An aircraft that will soon be able to carry tourists into space was unveiled today by British billionaire Sir Richard Branson. The price for this trip is a hefty one at $200,000 (Dh734,000). Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo (SS2) can carry six passengers and two pilots and will begin commercial flights between 2011 and 2012.
Virgin Galactic is owned by Abu Dhabi’s Aabar Investments and Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group. Branson said about 300 people from around the globe have already paid $40 million in deposits to ensure they have a seat on SpaceShipTwo. Experts in the aerospace field are betting that suborbital flights will be the next generation of business travel. Owner of Hurley Travel Experts in Portland, Oregon, Pamela Hurley-Moser, is one of the 50 travel consultants chosen to be accredited space agents for Virgin Galactic. The company currently has specials to Thailand, Iceland, and space.
