Professor Stephen Hawking has unveiled Virgin Galactic's new SpaceShipTwo craft, called VSS Unity.
'We are entering a new space age, and I hope this will help to create a new unity,' he said, launching the craft via a video message of behalf of Virgin boss Richard Branson.
'If I am able to go & if Richard will still take me, I would be very proud to fly on this spaceship,' he said.
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The six-passenger, two-pilot winged space plane has been designed to take passengers on five-minute voyages into suborbital space, and will reach altitudes of about 62 miles (100 km).
Virgin Group Founder Sir Richard Branson spoke at the unveiling of the Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo in Mojave, California on Friday
Branson poses in front of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo space tourism rocket after it was unveiled on Friday. The company is preparing to resume flight testing for the first time since a 2014 accident destroyed the original and killed one of its two pilots
Sam Branson, left, and his wife Isabella help their daughter Eva-Deia christen Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo space tourism rocket as Richard Branson, right, stands by after it was unveiled
The six-passenger, two-pilot winged space plane has been designed to take passengers on five-minute voyages into suborbital space, and will reach altitudes of about 62 miles (100 km).
It replaces the craft Virgin lost following 2014's fatal crash, when Pilot Michael Alsbury was killed in the accident, which dashed Virgin Galactic's plans to start commercial operations as early as this year.
With a hefty price tag of $250,000 (£175,000) a ticket, it is aimed at super rich thrill-seekers and celebrities, as well as researchers and commercial customers.
Virgin Galactic's own manufacturing arm, The Spaceship Company, already was well into construction of the second SpaceShipTwo of the fleet when the accident occurred.
The biggest difference between the two vehicles is the addition of a pin to prevent a pilot from unlocking the ship's rotating tail section too soon before descent, which is what triggered the breakup of the first spaceship, said Galactic Chief Executive George Whitesides.
Other changes include a device to prevent pilots from releasing the ship's landing gear too early and a variety of switch changes to make them more distinct.
'We learned a lot from the accident, and we made a lot of changes,' said Mike Moses, a former NASA shuttle manager who now oversees spaceflight operations for Galactic.
Friday's unveiling at the Mojave Air and Space Port sets the stage for a round of test flights for the spaceship. Whitesides said he expects to rapidly repeat milestones the first spaceship reached, then incrementally test the new ship at higher speeds and altitudes.
The first spaceship had not yet traveled beyond the atmosphere.
'All the math, simulations and analysis says this vehicle should be nice and stable and behave itself, but we need to go prove that,' Moses said.
the renewed push comes just 16 months after Virgin Galactic suffered the loss of a test pilot in a fatal accident with the first plane.
The firm is reportedly moving ahead with plans to build its own space launchers, including the new passenger vehicle and LauncherOne rockets designed to lift small satellites starting as early as next year.
Branson (R) and son Sam Branson enjoy a moment together during the unveiling ceremony of Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTWO in Mojave
Sir Richard Branson speaks to attendees after Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo space tourism rocket was rolled out on Friday
Virgin Group Founder Sir Richard Branson (2-L) is joined by Virgin Galactic workers and Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTWO during its unveiling in Mojave
Branson poses with employees in front of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo space tourism rocket after it was unveiled on Friday
Actor Harrison Ford (left) sits with Virgin Galactic chief pilot Dave Mackay inside the new Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo, named Unity, which is unveiled in Mojave, California, as the company pushes ahead in the race to send passengers into space
Actor Harrison Ford poses with a life-size cardboard cutout of Virgin Group Founder Sir Richard Branson after the unveiling ceremony
It replaces the craft Virgin lost following 2014's fatal crash, when Pilot Michael Alsbury was killed in the accident, which dashed Virgin Galactic's plans to start commercial operations as early as this year.
Branson's rivals in the commercial space race include SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk, Amazon's Jeff Bezos and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.
