Filed under: Transportation

Hold onto your dollar bills, y’all — the WhiteKnightTwo is set to be unveiled (and swooned over) on Monday. We knew the fabled space tourism vehicle was set to be unwrapped this month, but knowing that said event is merely hours away just gets our juices flowin’. Richard Branson and “other dignitaries” are preparing to officially launch the ship at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California (a short drive from Zzyzx, we hear), and we’re still being led to believe that test flights should begin as early as this fall. Hey, at least you know what you’re doing next year if your ship comes in.

[Via The Register]

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Filed under: Transportation

Finally, mankind has the answer to that eternal question, how many coconuts does it take to go from London to Amsterdam? The answer: 150,000 — converted into biofuel and poured into a special 747, of course. Virgin Atlantic completed its first biofuel tests yesterday with solid results, using a mix of 20 percent coconut oil and 80 percent jet fuel to power a 747 — a first for the airline industry. There’s still a long way to go, of course — only one of the jet’s four tanks carried the alternative fuel, and even Richard Branson admits that giant coconut plantations devoted to airline fuel probably aren’t workable — but despite harsh criticism from skeptics, it’s still an impressive achievement. Branson says that although this test didn’t use a viable fuel, it’s a landmark proof-of-concept — and that next-generation biofuels made from algae may one day power all our aircraft. Sure, that’d be nice, but we’ll stick with tiki-power — anyone have a drink umbrella?

[Via The Register]

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