This morning, Virgin CEO Sir Richard Branson offered the first public look at
the rocketship expected to make space tourism a reality. The mock-up — revealed at WIRED/NextFest in New York — is based on the design of SpaceShipOne, the Ansari X-Prize-winning craft designed by Burt Rutan (TED2006). (Watch for Rutan’s TEDTalk later this fall.) The first Virgin Galactic flight is tentatively scheduled for 2009; tickets are expected to cost £100,000 ($190,000).