SPACE TOURISM BRANSON goes production

by SOLARLIFE | July 27, 2008 at 11:40 am

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25O Tourists registered for $200 ooo Space flight

WhiteKnightTwo was unveiled in the Mojave Desert by British billionarie Sir Richard Branson and aerospace engineering legend Burt Rutan as a part of the commercial system to fly passengers to space in 2010. WhiteKnightTwo is being designed to boost SpaceShipTwo to launch at 50,000 feet altitude.

British billionaire Sir Richard Branson and American aerospace designer Burt Rutan are due Monday to show off their mothership, which is designed to air launch a passenger-toting spaceship out of the atmosphere.

The rollout -- a year after a deadly accident at Rutan's test site -- marks the start of a rigorous flight test program that space tourism advocates hope will climax with the first suborbital joy rides by the end of the decade. More than 250 wannabe astronauts have paid $200,000 or put down deposits for a chance to float weightless for a mere five minutes.

"Having invested all my faith in it, I'm so excited to see the actual thing," said artist Namira Salim, a customer who is lined up for a ride on Branson's Virgin Galactic.