Yesterday, the VSS enterprise made its official debut in the Mojave Desert of California. Dignitaries such as California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson were there to christen the aircraft.
Also on hand were Richard Branson of Virgin Galactic and Burt Rutan of Scaled Somposites. Scaled Composites is the company who built the VSS Enterprise for Virgin Galactic. The VSS Enterprise is the new name for the SpaceShipTwo which has been under development for the last couple of years.
Richard Branson’s daughter Holly gave the SpaceShipTwo its new name. The VSS Enterprise rocket plane and the WhiteKnightTwo carrier signal that a new era in space tourism. On the nose cone of the VSS enterprise is emblazoned piece of art called “Galactic Girl” who’s modeled after Branson’s mother as she looked in the 1940s.
The timeframe for the first commercial flights of the VSS Enterprise are in the 2011 or 2012 timeframe. Six passengers and two pilots will enter lower Earth orbit (LEO) and experience weightlessness for about five minutes. This is being called the world’s largest roller coaster ride.