Virgin Galactic, Day Trips To Mars?
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009It’s been several years in development but Richard Branson has now unveiled plans for his ‘Virgin Galactic’ spacecraft. A craft that will fly in tandem with a carrying craft called ‘White Knight Two’. Both crafts will fly to a height of 50,000 feet where ‘SpaceShip Two’ will then detach and blast its way to a height of 65 miles above the earth’s surface under its own jet propulsion.
A flight in Branson’s jet powered wonder bus will cost a cool £120,000 with as many as 300 people already keen to hop aboard. Self confessed flying enthusiast John Travolta is rumoured to have reluctantly turned down a spin – concerned with loss of earnings due to a long training programme.
Created by a guy called Burt Rutan, a famed aviation designer, the craft is based on his prototype SpaceShipOne which won almost a £7,000,000 prize in 2004 for being the first privately-manned craft into space.
Concern over carbon footprint? Worries about burning too much fossil fuel? Neither high on the agenda but you must admit the prospect of space travel is a little bit exciting…
