VIRGIN GALACTIC LAUNCH NATIONAL SCHOOLS COMPETITION IN THE UK And the Grand Prize ... the winning team and its teacher will be flown to the US as guests of Virgin Galactic where they will enjoy a tour of the Mojave spaceport and spend time chatting and learning from the engineers who have built WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo. The winning team will get the chance to witness history in the making by getting the once-in-a-lifetime chance to see a flight of SpaceShipTwo, Virgin Galactic's commercial spaceship. The team will be accompanied by Sir Richard Branson and have the chance to ask him first hand why he believes that one day space travel will be open to all. Will Whitehorn, President of Virgin Galactic, addressed the children and teachers on the morning of the press conference. "I am delighted Virgin Galactic are working on this schools competition with the RAF and the Royal Aeronautical Society. Mission Virgin Galactic sets out to reinvigorate interest in the sheer excitement of recent developments in engineering and their context to new technologies in aerospace and transportation generally. We have to find solutions to the issues this planet faces and it will only be through a new generation of enthusiastic and environmentally conscious young engineers, entrepreneurs and scientists that we will achieve it. Hopefully, the lure of one day going to space can help to spur that spirit." Everyone is permitted to sign up as a Galactic Knight and enjoy the interactive, fun and informative areas of the website. For more information and to register your interest in flying with us, or just for updates on progress, you can visit the website at www.virgingalactic.com.