Virgin impresario Sir Richard Branson unveiled the “mothership” for his forthcoming space plane at a ceremony in the Mojave Desert, outside Los Angeles, today. Dubbed WhiteKnightTwo, Virgin Galactic’s plane, designed by Scaled Composites, will fly to an altitude of roughly 50,000 feet before dropping a space plane, named SpaceShipTwo. The space plane will then rocket into low Earth orbit.

The first flight tests for WhiteKnightTwo, an all-carbon composite aircraft, are planned for later this year. The first flights with SpaceShipTwo in tow are scheduled for 2009. By 2010, Virgin may be ready to launch passengers into space. According to the company, some 200 passengers have agreed to pay $200,000 for a seat on those first space flights.