VSS Enterprise

On Monday evening I was lucky enough to be invited to the official unveiling of Virgin Galactic's new commercial spaceship, the VSS Enterprise. Almost five years in the making, it's a truly impressive vessel - sleek, shiny and oh-so-sexy. I joined more than 600 VIP guests who'd gathered in a series of domed and transparent tents on the edge of the Mojave Desert. The historic event was almost upstaged by a bitterly cold gale-force wind and pouring rain that lashed the site soon after our arrival.

However, California Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and New Mexico Governor, Bill Richardson braved the elements to join Sir Richard Branson in christening this pioneering craft. Despite the cold and darkness everyone was in awe of the historic moment unfolding before them. For the first time ever, the world's only commercial manned spaceship was on public display - and we were there to witness it.


VSS Enterprise is impressive, even more so when it's mated to its mothership, White Knight Two. This is the jet 'carrier' aircraft that takes Spaceship Two up to 50,000 feet where it's released and a hybrid solid rocket motor is ignited to take the spacecraft to a height of 110km above the earth. At this point, the craft's eight occupants; six passengers and two crew will see the earth's curvature against the inky blackness of space, while experiencing more than four minutes of total weightlessness.

To re-enter the atmosphere SpaceShipTwo then briefly folds its wings into a high drag position (acting much like a shuttlecock does), before returning them to their original position for a gentle glide back onto the same runway it left four hours earlier. It all sounds so simple that it's hard to believe the proof of this technological concept is barely five years old.

Tickets for this journey into space cost US$200,000 each. To date more than 350 people have paid the full fare or made an initial deposit. Virgin Galactic says its now holding income of more than $42million from these sales. Many of these future astronauts were among Monday's invited guests. I spoke to several during the evening and so realised that they were just like me - just a little more willing to forgo the early repayment of their mortgage in order to float in space.



Once the unveiling formalities were over, the Virgin team let us walk right up to the side of VSS Enterprise. We were so close we could touch her. I'm still stunned that I was able to do this. I cannot imagine NASA ever letting me touch one its Space Shuttles. I took so many photos from every conceivable angle that my shutter-button hand went numb in the Arctic conditions. A year of flight testing now lies ahead before the first commercial flights take place in 2011. I cannot believe that the era of 'affordable' private spaceflight is almost upon us.