New Virgin Galactic Space Plane Unveiled Breaking News

2016-02-20 12

New Virgin Galactic Space Plane Unveiled
Sir Richard Branson rolls out a new version of SpaceShipTwo, replacing the craft destroyed in a 2014 accident that killed a pilot.
Sir Richard Branson has told Sky News he believes Virgin Galactic is "back on track" in the race to take tourists into space.

The billionaire tycoon was speaking at the unveiling of Virgin's new SpaceShipTwo in the Mojave Desert in California.

The six-seater vehicle replaces the previous SpaceShipTwo which broke up high over the same desert in October 2014.

An investigation found that pilot Michael Alsbury deployed a braking mechanism early, causing the vehicle to fail. Mr Alsbury died in the crash while his co-pilot Pete Siebold was badly injured.

Virgin Galactic says it hopes to "democratise space" by taking fee-paying passengers on brief trips to the edge of space.

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