SpaceShipTwo, designed by Burt Rutan and bankrolled by Sir Richard Branson, made its first public appearance last week. Rutan’s prototype SpaceShipOne won the $10 million Ansari X-Prize in 2004 as the first privately operated aircraft to reach space, then repeat the feat within two weeks.
Branson and Rutan hope to launch their commercial space tourism program as early as 2011, with Branson (and his family) joining Rutan on the passenger manifest for the first flight. Their joint enterprise, Virgin Galactic, was founded by Branson who said, “We want this program to be a whole new beginning in a commercial era of space travel.”
