RSS
With Richard Branson and Burt Rutan pioneering space tourism, reaching for the moon is no longer just a metaphor. And the company has now launched the WhiteKnightTwo, the workhorse aircraft that will launch SpaceShipTwo into suborbital space. The craft will first serve as a flight simulator next month for pilots who train in launching private citizens into space. With a 140-foot wingspan, the craft is anything but ordinary and will carry the SpaceShipTwo to a height of 50,000 feet above ground level whereby the vessel will separate and blast off into space on its own. Constructed entirely of carbon fiber composite, the WhiteKnightTwo is expected to be ready for its first flight along with the SpaceShipTwo sometime late 2009 or early 2010, with the first passengers being Richard Branson and his brood. More images and video after the jump.
via Dvice / BoingBoing
