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Richard Branson calls it "one of the most beautiful and extraordinary aviation vehicles ever developed." And while this may be a little on the loquacious side, there's no doubt that today's unveiling of Virgin Galactic's WhiteKnightTwo in the Mojave desert is big news.

WhiteKnightTwo, which has been named Eve in honor of Branson's mother, is the carrier aircraft that will be be used to help carry SpaceShipTwo in orbit, and is a key part of Virgin Galactic's plan to make commercial space travel a reality. It has a maximum altitude of over 50,000 feet, driven by four very powerful Pratt & Whitney engines, and at 140 feet, WhiteKnightTwo's wingspan is the largest of any carbon composite aircraft every built. Beyond that, it just looks cool. With its graceful wings and sleek shape, it's destined to be one of the sexiest things in the sky.

Wired Science is blogging live from Mojave and is all over this story, so check over there regularly for updates and more info.

And for you fellow airline geeks out there, a whole mess of VIP's flew out for the event this morning. They were on a shiny new A320 operated by – you guessed it – Virgin America.

More photos after the jump. 


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