MOJAVE AIRPORT TO HOST SPACEFLIGHTS COMMERCIAL VEHICLES TO CARRY PAYING PASSENGERS STARTING IN 2009.

Byline: JIM SKEEN Staff Writer

MOJAVE -- The Mojave Airport, where the first privately funded, privately built spacecraft rocketed into history in 2004, is on schedule to host the first passenger-carrying, commercial spaceflights in 2009.

Virgin Galactic representatives say their schedule calls for the first of five SpaceShipTwo vehicles to roll out of the factory late next year, flight tests in 2008 and commercial operations the following year, according to the company.

Patterned after but twice as large as the SpaceShipOne rocket plane that flew into space from Mojave in 2004, the craft are being built by SpaceShipOne's builder, Burt Rutan.

Virgin Galactic is investing up to $250 million for the development, construction, testing and flying of five SpaceShipTwo vehicles and two White Knight 2s, the aircraft that will serve as the first stage for launches.

Virgin Galactic recently released artist's conceptions of the new spacecraft, which will carry two pilots and up to six passengers.

The passenger cabin of the spacecraft will be large enough to allow passengers to leave their seats and float while in space. Each SpaceShipTwo vehicle will have about 15 large windows, including some on the floor, to give passengers a view of the Earth.

Both SpaceShipTwo and White Knight will be made of lightweight but strong composite materials. The engines of SpaceShipTwo and the White Knight will ``radically reduce the environmental impact associated with space travel to date,'' the company said.

``Our vision is to successfully build the world's first environmentally benign space launch system and prove once and for all the commercial viability of a safe space launch system that we believe will eventually be capable of taking payload and science into space as well as people,'' said Richard Branson, the company's founder.

Initial flights will likely be from the Mojave Airport, but they will move to a facility dubbed Spaceport America in New Mexico. Virgin Galactic is looking at other possible launch sites, including sites in the United Kingdom, Sweden and Australia.

``One of the exciting features of the new system will be the ability to transport it globally from its home base in New Mexico to any location in the world where we get permission to operate,'' said Will Whitehorn, president of Virgin Galactic.

Despite a price tag of $200,000 per ticket for a trip that will spend just a few short minutes in space, about 65,000 people from 125 different countries have registered with the company as potential passengers.

The company envisions flying 500 people in its first year of commercial operations.

Company officials say that, for the money, their passengers won't get just a four-minute experience, but rather a three-day experience. The company wants their passengers to get the most out of their spaceflight and avoid ``sensory overload.''

To that end, the company envisions having their passengers experience G forces and other sensations of spaceflight prior to the actual mission.

An artist's conception video of a spaceflight depicts a flight that will be similar to the SpaceShipOne flights in 2004. In that year, SpaceShipOne was flown three times to altitudes above 100 kilometers, or 62 miles, including two flights in less than a week.

The video depicts a SpaceShipTwo attached underneath a White Knight 2 rising taking off from a runway in New Mexico and climbing to 50,000 feet. The spacecraft is released and its rocket engine ignited, powering it to more than 68 miles in altitude.

Passengers released themselves from their seats and float to windows to enjoy the view for a few minutes. Passengers then return to their seats and fasten their seat belts for re-entry.

The spaceship's seats recline, placing passengers virtually horizontal to minimize the effects of G forces. The spacecraft then returns to its launch site.

Company officials say at the end of the spaceflight, the passengers will receive their astronaut wings in a celebration. Details of what the post-flight affair will be like have not been disclosed.

james.skeen(at)dailynews

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3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- color in AV edition only) In an image made from video, below, British entrepreneur Richard Branson gives a thumbs-up from a mock-up of the interior of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo in New York. Above is the suborbital spaceship.

Associated Press TV News

(3 -- ran in AV edition only) In this image made from video, the interior of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo, foreground, is unveiled in New York.

AP Television News