SpaceShip Two will use its hybrid rocket motor to propel itself into space.

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The Virgin Galactic experience is a two-parter: the mother ship, Eve, will carry SpaceShip Two to 50, 000 feet before releasing it.

FORBES: Out Of This World: Space, The Final Frontier

Unlike SpaceShip Two, the Lynx takes off from a runway and doesn't depend on a carrier ship, so it has lower operating costs.

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Unlike the old Shuttle program, which had launches a few times a year, scientists could use SpaceShip Two to conduct several experiments a week.

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Virgin estimates that each flight of SpaceShip Two can hold 1, 300 pounds of scientific payload, and the rack setup will include window access for the collection of spectrographic and other data.

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After gathering precise measurements of the rotation and velocity of an incoming asteroid, two large clouds of white paintballs would be shot at the asteroid from a nearby spaceship.

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