Space TourismThe Unveiling of

SpaceShipTwoAnd

White Knight Two

Space Tourism Project

• Funded by Richard Branson• Designed by Burt Rutan • Four Years in Progress• 250 Tickets sold

• $200,000 each $50,000,000 from private parties.

Sir Richard BransonBorn July 18, 1950

1964 – Student Magazine 1974 – Student Advisory Centre 1972 – Virgin Record Store1990 – Knighted

Burt Rutan Born June 17, 1943

Estacada, Oregon

1986 – Model 76 Voyager» 9days, 3min, 44sec

2004 – Winner of Ansari X-Prize ($10mil)» SpaceShipOne» Funded By Paul Allen of Microsoft

Jully 28th 2008

First “Rollout” in Mojave, California

White Knight Two “Eve”

• Twin Fuselage • World's largest all-carbon-composite aircraft• 140’ Wingspan

• Same as the Boeing B-29 Superfortress (WWII)

• Carries SpaceShipTwo– 50,000 feet

SpaceShipTwo

• Similar size to Corporate Gulfstream • Hybrid Rocket Used to Reach Space• House Two Pilots and 6 Passengers• 2.5 Hour Trip

~5 Minutes of Weightlessness

• “Feathering" technique

Other Uses

• Launch Small Satellites into Low Earth Orbit• Adapted to Fight Wildfires• Emergency Rescue Vehicle

Other Space Tourism Projects•Armadillo Aerospace• Benson Space Co.• Bigelow Aerospace• Blue Origin• Da Vinci Project• Explorer• Interorbital Systems• Masten Space Systems• PlanetSpace• Rocketplane Kistler• Starchaser• Space Adventures• SpaceX• Virgin Galactic• XCOR Aerospace

Sources

• http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25849434/• http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15291087• http://www.virgingalactic.com/• http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25887688/• http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/01/23/601315.aspx• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Branson• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceShipOne• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burt_Rutan