Look Mom, I’m an Astronaut!

Richard Branson totally inspires me.  Talk about a man who’s dedicated his life to making the impossible POSSIBLE.  Let’s take his latest project, Virgin Galactic, for example.  In this new venture of his, Richard has decided that every person deserves a chance to go into space.  I’m going to repeat that, so it sinks in.  EVERY PERSON DESERVES A CHANCE TO GO INTO SPACE.  That’s no small goal, huh?

How’s he going to make it so that every kid who has ever dreamed of being an astronaut can fulfill that desire?  Through a combination of savvy business strategy and innovative technology, of course!  Before I tell you the juicy details about how you can book YOUR ticket, let me just remind you of 2001 when American businessman Dennis Tito paid 20 million to be the tourist in space.  At this point I’m sure you’re still thinking, “Yeah right, like I could ever afford that!”  And at that rate, neither could I, but thanks to Sir Richard, you can now be in space for a mere $200,000 – less than the cost of a condo!

Seriously friends, do the math, in less than 10 years he has brought the cost down to 1% of what Dennis Tito paid.  UNREAL!  Makes me want to add it to my bucket list…

I’m not going to pretend that I fully understand the mechanics, but apparently how it works is that the spaceship is tethered to a mothership that carries it 50,000 feet up, at which point it disconnects and takes off.  Another innovate feature is that once it reaches a maximum altitude, the wings “feather” up to provide additional resistance (pictured at top).

Here are some of the specifics for those of you who are ready to join the 300+ people that have already booked:

• Take-off is from Spaceport America in New Mexico, home of the first commercial spaceport.
• Total flight cost – $200,000.
• Flights begin in 2010.
• There will be 1 flight per week, 6 passengers per flight.
• Passengers must undergo medical exams and 3 days of training prior to the flight.
• Each flight will be approximately 2 1/2 hours in length, with 5 minutes of weightlessness.
• Each Virgin Galactic tourist will officially be certified as an honest-to-goodness astronaut.

Ready to book your ticket?  CLICK HERE

Finally, I leave you with a quick video that shows highlights from the Spaceship’s unveiling:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ry3Xc_TluTg&feature=player_embedded]