Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic
“July 28, 2008, Branson’s eight-year-old Virgin Galactic enterprise unveiled the mother ship that will take paying passengers into orbit. Branson has hosted customers who have committed to the $200,000 ride into sub-orbital space aboard VG’s SpaceShip Two on his private island of Necker and to Sweden to see the aurora borealis.”
“For $200,000, passengers won’t even get free peanuts and sodas. In fact, their diets will be controlled during preflight training “to make sure they feel great during the flight,” says Virgin Galactic commercial director Stephen Attenborough. Adds Branson’s nephew, Ned Abel Smith, “We don’t want to take away from the experience by over-designing the interior.” Still, noted designer Philippe Starck is on-board as a consultant.”
“Virgin isn’t the only player in the commercial space flight game.Space Adventures has been delivering private citizens to the International Space Station since 2001, when billionaire Dennis Tito took the first trip. (Tito’s ticket cost just $20 million; the ride now runs a cool $30 million.)”
“At $4 million (give or take), a vacation at Galactic Suite is a comparative bargain. Projected to open in 2012, the first space resort promises to orbit 15 times a day at 18,000 mph. The trip requires an 18-week commitment, most of which is spent at a James Bond-style space camp on an undisclosed Caribbean island. “Galactic Suite is really tapping into the fantasy aspect,” says Michael Yessis, co-editor of World Hum, a Travel Channel website. “Who wouldn’t want to be launched into orbit Bond-style, saying something pithy in a tux or evening gown?”
Virgin Galactic Mother Ship Eve, copyright Virgin Galactic
Make a reservation now. I know I am.
