Virgin Galactic's spaceship family all together for first time (photos)

In ceremony to open assembly plant for Spaceship Company--the partnership between Scaled Composites and Virgin Galactic--SpaceShipOne and SpaceShipTwo, and WhiteKnightOne and WhiteKnightTwo were on show.

Daniel Terdiman

Sept. 19, 2011 4:49 p.m. PT

1 of 28

Daniel Terdiman/CNET

SpaceShipTwo and WhiteKnightTwo

MOJAVE, Calif.--On Monday, The Spaceship Company, which is the partnership between Virgin Galactic and Scaled Composites, opened the doors to its new assembly facility. There, the company will produce new models of SpaceShipTwo and WhiteKnightTwo, which will be used to take tourists willing to pay $250,000 into space.

To celebrate the opening, The Spaceship Company hosted an event where, for the first time ever, WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo appeared alongside the original WhiteKnight and a replica of SpaceShipOne.

Here, SpaceShipTwo and WhiteKnightTwo are seen in the middle of the giant assembly hangar.

2 of 28

Daniel Terdiman/CNET

Here comes WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo

As the hangar doors opened, the audience of about 250 invited guests, politicians, media, and employees watched SpaceShipTwo and WhiteKnightTwo appear outside.

3 of 28

Daniel Terdiman/CNET

Doors open

With the doors wide open, the audience had a great view of WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo arriving.

4 of 28

Daniel Terdiman/CNET

Taxiing in

Here we see WhiteKnightTwo, carrying SpaceShipTwo, taxiing into the assembly building.

5 of 28

Daniel Terdiman/CNET

Arrival

The crowd of about 250 cheered as WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo made their way fully into The Spaceship Company's brand-new assembly building.

6 of 28

Daniel Terdiman/CNET

Aircraft progression logo

One of the Virgin Galactic logos, seen here on a WhiteKnightTwo engine, is this representation of the progression of aircraft through the ages.

7 of 28

Daniel Terdiman/CNET

Experimental

Barely noticeable on the bottom of SpaceShipTwo is the word "experimental," signifying that the spaceship is still in the testing phase. It is not known when Virgin Galactic will begin taking tourists into space, but it said Monday that it has booked $60 million worth of business for the future flights.

8 of 28

Daniel Terdiman/CNET

Hangar view

In this wide view of the new assembly building, the WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo combination is seen alongside the original WhiteKnight.

9 of 28

Daniel Terdiman/CNET

SpaceShipOne and WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo

In this photo, taken from above, it is possible to see both the new SpaceShipTwo and WhiteKnightTwo combination alongside a replica of the original SpaceShipOne. Virgin Galactic said Monday's event was the first time all of Virgin Galactic's vehicles had appeared together in public.

10 of 28

Daniel Terdiman/CNET

SpaceShipOne

This is a replica of SpaceShipOne, the vehicle that won the X-Prize in 2004. The original spaceship is currently on display at the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.