Being able to book a tourist flight into space is closer to reality, as Virgin Galactic’s Richard Branson confirmed that next year he will be taking the first trip along with his two adult children.
Speaking at the Farnborough Airshow, Branson said, “Next year, Holly and Sam will be joining me for a first voyage into space.” Virgin Galactic first started taking reservations for space tourism flights in 2004 and now has more than 500 waiting customers. The trips will be about two hours long and currently cost $200,000.
Flights will be made in Virgin Galactic’s SpaceshipTwo, the next generation of the X-Prize-winning SpaceshipOne. Virgin Galactic plans to operate out of New Mexico from a facility called Spaceport America.
While it’s still out of reach for the vast majority of the public, the fact that private spaceflight is becoming a reality gives hope to many that their lifetime ambitions of making a trip into space could actually happen. Is that something you’d be willing to do? What would be the price point that would make you sign up for a flight? Let us know in the comments.
