SpaceShipTwo
SpaceShipTwo is the spacecraft that will be used by Virgin Galactic to carry private passengers on sub-orbital and orbital spaceflights. It is being developed by The Spaceship Company, a joint venture between the Virgin Group and Scaled Composites. Flights are expected to begin between late 2009 and 2010.
Fast Facts
- First announced on January 23, 2008
- Will seat six passengers and two pilots
- Passengers will be outfitted with personal spacesuits
- Estimated cost per passenger: $200,000
- Craft will be ferried up to 60,000 feet by a plane called White Knight Two
- White Knight Two is being developed concurrently with SpaceShipTwo
- Passengers will reach a maximum altitude of 68 miles1
- Designed by Burt Rutan
- Rutan also designed SpaceShipOne, the first privately-funded passenger spacecraft2
Categories
(January 23, 2008)