Will Be Unveiled On February 19th, Company Says

The second SpaceShipTwo is scheduled for rollout from a hangar at Mojave Air and Space Port on February 19th, according to media advisories from Virgin Galactic, and Professor Stephen Hawking has been invited to be on hand for the festivities.

Virgin Galactic founder Sir Richard Branson said the invited Hawking to attend the rollout if he is well enough to travel, which according to a report from Geek Wire is not a sure thing. Branson sat for an interview with the British newspaper The Independent in which he said Hawking would "name the new spaceship." The first SpaceShipTwo was named "VSS (Virgin Spaceship) Enterprise".

Hawking took a Zero-G flight nine years ago as a test run for a future Virgin Galactic flight, which at the time was expected to be much closer to reality. Branson promised Hawking a free ride aboard the spacecraft as a way to grant the renowned scientists wish to travel in space. It is said to be the only free ticket offered to a passenger.

In the ceremony planned for next month, the new SpaceShipTwo will be rolled out of Virgin Galactic's Final Assembly, Integration and Test Hangar, or FAITH, for a spectacular photo op. The flight test schedule for the new spacecraft has not yet been firmly established.

(Images from file)

FMI: www.virgingalactic.com