(CNN) -- It's unlikely that you've heard of PJ King, despite the fact that he's about to set himself apart from most humans who've ever walked the planet. In as soon as 18 months, King could be launching into space as a paying commercial space tourist. King, a 41-year-old Irish businessman, is one of hundreds of travelers who've signed up and trained to be among the first paying passengers aboard Virgin Galactic's trips to suborbital space -- 62 miles above the Earth. King believes the $200,000 he and other passengers pay for a seat on a Virgin Galactic spacecraft will help create a new future when "flights like this are happening every week, when lots of people go, and the cost has been massively reduced due to the economics of scale." Prices are coming down, even before space tourism has started taking off. Russia charges private travelers $40 million to ride on its Soyuz spacecraft and spend a few days aboard the international space station. For a much shorter journey, Virgin Galactic wants $200,000 for a flight to suborbital space. But Space Adventures advertises suborbital trips for about half that price: $102,000. King says he knows people who've taken out mortgages to buy their spacecraft tickets. About 360 paying passengers have signed up to be among Virgin Galactic's first travelers, CEO George Whitesides said. After the initial launches, he expects that number to grow to thousands and tens of thousands Pics of spacecraft and Full Article: http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/10/15/space.tourism/index.html?hpt=C1
"If you look to the left... there's... well, ummm... besides space: nothing. And over here... to the right... well, who am I kidding, guys... there's NOTHING either. Isn't space GREAT? "
if I was mega rich -- absolutely. it's an incredible waste of resources, the polar opposite of anything 'green', but it would be freaking cool. i wouldn't cash in my kids' college fund or mortgage the home to do it -- but $100K ain't so much to some folks.
I would gladly let Space Adventures take 10% of every paycheck I get until I'm 50, if I knew the payoff would be a space tour. Going to space is the ultimate experience, in my opinion.
Space sounds cool and all (no pun intended) but I'm pretty sure that 100k for a discount flight into suborbital space on one of the first trials of this thing is not for me.
I think the question isn't "if you had a millionaire's wallet and money weren't at all an issue" It's would YOU pay that. If money isn't an object I'm pretty sure most would go if it were deemed safe and not lame (potential for lame being how far are ya going into space, how long you stay up there, etc.)
My boss has already set aside a separate fund for this since about 2005. After some years, I'll do the same.
I'll wait until one has blown up in takeoff or fallen apart in the atmosphere so they notch up the safety standards first. No sense dying just to get there early.
Like other said, I'd do it in a minute if I had enough money. I'd do it right now if it dropped to $10k.
Without a doubt i'd pay that - it would be so incredible up there. Hell, even sending up your own weather balloon with a camera is pretty awesome.
