Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic venture unveiled its new passenger spacecraft on Friday (February 19), nearly 16 months after a fatal accident destroyed its sister ship during a test flight over California's Mojave Desert.
The rollout of the gleaming craft, dubbed Virgin Space Ship Unity, marks Branson's return to a race among rival billionaire entrepreneurs to develop a vehicle that can take thrill-seekers, researchers and commercial customers on short hops into space.
The ship was painted bright white on its front section, fading to grey and black toward the tail. The tail itself was emblazoned with a blue image of a peering eye belonging to famed British physicist and Virgin Galactic supporter Stephen Hawking.
"Well, I think all of us in this room need to pinch ourselves. Come on, let's just pinch ourselves. It's almost too good to be true," Branson said in a ceremony at the Mojave Air and Space Port, about 100 miles (160 km) north of Los Angeles.
From outward appearances, the spacecraft is nearly identical to the one lost on Oct. 31, 2014. The accident was blamed on pilot error and oversights by Northrop Grumman Corp's Scaled Composites division, which designed, built and tested the vehicle, known as SpaceShipTwo.
"I just want to extend a huge thank you and even a bigger well done to our amazing talented team. They picked themselves up at the end of 2014, they redoubled their efforts, and they remained absolutely committed to our shared goal. And what a great testament this spaceship is to what can be achieved against any background, when true teamwork, great skill and deep pride are combined with a common purpose," Branson said.
"That purpose which drives me and my team, and what unites us with our partners and our friends, is the belief that together we can make space accessible in a way that's only been dreamt of before now. And by doing that we can truly bring positive change to life on Earth," he added.
The two-pilot, six-passenger spaceship is designed to reach altitudes of 62 miles (100 km) above the planet, providing a few minutes of weightlessness and a view out the window of Earth set against the blackness of space.
Nearly 700 people have signed up for rides, which cost $250,000 each.
Friday's unveiling set the stage for the new ship's first round of test flights, which will likely incrementally test the new ship at higher speeds and altitudes. The first spaceship had not yet traveled beyond the atmosphere.
Virgin Galactic is among a handful of companies, including Elon Musk's SpaceX, Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, Paul Allen's Stratolaunch Systems and Boeing, planning to fly people in space.
Building a vehicle that can safely carry humans to the weightless heights beyond Earth's upper atmosphere is a feat so far achieved only by NASA, Russia, China and Scaled Composites, which designed and flew Virgin Galactic's prototype craft, SpaceShipOne.
