Post by glactus on Nov 15, 2011 3:03:52 GMT
A Singaporean businessman, his wife and two children have paid $1 million to become the first Asian family to fly together on space-tourism airline Virgin Galactic,
The White Knight space plane
The US-based firm, part of British tycoon Richard Branson's Virgin conglomerate, has sold bookings since 2005 at $200,000 per seat for space flights to be launched from New Mexico.
Space plane one
The space plane, with two pilots, is designed to be launched by a transport plane called White Knight Two and will be guided by a rocket motor before gliding back to Earth.
Space plane one in glide mode
The space vehicle is US technology and they fall under a set of regulations in the United States which means that there are some countries where at the moment Virgin Galactic is not permitted to sell tickets.
In anticipation of burgeoning future demand for space tourism, Virgin Galactic have already ordered more spacecraft.The company is expected to take three years to recoup its investments, which us estimated at $300 million to $400 million, with one flight a week when commercial operations begin.
To see superb 7 minute 19 second video of the White Knight space plane and the flight to weightlessness, just click on the link below. Has sound. Full screen option bottom right.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=09C795Rn3zk
Credits: These are Virgin Galactic images
Text by Space Daily.com
Video by Youtube
The White Knight space plane
The US-based firm, part of British tycoon Richard Branson's Virgin conglomerate, has sold bookings since 2005 at $200,000 per seat for space flights to be launched from New Mexico.
Space plane one
The space plane, with two pilots, is designed to be launched by a transport plane called White Knight Two and will be guided by a rocket motor before gliding back to Earth.
Space plane one in glide mode
The space vehicle is US technology and they fall under a set of regulations in the United States which means that there are some countries where at the moment Virgin Galactic is not permitted to sell tickets.
In anticipation of burgeoning future demand for space tourism, Virgin Galactic have already ordered more spacecraft.The company is expected to take three years to recoup its investments, which us estimated at $300 million to $400 million, with one flight a week when commercial operations begin.
To see superb 7 minute 19 second video of the White Knight space plane and the flight to weightlessness, just click on the link below. Has sound. Full screen option bottom right.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=09C795Rn3zk
Credits: These are Virgin Galactic images
Text by Space Daily.com
Video by Youtube