The hybrid nitrous oxide motor represents the largest of its kind in the world, designed by Virgin Galactic supplier Scaled Composites and its subcontractor SNC (Sierra Nevada Corporation). Safety features include the capability to shut down the system at any time, and permit the spaceship to glide back down for a conventional runway landing.
Virgin Galactic has already lined up $40 million and 300 people on its waiting lists for space tourism flights. They'll have to keep waiting for now, as flight testing for SpaceShipTwo is scheduled for later this year.
SpaceShipTwo is being built for Virgin Galactic by aerospace veteran Burt Rutan and his firm Scaled Composites in Mojave, Calif. Rutan and his firm, with backing from millionaire Paul Allen, designed SpaceShipOne, an air-launched spacecraft that won the $10 million Ansari X Prize for piloted suborbital spaceflight.
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