Launched SpaceShipTwo space tourist ship

With plans to bring thousands of tourists to space, yesterday, British billionaire Richard Branson officially announced SpaceShipTwo spacecraft before the press and expected the first flight will start in 2011.

Yesterday, British billionaire Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Galactic Group, announced the spacecraft designed and built to transport tourists. The tourism spacecraft project is the result of a partnership between Virgin Galactic and the famous American aerospace engineer, Burt Rutan.

Richard Branson's SpaceShipTwo spacecraft is ready to welcome tourists.

According to Richard Branson, the company's first commercial flights are expected to begin in 2011. There are nearly 300 customers registering and paying $ 200,000 in tickets for one person.

Richard Branson also said he and his family, including his 92-year-old father and chief engineer Burt Rutan, will attend the first trip with the company's ship. In addition, the first flight was joined by physicist Stephen Hawking and environmental scientist James Lovelock.

Design the SpaceShipTwo vessel based on Burt Rutan's SpaceShipOne design.

In 2004, the SpaceShipOne design won the Ansari X Prize (an award in the aerospace sector) and became a private, manned aircraft design that could fly into space. SpaceShipTwo is more successful than SpaceShipOne because it is supplemented with windows, allowing visitors to see the air and the earth.

Richard Branson in the space ship SpaceShipTwo during the press conference.

Until now, only government-sponsored individuals or super-rich individuals have the opportunity to see space and earth on Russian spacecraft.

SpaceShipTwo spacecraft, accommodating 6 astronauts, is mounted on the mother spacecraft, named "White Cavalry" and was taken by her mother's spacecraft to an altitude of 18,300m. At this altitude, SpaceShipTwo is separated from the mother ship, starting a jet engine, rushing into space and reaching speeds of up to 3,000 km / h in 10 seconds.

After separating from the mother ship, SpaceShipTwo rushed into space at a speed of 3,000km / h.Photo SpaceShipTwo is flying test.

When SpaceShipTwo has entered space, tourists can leave the seat and watch the earth through the windows. In addition, the visitors also enjoy the feeling of weightlessness, becoming astronauts with the "flying" movement in the spacecraft.

When the train returns to Earth, tourists will return to their seats and buckle up.

Speaking at the headquarters, which designed and built SpaceShipTwo, at Mojave Desert, California, Richard Branson said: "Today is a historic day. I used to dream of one day I have the opportunity to enter. space since the day people landed on the Moon, I think that NASA never thought that I and my friends would like to fly into the universe, so many years ago I had to wind up and build together. Our spacecraft ".