The Space Tourism Taking off

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(elpais.com) Virgin Galactic presents the mothership 'White Knight Two,' which will launch the first test flights in late 2008. More than 250 people have already booked their passage across the world suborbital.

The multimillionaire Richard Brandson and his company Virgin Galactic have presented Monday to the world the gigantic mother ship White Knight Two, which will be the rocket that will transport the Space Ship Two with the first space tourists from 2009.

More than 250 people from 30 countries have already booked all over the world his suborbital flight with Virgin Galactic, at a price of $ 200,000 per passenger (about 127,000 euros). In Europe, Spain is a leader in number of reservations, with a total of 12 passengers, among them Ana Bru, the first Spanish woman to travel into space. With the appearance of a large catamaran for the sky, with a wing of 42 meters long, the ship emerged from the hangar where he designed and built for four years in the Mojave Desert in California.

Its mission is to lead off and the Space Ship Two up to 15 km in height. Then, the rocket was undocked and lets you enjoy a few minutes in space. The Space Ship Two, which can carry six space tourists and two pilots, will be completed in the coming months and is expected to begin in 2009 will be the first test flights and travel with the first space tourists. The initial frequency is a way out of the week, although it is expected gradually to reach the two daily trips.

Despite the fact that their sub-orbital flights off on a principle from the Mojave airport space, Virgin Galactic is planning to build a new one in the State of New Mexico, designed by British architect Norman Foster, who became his base of operations from 2010. The company is not ruling out a future in building new airports in other countries such as Sweden, northern Scotland and Spain.

The president of Virgin Galactic, Will Whitehorn said it is in contact with Spanish authorities and local authorities to study a project in a "secret place" near Barcelona, which would be operational within three to four years.

(Comment from Oscar Granda)

Space tourism; own so many futuristic novels, will be a reality soon, thanks to the tenacious English multimillionaire venture of Richard Brandson. This accomplishment highlights the importance not only of the relevant technological advances but also of the strength that human beings should have to realize larger projects. With this conquest man undoubtedly consolidate its presence in the universe.