Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo, "Space Tourism Craft" To Be Unveiled in Mojave Desert

Virgin Galactic has will unveil its long-waited SpaceShipTwo Monday in the Mojave Desert. After five years of secret construction, the cloak will come off the privately funded spacecraft designed to fly tourists, albeit well-heeled ones, into space. The project is bankrolled by Virgin Galactic founder, British billionaire Sir Richard Branson, who partnered with famed aviation designer Burt Rutan, the brains behind the venture. It is based on Rutan's design of a stubby white prototype called SpaceShipOne, which captured the $10 million Ansari X Prize in 2004, by becoming the first privately manned craft to reach space.

READ MORE