Sir Richard Branson is unveiling the rocket plane he will use to take fare-paying passengers into space.

理查德·布兰森爵士将要揭幕一架喷气式客机，他将驾驶此飞机收费将乘客送往太空。

Sir Richard must test the rocket plane before starting his service

SpaceShipTwo is being presented to the world in Mojave, California.

The vehicle will undergo遭受，经历 testing over the next 18 months before being allowed to take ticketed individuals on short-hop trips just above the atmosphere.

Sir Richard, who heads the Virgin¹ Group, intends to run the first flights out of New Mexico before extending operations around the globe.

Built from lightweight carbon composite materials复合材料 and powered by a hybrid²混合的，杂种的 rocket motor, SS2 is based on the X-Prize-winning SpaceShipOne concept - a rocket plane that is lifted initially³ by a carrier vehicle before blasting skywards.

"We want this programme to be a whole new beginning in a commercial era纪元，时代 of space travel," Sir Richard told reporters before the official unveiling.

SS1 became the world's first private spaceship with a series of high-altitude flights in 2004.

Its successor, however, is twice as large, measuring 18m (60ft) in length. And whereas SpaceShipOne only had a single pilot (and the ballast equivalent等价的，想等的 of two passengers), SS2 will have a crew of two and room for six passengers.

"This is a very big space ship so you have got a lot of room to float around, lots of windows to looks out," the AFP news agency quoted Sir Richard as saying.

About 300 individuals are reported to have signed up for a flight. They are all willing to pay about $200,000 (£121,000) for the privilege特权，优惠 of experiencing six minutes of weightlessness during what will be a two-hour end-to-end flight.

Many of those future "astronauts" are expected to attend the VIP unveiling at the Mojave Air and Spaceport.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson will christen施洗礼 the spaceliner Virgin SpaceShip (VSS) Enterprise.

The New Mexico authorities are investing almost $200m (£121m) in a purpose-built facility in Upham. It will have a 3,000m (10,000ft) runway and a suitably适当地，相称地 space-age terminal and hangar building designed by Foster and Partners.

Sir Richard's Virgin Galactic enterprise will have competitors but he is almost certain to be the first to market, barring any problems arising in the test campaign.

SpaceShipTwo's carrier plane is called WhiteKnightTwo. It was finished last year and has already begun its own trials.