Bangkok--Sep 29--eTurbo news
British billionaire Richard Branson has unveiled a plan to offer trips to the edge of space within the next three years. He launched his latest travel venture at the Royal Aeronautical Society in London.
The new company in the Virgin empire is to be known as Virgin Galactic. It has made a deal with Mojave Aerospace Ventures to build rocket-propelled aircraft that will reach 100km above the earth and give commercial paying passengers an adventure with unparalleled views of the planet. Branson has signed an agreement to license the technology from Burt Rutan's SpaceShipOne to launch Virgin Galactic, which will offer commercial suborbital space flights in 2007.
"The key to Rutan's design is a craft, which on its return to earth turns from a beautiful sleek space plane into a 'shuttlecock' - to gently drift back through the atmosphere without overheating. It then metamorphoses once again into a conventional aircraft shape ready for landing," says the Virgin company in a new web site promoting the project.
The craft will be environmentally friendly and cause very little pollution. "The most important factor that brings us to the precipice of mass space exploration is safety. Burt has utilized a much safer fuel than ever before - nitrous oxide (laughing gas) and rubber. The two things separately are inert. Only when the nitrous oxide has been forced onto the rubber and then ignited will the motor start, producing its tremendous energy. This is much safer than liquid propulsion systems or solid fuel rockets."
Designs for the Virgin Galactic craft are progressing on a weekly basis at Rutan's base in Mojave, California and by early 2005 the final design for the maiden Virgin Galactic ship, the VSS (Virgin SpaceShip) Enterprise, should be signed-off.
Virgin's experience in aviation, adventure, luxury travel and cutting-edge design will be vital in contributing to the design of the spaceship, the smooth operation of the space travel product and creating an unforgettable experience unlike any other. But it comes at a high price.
The trips will last about two hours and a seat will cost UK?110,000 (US$198,000), though the fare could come down if there is heavy demand. Virgin Galactic offers the possibility of people traveling to the edge of space without having to first undergo months of astronaut training at a cost of tens of millions of dollars. Passengers will have a few days of medical assessment and pre-flight familiarization.
"We hope to create thousands of astronauts over the next few years and bring alive their dream of seeing the majestic beauty of our planet from above, the stars in all their glory and the amazing sensation of weightlessness," said Branson.
"The development will also allow every country in the world to have their own astronauts rather than the privileged few."
Branson added that he hoped to be aboard the first tourist flight into space.
For more information, please contact
[email protected]
http://www.travelwirenews.com/medie End.
--InfoQuest (NT)--