SCI/TECH: Virgin Astronauts, page 1

Virgin founder and head honcho Sir Richard Branson announced that Virgin has struck a deal with SpaceShipOne's designers for a private, 'Virgin Galactic' starfleet, the first to be able to pierce the 62 mile space barrier. There are currently five ships to be built, and tickets will cost �100,000 at first, although the price is expected to drop.

news.bbc.co.uk
"Virgin has been in talks with Paul Allen and Burt throughout this year and in the early hours of Saturday morning signed a historical deal to license SpaceShipOne's technology to build the world's first private spaceship to go into commercial operating service," said Sir Richard, who founded the Virgin Group of companies.

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Virgin's ships will seat five individuals, pre-trained for a week, luxury seats and all. The three hour flight will include three minutes of weightlessness, and take off from the Mojave Desert. And, in a nod to just about everyone, the first has been dubbed The VSS Enterprise.

For 200 grand, three minutes may not seem like much, but they do estimate roughly 3,000 people are in the market for it, and that can only grow once the price drop. This will, however remain a luxury service, and, while a far cry away from the next subway, it is certainly well-sized leap for mankind.

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[edit on 9/27/2004 by Amorymeltzer]

[edit on 27-9-2004 by John bull 1]