Branson's Aircraft: Beyond Space Tourism

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  Jul 28, 08 5:00 PM CDT
  At a remote airfield in the Mojave Desert today, Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson unveiled the flagship of his new venture, an aircraft that will carry the first passenger space rocket to its launch height of 48,000 feet, the Los Angeles Times reports. Tickets are going for $200,000-plus, with the maiden voyage possible before decade’s end. More »

• Space Tourism Gets New 2-Seater

  Mar 27, 08 11:57 AM CDT
  California's XCor Aerospace is jumping aboard the space-tourism bandwagon with a new rocket plane, the Los Angeles Times reports. For $100,000, one passenger at a time will be able to ride the Lynx to 200,000 feet and feel about 90 seconds of weightlessness. With flight tests beginning in 2010, XCor aims to be the second company in the business. More »

• Branson Unveils SpaceShipTwo

  Jan 23, 08 5:31 PM CST
  Richard Branson has unveiled the ship that will carry paying passengers to space. Slightly different from its original prototype, SpaceShipTwo will be carried to high altitude by a double-hulled plane called White Knight, where the rocket will then separate and launch. Branson's Virgin Galactic startup hopes to start test flights this summer, reports the TechCrunch blog. More »

• 3 Dead in Space Center Blast

  Jul 27, 07 5:42 AM CDT
  A third person has died from injuries suffered in an explosion at a Mojave Desert airport where part of billionaire Richard Branson's private space program is being developed, AP reports. The blast occurred during testing of a nitrous oxide propellant system for a space tourism vehicle. Three people were hospitalized, two of them with critical injuries. More »

• Mojave Spaceport Blast Kills 2

  Jul 26, 07 10:24 PM CDT
  An explosion killed at least two people at a remote desert plant attempting to develop billionaire Richard Branson's space tourism program. The blast at Mojave Air and Space Port was in part of the facility where SpaceShipTwo is being built for Virgin Galactic—to be used for $200,000 trips into Space. More »