Space Flights For The Moderately Rich

Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic has signed an agreement with Burt Rutan to build an aircraft for commercial space flight. The first vessel, VSS Enterprise (of course), will soon be in construction with a launch date anticipated for 2010. The new company "Virgin Galactic" will have the sole purpose of making space travel more and more affordable. Recently interviewed by MSNBC.com, Branson explained that he has always wanted to go into space. The Russian civilian space flights cost approximately $13 million. Typically, Branson said, "I think that money could be better spent in Africa or something." Galactic's space trips will be a very short vacation. For an estimated fare of $200,000 your suborbital flight will only be 2.5 hours with 6 minutes of that in weightlessness. Flights are already being booked. Rich people are welcome to pay their deposit now for a flight in the near future. This may not be everyday, practical change but it's a start in the right direction. If I had the cash - I'd go.

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MSNBC.com