Mobissimo

Later this year Virgin Galactic, the world's first commercial spaceline will start test flights aboard aboard its WhiteKnight Two and Spaceship Two; two of the world's first privately developed and funded manned spacecraft. This is all in an attempt to start commercial operations to fly paying passengers into space for a mere $200,000 dollars a trip by late 2008. I hope the snacks are good for that kind of cash. These flights are the direct outcome of the Ansari X-Prize contest in which a $10 Million dollar prize was given to Burt Rutan for his development of the first privately funded reusable spacecraft (named SpaceShipOne) to travel into space twice within a two week period. SpceShipOne is also the prototype for Virgin Galactic's new fleet of suborbital spaceplanes that are being built at Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites Factory in the Mohave Spaceport in California.

These glorified amusement park rides will consist of a trip up to 50,000 feet hitched to a specially designed carrier aircraft, also known as mothership. Once at 50,000 feet, the 6 passenger spaceship is released and ignites its hybrid rocket and climbs from 50,000 feet to over 360,000 feet in 90 seconds and 3 times the speed of sound. The ship then feathers (folds) its wings in preparation for its re-entry into the earth's atmosphere and an umpowered (gliding) landing back at the spaceport. SIGN ME UP, SCOTTY!!

Read more here: USA Today