Virgin Galactic unveils spacecraft to usher in new era for space tourism

Mojave, California: In a Hollywood-style rollout, British billionaire Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic has taken the cloak off SpaceShipTwo, after two years of secret development in the Mojave Desert.

The sleek, bullet-shaped spacecraft is about the size of a large business jet.

It's billed as the world's first commercial spaceship, designed to be carried aloft by an exotic jet before firing its rocket engine to climb beyond the Earth's atmosphere.

The company plans to sell suborbital space rides for $200,000 a ticket, offering passengers 2-hour flights that include about five minutes of weightlessness.

Blaring music and a laser show heralded the rollout of SpaceShipTwo as it glided down a runway mated to its mothership.