Virgin Galactic Taking Reservations For Space Flights
This is the first craft that is set to make regular tourist flights into space.
The Virgin Galactic spacecraft, which was being unveiled in New York today, is already under construction. Test flights are expected to begin in June, with commercial flights starting 12 months later.
More than 200 potential astronauts are believed to have already paid deposits for the £100,000 flights (about $195,000 USD today), including actress Victoria Principal, scientist Stephen Hawking, and Princess Beatrice.
Flights will last for two hours and will include four and a half minutes of weightlessness.
The 60ft ship is expected to reach an altitude of 110km - 68 miles - and will be launched from underneath a mother ship called White Knight.
The Mothership! The White Knight.
Once the mother ship reaches 50,000 feet, which was the cruising altitude of Concorde, the spaceship is released and its rocket is fired, accelerating the craft up to 2,500mph, and taking it to 110km, officially making its passengers astronauts.
(ThisIsLondon)
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Fuck yea! Maybe when I’m an old man it’ll be down to a few grand or less per trip haha.
January 23rd, 2008 at 4:08 pmI wouldn’t hope in that thing until all the engineers have taken 10 flights themselves.
Even then its not much more then a higher altitude vomit comet.
January 23rd, 2008 at 7:02 pm