eight passengers into space. Photo courtesy of Don Emmert and AFP.

by Staff Writers
UPI Correspondent
New York (UPI) Sep 30, 2006
Virgin Galactic, at New York's Wired Magazine NextFest Forum, revealed designs for its eight-person craft designed to travel 60 miles above the Earth. The Albuquerque (N.M.) Journal said the company has offered attendees of the technology showcase, which runs through Sunday, a glimpse of the spacecraft it plans for 2008.

"This is the first opportunity for the public to get a sneak preview of the sheer scale of what is under construction here," Britain's Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Galactic, said of the event. "Our vision is to successfully build the world's first environmentally benign space launch system that we believe will eventually be capable of taking payload and science into space as well as people."

The company plans to offer rides in the craft, which is currently being built by Scaled Composites, initially from Mojave, Calif., at the cost of $200,000 before eventually moving its launch site outside of Truth or Consequences, N.M., the paper said.

Source: United Press International

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