Virgin Mobile has undertaken a new mission. They have created the "WhiteKnightTwo" which is a space craft consisting of two cockpits and one wing connecting the two plane bodies. The aircraft has been created to propel a rocket ship that will carry two pilots and six passengers into the atmosphere to give civilians a space flight they will never forget. According to www.msnbc.com the mother ship is being tested in the skies above california in the Mojave desert. The WhiteKnightTwo has been test flown for just under four hours and have gone above an altitude of 18,000 feet, according to Will Whitehorn a scientist on the project We are very pleased with progress so far and it would be fair to describe her performance so far as flawless."The upcoming tests will take the craft higher and for longer times. The idea is that the rocket powered ship will sit between the two plane cockpits connected by the wing. The craft will fly up into orbital airspace. The rocket ship will then disconnect from the craft. Which while in orbit will give the passengers the chance to see the earth from space and to move throughout the ship in zero gravity. The aim of the Virgin Mobile company is to bring public space travel to more of a commercial business. According to www.engadget.com at this time Virgin Mobile has over 200 commitments of passengers willing to pay $200,000 for a 2010 or later launch date into space. According to www.wired.com Virgin Mobile has recently ordered 12 rocket ships which will help in the commercial promotion of space traveling. I feel that the idea is very fun and interesting and in the future will see rich people paying to go into space and experience it first hand. I do think the idea is good especially for a company that is already financially well off because it would take allot of money to start. In time they may find great profit from the $200,000 tickets

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29678316/

http://www.wired.com/science/space/multimedia/2008/07/gallery_virgin_galactic

http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/23/spaceshiptwo-white-knight-two-designs-unveiled-arent-they-cute/