http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6115258/ LONDON - British entrepreneur Richard Branson said Monday that his company plans to launch commercial space flights over the next few years. Branson’s Virgin transport, entertainment and communications group has signed an agreement with pioneering aviation designer Burt Rutan to build an aircraft based on Rutan’s SpaceShipOne vessel, Branson said. SpaceShipOne cracked the barrier to manned commercial space flight in June by flying 328,491 feet, or about 62 miles, above Earth — about 400 feet above the distance scientists widely consider to be the boundary of space. The flight lasted 90 minutes. SpaceShipOne’s effort was bankrolled by billionaire Microsoft Corp. co-founder Paul Allen. Virgin said its agreement to license technology from Allen’s company, Mojave Aerospace Ventures, could be worth up to $25 million over the next 15 years, depending on the number of spaceships built by Virgin. The company said it planned to begin construction of the first vessel, VSS Enterprise, next year, and would invest about $108 million in spaceships and ground infrastructure for the venture. “Virgin has been in talks with Paul Allen and Burt throughout this year and in the early hours of Saturday signed a historical deal to license SpaceShipOne’s technology to build the world’s first private spaceship to go into commercial operating service,” Branson told a news conference. 3,000 new astronauts in 5 years The new service will be called Virgin Galactic and expects to fly 3,000 new astronauts in its first five years. Fares will start at $208,000 for a suborbital flight, including three days’ training. Branson said the business would “allow every country in the world to have their own astronauts rather than the privileged few.” “Virgin Galactic will be run as a business, but a business with the sole purpose of making space travel more and more affordable,” Branson said. “Those privileged space pioneers who can afford to take our first flights will not only have the most awesome experience of their lives, but by stepping up to the plate first they will bring the dream of space travel for many millions closer to reality.” Virgin Group, which began as a record label, operates several airlines — British-based Virgin Atlantic and budget carriers Virgin Express in Europe and Virgin Blue in Australia — and plans to launch a low-budget U.S. carrier next year.
That's a shame. Virgin was apparently a pretty decent airline. He has just chartered his company's course to bankruptcy.
Whoever breaks the automobile industry has a winner. Space, maybe a long time from now. So I respect the pioneer. But we still have roads. And that needs to change.
Wonder if we will ever get to the point in our lifetimes where we won't be driving on the road anymore.
I remember watching that show "Beyond 2000" on the discovery channel as a child. I was told I'd be driving a flying car by 2000. I demand satisfaction.
Lol i used to live for that show. They had so many things like that as well as automated cars etc and none of them have come around and we are way "beyond 2000"
$108 mm in and of itself is not a lot. (of course I'm not sure what current CF of the company looks like, though) but i would be willing to bet that the investment will be well overbudget and the operations will bleed for a long long while. based on what i've read about him recently, he's one of those guys who will ignore the consequences and chase his dreams. that's great to for lon-term human advances, but that's rarely a good idea in the business world.