Speaking yesterday at the LaunchOne design and manufacturing plant in Long Beach, California, the entrepreneur told Reuters: 'To have three or four people who are fairly entrepreneurial competing with each other means we'll be able to open up space at a fraction of the price that governments have been able to do so in the past.'
The renewed push comes just 16 months after Virgin Galactic suffered the loss of a test pilot in a fatal accident with the first plane.
The firm is reportedly moving ahead with plans to build its own space launchers, including the new passenger vehicle and LauncherOne rockets designed to lift small satellites starting as early as next year.
The venture has been grounded since its first spaceship, designed and built by Northrop Grumman Corp's Scaled Composites, was destroyed on 31 October 2014, during a test flight in Mojave.
Pilot Michael Alsbury was killed in the accident, which dashed Virgin Galactic's plans to start commercial operations as early as this year.
The National Transportation Safety Board, which investigated the accident, determined that the co-pilot prematurely released locks that pin the ship's rotating tail section into place.
The new spaceship includes a pin that prevents the pilots from unlocking the tail section too early, before aerodynamic forces have built up to keep the tail from rotating on its own.
The Spaceship Company, or TSC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Virgin Galactic, already had taken over manufacturing of the second spaceship in a planned fleet of five when the accident occurred.
'Ultimately, we want to be able to produce our own point-to-point aircraft,' said Branson.
'The best way to do that is to be involved with every aspect of the experimentation and the build.'
Richard Branson (pictured) said his Virgin Galactic venture is eager to rejoin the race to to send passengers and satellites into space. With a hefty price tag of $250,000 (£175,000) a ticket, it is aimed at super rich thrill-seekers and celebrities, as well as researchers and commercial customers
Virgin Galactic's craft ill use a winged rocket plane dubbed SpaceShipTwo (illustrated), successor to SpaceShipOne.The new spaceship includes a pin that prevents the pilots from unlocking the tail section too early, before aerodynamic forces have built up to keep the tail from rotating on its own
Branson's London-based Virgin Group and Aabar Investments, run by the Abu Dhabi government, combined have invested more than $500 million (£350 million) in Virgin Galactic, said company Chief Executive George Whitesides.
More than 700 people - including Hollywood A-listers Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio - are reported to have already bought tickets for Virgin Galactic space flights, which sell for $250,000 (£175,000) each.
The renewed push comes just 16 months after Virgin Galactic suffered the loss of a test pilot in a fatal accident with the first plane. The first SpaceShipTwo (pictured) was destroyed in an accident during a test flight in 2014
Pilot Michael Alsbury was killed in the accident (wreckage pictured), which dashed Virgin Galactic's plans to start commercial operations as early as this year
However, the crash of the first SpaceShipTwo in 2014 led to Princess Beatrice to pull out of the scheme, alongsider an asset manager called Peter Ulrich von May from Switzerland.
But Virgin Galactic is up against fierce competition from the likes of private firms Blue Origin and Space X.
Elon Musk's SpaceX is the most advanced of the firms, and already has several satellite launches - and failures - under its belt.
Its Dragon capsule is set to begin ferrying astronauts to the International Space Station in 2017.
More than 700 people are said to have signed up for a ticket for Virgin Galactic's space flights, including Leonardo DiCaprio (left) and physicist Stephen Hawking (right)
The six-passenger, two-pilot winged space plane (pictured) has been designed to take passengers on five-minute voyages into suborbital space, and will reach altitudes of about 62 miles (100 km)
Blue Origin, owned by Amazon's Jeff Bezos, recently conducted a test launch from Texas in which the rocket dubbed New Shepard performed a vertical landing, slowing its descent by relighting its engine as it fell back to Earth.
In January, the company launched the same rocket and it again landed intact. Blue Origin claims that during flights passengers will experience a few minutes of weightlessness after the capsule separates from the booster.
Passengers will be able to leave their seats and float about the capsule before a signal tells them to be reseated for landing.
Blue Origin, owned by Amazon's Jeff Bezos (pictured), recently conducted a test launch from Texas in which New Shepard rocket performed a vertical landing
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