Virgin Galactic will unveil the latest version of its SpaceShipTwo spacecraft later today, 18 months after a pilot was killed when the previous model exploded.
Company founder Richard Branson said the new spaceship looked "beautiful" and was the result of 700 engineers working "day and night" for 15 months. "We've got some wonderful surprises later on today," he told ITV's Good Morning Britain.
Branson will unveil the new SpaceShipTwo at the company's spaceport in the Mojave Desert, California later today. The six-passenger craft will carry six passengers on a five-minute journey into suborbital space, reaching altitudes of 100km. Tickets for the trip cost $250,000 (£160,000). Virgin isn't the only private company aiming for space; Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin also have ambitious plans. "We're nearly back on track and hopefully it'll be seen as an historic day in the years to come," Branson said, referring back to a fatal crash that threatened to completely derail the project.
SpaceShipTwo serial number two is the successor to the original version that exploded at 45,000 feet in October 2014. The malfunction killed test pilot Mike Alsbury, 39, and seriously injured his co-pilot Peter Siebold, 43. "It was a horrendous day when it happened. And I must admit there were moments we were wondering whether we could carry on," Branson said. But he said people expected companies like Virgin to "push the barriers forward".
In order to reach the edge of space, Virgin Galactic's system relies on a "mothership", the White Knight Two. This large, fixed-wing aircraft has two hulls connected by a central wing and is used to deliver the spacecraft to around 50,000 feet, at which points it detaches and fires rockets to reach the edge of space. Those aboard experience four minutes of weightlessness before SpaceShipTwo glides back to Earth.
In July 2008 Branson boldly predicted that Virgin's first space voyage would take place within 18 months, but numerous delays and complications have made the entrepreneur more cautious. "I'm not being drawn on specific dates, I've made that mistake before," he said. "Today is the unveiling, the test program then starts over the next 12 months and we'll see how it goes. Hopefully we're near the end of a ten year program to get us this far."
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
