Branson unveils space plane

LOS ANGELES, July 28 (UPI) -- British tycoon Richard Branson was in California's Mohave Desert Monday to unveil his new space plane, which would offer the first commercial spaceflight.

Branson is backing the project that would carry an eight-person rocket ship on a flight from Earth up to a launch point 48,000 feet up, the Los Angeles Times reported. More than 250 astronaut wannabes have plunked down $200,000 for a chance to float weightless in space.

Once it reaches the transfer station, the rocket would detach and fly into space, where it would provide passengers and crew four minutes of weightlessness. The rocket's mothership would fall to Earth and land at an airport like a plane.

"This is quite something, isn't it?" Branson said. "It's one of the most beautiful, extraordinary aviation vehicles ever developed."

Branson revealed that the first passengers would be his family, including his mother and father. The mothership was named Eve for his mother, and features her image on the fuselage.

The rollout came a year after an accident killed three engineers and set back the project back a year.