Virgin Galactic tourism rocket ship reaches space for first time
- Life
- AP
- Published Date: 12:00 | 14 December 2018
- Modified Date: 02:47 | 14 December 2018
Virgin Galactic's development of its spaceship took far longer than expected and endured a setback when the first experimental craft broke apart during a 2014 test flight, killing the co-pilot.
More than 600 people have committed up to $250,000 for rides that include several minutes of weightlessness and a view of the Earth far below.
The endeavor began in 2004 when Branson announced the founding of Virgin Galactic in the heady days after the flights of SpaceShipOne, the first privately financed manned spacecraft that made three flights into space.