The Virgin Galactic public relations machine must be working overtime, as they have 3 new items to report. In a new article in The Times, Richard Branson informs us that about 200 people have paid a deposit of at least 10% of the $200K fee required to ride into space starting in 2009 on SpaceShipTwo, which is the stretch version of SpaceShipOne.
He also advises of plans for a space hotel in orbit around the moon. Patrons would not actually get to spend time on the moon, but rather skim over the surface of the moon in a small 2-seater craft before returning to the hotel.
And in the problematic-and-dubious yet whimsical-and-escapist category, Branson puts forth an idea for a manned giant craft with solar sails that would make it’s way into the cosmos to search for life and never to return. Presumably VG would not offer refunds on these 1-way tickets.
The Race For Space, The Times, February 24 2007
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I know a few people I’d like to sign up for that space flight that’s never going to return.
I’d like to go to outer space when I retire; hopefully they have shuffleboard on those spaceships.