Aha - It had been rumoured that Sir Richard of Branson was trying to get into the space biz, ever since he got into bed with Rutan for his non-stop solo world circum-navigation attempt. I Imagine that he must be interested in licensing SpaceShipOne technology... Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson has announced his company has signed an agreement worth £14m to secure the first commercial flights into space. The deal with the US firm which owns the technology, could be worth millions over the next 15 years depending on the number of space vehicles built. Prices for each seat into space are expected to start at around £115,000. Sir Richard revealed the new venture at a briefing held on Monday at the Royal Aeronautical Society in London. Up to 3,000 astronauts could be flying into space over a five-year period, according to Virgin. Link £115,000? Better start playing the lottery again...
Yep - just I suspected. They've updated the story, and indeed the wierdy beardy is going to license SSO tech. Virgin Galactic, eh? Here's to the worlds first commercial Spaceline.
And here's some more info, courtesy of Scaled Composites: http://www.scaled.com/projects/tierone/092704_scaled_paul_allen_virgin_galactic.htm And you can always go and put your name down for a flight at the Virgin Galactic website.
"We'll show you the stars" Sorry, I don't care much for Virgin... BUT, it is very very cool that they're going to be running flights. So what does everyone say? 5? 10 years before prices will lower into the thousands of dollars?
£14m for the contract for the first commercial space flights? That doesn't seem like anywhere near enough. Something will go tits up.
Seems plenty to me. Remember that all of the technology has already been developed, built and flight tested under the SSO program, and that bill (~ $20m) was footed by Paul Allen. All Dickie Branson is doing is buying a 'stretch' SSO, and the expertise to operate it. And if he orders more ships, the price per ship and flight will come down. Economies of scale. As for when it'll be in the $1000's of dollars range? I dunno. I think we'll have to wait until there are some competing spacelines begin flights to see real changes in prices. I just hope it's happens whilst I'm still considered medically fit to fly.
LOL me too! I wonder if you will have to sign an agreement about medical health and death aboard flights = not their fault?
Man this rules, I hope the prices become affordable enough before I am too old LIFT OFF Your journey out of this world begins not on the launch pad like a conventional space rocket but on a runway. Virgin Galactic craft are carried under a mother ship to almost 10 miles above sea level. Then the countdown begins. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…..the VSS Enterprise, your spaceship, is released from the mother ship. Almost immediately, as your astronaut pilot ignites the engine, you will hear the roar of the rocket behind you as the enormous power accelerates you at 4G to a speed faster than a bullet. All the time, the ergonomic design of the seats will keep you comfortable. As you hurtle through the edges of the atmosphere, through the panoramic individual windows you will be able to see the cobalt blue sky turn to mauve and indigo and finally black. Out will come the stars, clear and bright... even though it is daytime! Soon the rocket motor cuts out. Now, from the rush of adrenalin and the rocket motor, everything is quiet. You are weightless... You are in space! The ship will manoeuvre, so you can look for the first time back at the planet you have just come from. The view will be over a thousand miles in any direction. That’s like seeing North Africa if you were in a spaceship above London or Miami from overhead Washington DC. You will see the clarity of the solar system and the harshness of the sun. It will be humbling. It will be spiritual. /me hopes...