Virgin Galactic unveils SpaceShipTwo

It’s a rainy, stormy day at the Mojave Spaceport – but it hasn’t stopped over 800 press, crew, and future space tourists from gathering for Virgin Galactic’s unveiling of their highly anticipated SpaceShipTwo commercial spacecraft.

This evening Richard Branson, Burt Rutan, and the Virgin Galactic team will be showing off the revolutionary machine that will be sending citizens into space within the next two years. Most of the guests in attendance tonight have already paid the $200,000 ticket price to take the suborbital flight. Another 82,000 have expressed interest in taking future flights as well – a healthy sign for what some consider a risky business venture.

Gadling is on site – bringing you exclusive video and photo of the event as it unfolds, so check back for more updates from the desert to witness a small step for mankind in the making. More photos of the SpaceShipTwo model on display after the break…

Virgin Galactic unveils White Knight Two

Virgin Galactic unveiled the White Knight Two, their delivery vehicle for SpaceShipTwo at their Mojave construction facility today, to glorious fanfare and celebration.
White Knight Two is the second version of the mothership that will deliver the suborbital commercial space vehicle, SpaceShipTwo up to 40,000 feet before the daughtership cruises up into low orbit.

Virgin’s rollout of the ship is the first step in testing the new second phase of their commercial space flight system — a variety of static and flight tests still need to be done before the second duo are ready for real test flights. Indeed, SpaceShipTwo is still under construction and was hidden under a black sheet during the ceremonies today.

Check out the exclusive gallery of Gadling’s visit to the White Knight Two including visits from Sir Richard Branson, Buzz Aldrin and Richard Branson and stay tuned for a Gadling report on the entire event later this week!

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