Final frontier: Crowd sees spaceship launcher fly
OSHKOSH, Wisconsin -- Hundreds attending an air show got to see an airplane built to launch a ship into space, with the eventual goal of launching commercial space travel.
The twin-fuselage craft named WhiteKnightTwo, looking like two planes connected at the wing tips, circled the runway several times on Monday before touching down at the Experimental Aircraft Association's Air Venture annual gathering.
It was the first glimpse the public had of the plane, which was made by Virgin Galactic as part of its effort to jump-start commercial space travel. Its designers, engineer Burt Rutan and British billionaire Sir Richard Branson, watched and smiled from the edge of the tarmac.
It was "majestic," said 13-year-old Alura Law of Reddick, Florida.
Virgin Galactic's plan calls for WhiteKnightTwo to lift SpaceShipTwo, a pressurized spacecraft, into the atmosphere from a base in New Mexico. When they reach 50,000 feet (15,240 meters), the spaceship would detach and blast into space at four times the speed of sound.
The six passengers would experience about five minutes of weightlessness and get a glimpse of Earth. The spaceship would glide back to Earth much like the space shuttle. Take-off to landing is expected to take about 2 1/2 hours.
Virgin Galactic doesn't have a launch date yet, but has taken 300 reservations at $200,000 each and is holding $40 million in deposits. Customers include scientist Stephen Hawking and "Superman Returns" director Bryan Singer, according to Virgin Galactic President Will Whitehorn.
"Superman Returns" even features a sequence involving two aircraft much like WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo. In the movie, Lois Lane boards a launcher jet with a space shuttle-like vehicle attached. The jet lifts the shuttle into the atmosphere, but the plane ends up plunging to Earth and Superman must race to save it.
Virgin Galactic officials say safety will be their "guiding star."
"We not only have to do it safely, we have to give (passengers) a good time," said Virgin Galactic's commercial director, Stephen Attenborough.
Related Stories
ABC News Live