High flyer

Science World, March 31, 2008 by Mary Hoff

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Imagine your body flattened against your seat as you rocket high above Earth at about 4,023 kilometers (2,500 miles) per hour. That's what it will feel like to blast into space aboard SpaceShipTwo (SS2)--the first commercial spaceship.

The company Virgin Galactic is building the spaceship right now. When SS2 is ready to take off, a jet plane will carry the ship to an altitude of 15 km (10 mi) and let go. Pilots will briefly fire SS2's engine, propelling the ship into Earth's outermost atmosphere.

The spaceflight won't last long before the attractive force of gravity pulls SS2 back toward Earth. But passengers will get an astronaut's view of their planet from space and experience a few minutes of weightlessness as they free-fall. Once SS2 is back in Earth's atmosphere, pilots will fold its wings and glide the ship home.

Virgin Galactic hopes to launch SS2 in the next couple of years. Want a ride? Start saving your money. A ticket will cost you $200,000!

FINAL FRONTIER:

Virgin Galactic has unveiled its design for SpaceShipTwo. The spaceship will take up to six customers on a flight into space lasting one-and-a-half hours from liftoff to touchdown.