Virgin Galactic unveils LauncherOne satellite vehicle

Flamboyant British businessman Richard Branson, whose Virgin empire has encompassed airlines, music stores, mobile phones and condoms, is turning his hand to launching satellites. The serial entrepreneur and part-time daredevil, who is already working on taking passengers into suborbital space, said on Wednesday the carrier jet for those commercial flights would double up as an aerial platform for launching small satellites.

Virgin Galactic has taken deposits from 529 people for rides on SpaceShipTwo, which cost $200,000. The six-passenger, two-pilot spaceship, currently undergoing testing, is based on Scaled Composites' ... more 
Virgin Galactic has taken deposits from 529 people for rides on SpaceShipTwo, which cost $200,000. The six-passenger, two-pilot spaceship, currently undergoing testing, is based on Scaled Composites' prototype SpaceShipOne, which clinched the $10 million Ansari X Prize in 2004 for the first privately-funded human spaceflights. less 
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Thu, Jul 12, 2012 9:00 AM AST (Arabian)
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