From the creators of the world's first privately developed spaceship comes its commercial cousin, Eve. During an unveiling ceremony at Scaled Composites' Mojave, Calif., base, Burt Rutan, who designs cutting edge aircraft -- and spacecraft -- with an artist's eye, and his newest best friend, the daring and dashing Richard Branson, of Virgin fame and fortune, showed off the launch vehicle for their new venture.
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Branson started a new business, Virgin Galactic, after watching Rutan's prototype SpaceShipOne make three flights in 2004 to clinch a $10 million purse put out by the X Prize Foundation.
Like its predecessor, SpaceShipTwo will travel into suborbital space after being toted off the ground by a jet carrier, aka: Eve, named for Branson’s mother. Eve is to SpaceShipTwo what the White Knight was for SpaceShipOne. You can read the full press release here.
The rollout comes a year and two days after an accident claimed the lives of three Scaled employees working on the new spaceship's rocket engine. Scaled is appealing a $25,870 fine levied by the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which cited inadequate training and unsafe conditions as contributors to the accident.
Though the accident and investigation delayed plans for the start of Virgin’s space tourism business, it didn’t seem to stem enthusiasm and support for the venture. The company, which is charging $200,000 for a ride, has already collected full fares from 100 armchair astronauts ready to leave -- albeit briefly -- the home planet.
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