Space & Astronomy

Virgin Galactic reveals its new spaceship

By T.K. Randall
February 20, 2016

Image: White Knight Two and SpaceShipTwo
Credit: Jeff Foust / CC BY 2.0 (adapted) Virgin Galactic founder Sir Richard Branson was on hand yesterday at an event at the company's factory in Mojave, California to celebrate the unveiling of its latest creation - the VSS Unity - which also happens to be the first spaceship constructed by Virgin's own in-house design team.

"It's almost too good to be true, isn't it ?" Branson said at the event. "I've always believed that having the best-looking planes and trains in the world, while not a guarantee, is a good place to start."The new vehicle replaces Virgin's previous suborbital spaceplane - the VSS Enterprise - which was lost during an ill-fated test flight which resulted in the death of a pilot back in November 2014.

While the VSS Unity will still need to go through several years of testing, its reveal has confirmed Virgin Galactic's continued dedication to offering the world's first commercial space flight service.


Source: The Guardian

Tags: Virgin Galactic, SpaceShipTwo