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The rollout came a year after a deadly accident that killed three engineers and set back the effort to launch the first commercial spaceflight.

More than 250 wannabe astronauts have paid $200,000 or put down a deposit for a chance to float weightless in space, which could happen by the end of this decade. British billionaire Richard Branson, who is bank rolling the project, was on hand for the rollout of the prototype. It would carry an eight-person rocket ship on a flight from Earth up to a launch point at 48,000 feet altitude. There, the rocket would reach and fly into space, where it is to provide passengers and crew with four minutes of weightlesness. The rocket then falls to Earth and lands at an airport like a plane. It would be the first commercial spaceflight.

The Aircraft must undergo at least a year of rigorous flight tests starting in the fall. In addition, workers have to finish building SpaceShipTwo, which will be flown by two pilots and carry six passengers. Branson disclosed that the first passengers would be his family, including his mother and father. The mother ship was named Eve for his mother, who also attend the rollout. Her image is also featured on the side of the plane’s fuselage.

The aircraft was designed and built by famed aircraft designer Burt Rutan.