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Virgin Galactic Looking For Test Pilots For Private Spaceships

MOJAVE (AP) — Virgin Galactic is seeking people with the right stuff.

The Antelope Valley Press in California says the spaceline founded by Sir Richard Branson has put out a call for pilots to operate its SpaceShipTwo spacecraft and WhiteKnightTwo mother ship.

Those selected would fly during development testing currently under way and commercial operations at some point in the future.

The company is looking for test pilots who graduated from a respectable flight school and who have a minimum of 3,000 hours of flying experience. Prior spaceflight experience is a plus, but not required.

Virgin Galactic plans to fly tourists on brief suborbital flights at a cost of $200,000 per person.

SpaceShipTwo is based on the design of SpaceShipOne, the first private manned craft to reach space.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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