Virgin Galactic Launches New Spaceship

Start your engines and prepare to launch above the Earth’s stratosphere with Virgin Galactic’s new tourism space shuttle. After three years of planning, development and construction, Virgin Galactic introduces a new spaceship exclusively for tourist use. Based at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Southern California, just outside Los Angeles, the space shuttle will allow adventurous tourists to travel 50 miles above the Earth and enjoy an experience similar to an astronaut’s jaunt into space.

© Jack Brockway | Virgin Galactic

Virgin Galactic unveils this new venture in the wake of a failed attempt just over a year ago. With new engineering and design teams, Virgin founder Richard Branson is confident the new spaceship will entertain interested passengers of all ages who won’t need to be certified astronauts to explore the wonders of the atmosphere in a new age of space tourism.

The vehicle was manufactured entirely by Virgin Galactic’s The SpaceShip Company and is the second of its kind to be constructed by this manufacturer. More than 700 people have registered to fly on the VSS Unity with a ticket price of $250,000 per seat. With the launch of this new galactic aircraft, the possibility of space travel becomes a reality for the everyday traveler.