TOWING a spaceship is not an everyday task but that was the mission Land Rover has just accomplished.

A Range Rover Autobiography was used to bring the new Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo into public view for the first time.

The luxury SUV with Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson on board took on the less glamorous role of spacecraft tug for the unveiling of SpaceShipTwo at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California.

Land Rover is the official vehicle supplier to the Virgin Galactic team which uses a fleet of its vehicles for everyday operations at its bases in the United States.

The new craft - named VSS Unity - replaces Virgin Galactic's original spaceship which crashed during a test flight in 2014.

VSS Unity was named during the ceremony in a recorded message from physicist Professor Stephen Hawking and will now undergo months of intensive testing.

More than 700 people have already signed up to fly into space with Virgin Galactic from Spaceport America in New Mexico.

Land Rover and Virgin Galactic announced their collaboration two years ago and the two companies run a specialist STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education programme to inspire engineers of the future.

Mark Cameron, global brand experience director at Land Rover, said: "This is a significant milestone for Virgin Galactic, and we are proud to be part of it.

"Helping the team unveil the new SpaceShipTwo not only reflects our supporting role in the Virgin Galactic programme, but it was also an impressive display of the Range Rover's towing capability.

"From our tens of thousands of employees and customers to schools and colleges, motivating more young people to pursue careers in engineering, science and technology - and explore new ways of travelling for future generations. This is a very special match of brands based around a shared vision."