Virgin Galactic founder Sir Richard Branson has just officially unveiled the final designs of the White Knight Two carrier aircraft to the public on July 28, 2008 at the Mojave Airport in California.
The White Knight Two (WK2) is nicknamed "Eve", after the mother of Sir Richard Branson. The WK2 is a four-engine jet that will carry an 8-seat spaceship called Space Ship Two to an altitude of 48,000 feet. Once it reaches that point, the Space Ship Two will drop off and fire its rocket engine and propel upwards to 360,000 feet, into suborbital space or the edge of space.
The White Knight Two is the world’s largest all carbon composite aircraft with many of its composite materials having been used for the first time. It has a 140-foot wingspan that’s the longest single carbon composite aviation component ever manufactured.
Watch the video below for your viewing enjoyment:
Virgin Galactic has stated that Space ShipTwo is about 70% complete, as they expect to have the first passenger tourist flights in just a few years. So far, Virgin has reportedly signed up 200 committed passengers willing to pay $200,000 for a suborbital flight.
Sounds cool right? So, if you had the money, would you pay $200,000 for a trip to space?
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Virgin Galactic White Knight Two Unveiled
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2 comments:
If I had the money for such a trip? You're damned right I'd pay it! That video just looks too cool.
Ah, but us poor working stiffs don't have to worry too much about cool stuff like that...
Visit the Natural State Hawg!
Those cool stuffs are for the rich people...for us, we just stay at home and watch the space from Discovery Channel....
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