live: Virgin Galactic Unveils New SpaceShipTwo And Recommits To area Tourism

On October 31, 2014, Virgin Galactic’s race to be the primary company to take largely-untrained vacationers to space took a calamitous detour when its SpaceShipTwo exploded in mid-air and then crashed within the Mojave barren region all the way through a take a look at flight, killing the copilot and severely injuring the pilot.

despite the fact that initial issues founded on the craft’s design, it was ultimately determined that the disaster was once possible pilot error. though tragic, that reality can have helped Richard Branson’s firm steer clear of further years of delays.

Now, just 16 months later, Virgin Galactic is ready to decide up the place it left off. lately, the company will unveil the second SpaceShipTwo at a ceremony in Mojave, California anticipated to bring VIPs including famed scientist Stephen Hawking and others.

Virgin Galactic is aware of a lot of people need it to no longer handiest blow their own horns the brand new spacecraft, however to begin taking passengers aloft. now not quite, the corporate says. First, extra trying out. lots and loads of trying out.

“if you’re anticipating SpaceShipTwo to blast off and head straight to house on the day we unveil her, allow us to disillusion you now: this will probably be a ground-based get together,” the corporate wrote in a weblog put up (February 23, 2016). “certainly, our new automobile will stay on the bottom for some time after her unveiling, as we run her via full-vehicle checks of her electrical systems and all of her moving elements. We already know these things work in my opinion, however it is easy to’t merely suppose they’ll all work collectively—that must be tested and confirmed. We’ll achieve this fast, but we won’t minimize corners.”

still, there’s a brand new spaceship, and for the romantic varieties whose gaze is at all times to the celebs, that’s big news.

stay with us throughout the day as we carry you reside updates and photographs from the disclosing in Mojave.