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Virgin space flight will carry Bransons
SpaceshipTwo already has 529 passengers
Lefteris Pitarakis / The Associated Press Richard Branson poses in a SpaceshipTwo replica. (CP)
FARNBOROUGH, England -- The first space flight of Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic venture will be a family affair: The billionaire adventurer confirmed Wednesday he will be joined by his two adult children.
The British tycoon behind the Virgin business empire that spans cable television, airlines and space tourism revealed the three will make the journey 100 kilometres above the Earth aboard the SpaceshipTwo (SS2) next year. Some 120 other tourists who have signed up for the $200,000 two-hour trips into space over the coming years were also present at the Farnborough Airshow south of London.
"Next year, Holly and Sam will be joining me for a first voyage into space," the thrill-seeker told a packed conference on the third day of the show. "Going into space is a hard business. It keeps my mind buzzing."
Virgin said it has 529 paid-up passengers already -- one more than the total number of space travellers since the former Soviet Union's Yuri Gagarin became the first man to go into space in 1961.
The future space tourists looked at a replica of the SS2 set up outside the auditorium as the actual spacecraft undergoes flight testing in California's Mojave Desert. It will take off from a spaceport in New Mexico that was designed by British architect Lord Foster. The craft is designed to seat six passengers and two pilots.
The tourists will undergo a week of training at the spaceport before taking their flights.
"I wanted to be the first Irishman in space and I'm really looking forward to it," said businessman and author Bill Cullen, 70. He said he was the first to sign up for the ride, in 2004.
Grant Roberts, 36, said his dream of space flight came from his grandfather, who was a pilot for Britain's Royal Air Force and flew missions over Germany in the Second World War.
Branson also said a new launch vehicle -- LauncherOne -- would take small satellites into space at much lower cost than is now possible. The Virgin Galactic team said a number of companies were hoping to use LauncherOne, which is expected to begin operations in 2016 and can carry up to 227 kilograms.
"It will be a critical new tool for the global research community, enabling us all to learn about our home planet more quickly and affordably," he said.
-- The Associated Press
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 12, 2012 A9
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