The Traveller's Magazine
Virgin is treading into totally new territory, unknown to any man before. Can you imagine flying from London to Sydney in less than four hours? This dream is soon reality, but it will certainly cost a pretty pence. Virgin’s ‘space tourism’ blasts off in 2012 and will no doubt revolutionise how we travel.
Virgin Atlantic is opening a new branch, called Virgin Galactic, which is expected to begin operations next year. Flights will merely skim the surface of space, but this is already a feat worth gossiping about. 370 passengers have already signed up, putting a US$20,000 deposit down for their seat. After having completed another successful test flight, it looks promising.
Business travellers beware, this super-sonic travel is geared towards you, making trips around the world a breeze. A.M. meeting in Bangkok and afternoon tea in London? No problem, Virgin has you covered. Being able to whizz around the world at speeds only known previously to the Concorde, this new aircraft has something very good going for it.
Flights to space don’t come cheap however. It currently costs US$200,000 and a minimum down payment of US$20,000 is required (which is, by the way, refundable).
It’s called the White Knight Two, which cradles the SpaceShipTwo which is what carries the passengers. The space ship takes off on a regular runway and once it reaches 110 000m in altitude, the SpaceShipTwo detaches and powers itself with its own rocket boosters. Sounds like something out of a sci-fi novel, doesn’t it?
Is this the future of air travel?
The brains behind this stellar service expect the prices to drop drastically in the next 10 or 15 years, comparative to flying first-class now on leading business airlines. Flights will be based from the world’s first purpose built space port which is currently under construction in New Mexico, USA.
How can you book your space trip? Check out one of Virgin Galactic’s accredited space agents in Europe and get ready to dish out some serious cash.
What do you think of Virgin Galactic, how do you think this service will change how we travel?
One response to “Intergalactic space travel… yours for only £125,000!”