Following its first disastrous test flight, Virgin Galactic have offered a new glimpse at their new spacecraft, titled SpaceshipTwo and named the VSS Unity.
It’s been over two years since Virgin Galactic‘s first SpaceshipTwo failed on a test flight and crashed in the desert, killing one pilot and severely injuring another. Now, Richard Branson is ready for another shot with a new vessel.
The ship, named the VSS Unity by none other than Stephen Hawking, was unveiled in a hanger in the Mojave desert near Las Vegas through a series of images.
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The new Spaceship Two is similar, but offers a small number of new modifications over its predecessor. Virgin Galactic offered that the new plane is “œso similar to its predecessor, we benefit from incredibly useful data from 55 successful test flights as well as the brutal but important lessons from one tragic flight test accident.“
Once on-the-ground tests have concluded, the VSS Unity will soon be sent out for a paired flight, where the vessel will stay attached to a larger mother ship. From there, the vessel will begin testing through escalating low-altitude trips, and finally will have to endure a rocket test.
The official goal for the vessel is to hit “official astronaut distance”, which is over 50 miles above surface.
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