Airplane designed to launch spaceships lands at Wisconsin air show

Spaceship launcher shown off at Wisconsin air show

OSHKOSH, Wis. — An aircraft billed as part of the future of commercial space travel has landed in Wisconsin.

Virgin Galactic’s WhiteKnightTwo soared over thousands of people at the Experimental Aircraft Association’s annual AirVenture convention in Oshkosh. The craft circled the runway several times as designer Burt Rutan and British billionaire Sir Richard Branson looked on. Branson is chairman of the Virgin Group, which is funding the plane.

The landing marks the first time the public has gotten an up-close look at the plane.

Branson hopes to use WhiteKnightTwo to carry a spaceship into the upper atmosphere. The spaceship would then detach and rocket into space. Branson hopes to use the system to create a commercial space travel business. He’s already taken 300 reservations.