Branson unveils SpaceShip Two
January 2008
Affordable flights into space are about to become a reality with the
unveiling of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo.
Sir Richard
Branson this week lifted the lid on SpaceShipTwo, which is scheduled
for test flights later this year and for commercial tourism
flights in 2009.
Two hundred
clients are already reported to have paid more than $US200,000
to be on the first two-hour flight into space, and 80 of them
have been through medical assessment and centrifuge training.
Unfortunately for most, the craft only seats six passengers
so most will have to wait some time for their flight.
Virgin Galactic says a further 85,000 people have registered an interest in
taking a space flight.
The flights make space travel "affordable", given
that the only tourist flights into space up until now (through
Space Adventures) have cost upwards of $20 million.