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The Latest: Virgin Atlantic rolls out new tourism rocket

Posted February 19, 2016 6:00 am

The Associated Press

FILE - In this Sept. 25, 2013, file photo, the first SpaceShipTwo is seen suspended at center beneath its twin-fuselage mother ship at the Virgin Galactic hangar at Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, Calif. Virgin Galactic will roll out a new copy of its space tourism rocket Friday, Feb. 19, 2016, as it prepares to resume flight testing for the first time since a 2014 accident destroyed the original and killed one of its two pilots. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File) The Associated Press

MOJAVE, Calif. (AP) - The Latest on Virgin Galactic's new space tourism rocket (all times local):

1:43 p.m.

Virgin Galactic has rolled out a new version of its SpaceShipTwo space tourism rocket, replacing the craft destroyed in a 2014 accident that killed a pilot.

Founder Richard Branson was aboard a Land Rover that pulled SpaceShip Two from the back of a hangar on Friday at Southern California's Mojave Air & Space Port, where it was assembled.

SpaceShipTwo is designed to reach the fringes of space, allowing six passengers to experience minutes of weightlessness and see the Earth 62 miles below.

There's no word, though, on when testing and actual passenger service will begin.

The first SpaceShipTwo broke apart during a test flight on Oct. 31, 2014.

An investigation found that co-pilot Michael Alsbury prematurely unlocked a system designed to slow the craft as it re-enters the atmosphere. He died and another pilot was seriously injured.

___

10:10 a.m.

Sir Richard Branson says he briefly wondered if it was worth continuing his space tourism program following the 2014 accident that destroyed a rocket and killed a pilot.

The Virgin Galactic founder tells The Associated Press that engineers, astronauts and members of the public helped convince him that space travel is too important to give up on.

Branson is at California's Mojave Air & Space Port for Friday's unveiling of SpaceShipTwo, the newest version of his company's tourism rocket.

The 65-year-old says he's hopeful that during his lifetime paying customers will be taking Virgin Galactic ships on high-speed suborbital flights to the fringes of space.

The first SpaceShipTwo broke apart on Oct. 31, 2014, during its fourth rocket-powered flight.

FILE - In this Sept. 25, 2013, file photo, British entrepreneur Richard Branson poses with the first SpaceShipTwo at a Virgin Galactic hangar at Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, Calif. Virgin Galactic will roll out a new copy of its space tourism rocket Friday, Feb. 19, 2016, as it prepares to resume flight testing for the first time since a 2014 accident destroyed the original and killed one of its two pilots. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File) The Associated Press

FILE - In this Nov. 1, 2014 file photo, wreckage lies near the site where a Virgin Galactic space tourism rocket, SpaceShipTwo, crashed in the desert near Mojave, Calif. One of the two pilots aboard was killed. Virgin Galactic will roll out a new copy of its space tourism rocket as it prepares to resume flight testing for the first time since the 2014 accident destroyed the original. The new spacecraft will be unveiled at Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave Friday, Feb. 19, 2016.(AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu, File) The Associated Press

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