Virgin says on track to be world's first spaceline

Reuters ^ | 03/29/06 | Andrew Marshall

[KevinDavis]

DUBAI (Reuters) - Richard Branson's Virgin Group is on track to become the world's first commercial spaceline, with suborbital flights for space tourists due to start in 2008, the British billionaire said on Wednesday.

In an interview with Reuters in Dubai, where his Virgin Atlantic (VA.UL: Quote, Profile, Research) airline began flights from London this week, Branson said other companies offering space travel had not matched the progress made by the Virgin Galactic venture.

"A number of companies around the world are offering space travel but they haven't tested and built any space ships. They certainly haven't had test flights into space," Branson said.

"Virgin is the only company in the world that has actually achieved that," he added.

Virgin Galactic will offer space flights for $200,000, and says it has already received more than 150 firm reservations and taken $13.1 million in deposits. Some 45,000 people have expressed an interest in the trips.

[KevinDavis]

[VRWCmember]

Virgin: going where no man has gone before.

[DoughtyOne]

Excellent

When other concerns see numbers like this, it's going to become appearant that there's money to be made here. That's what will drive space exploration more and more.

[Always Right]

No thanks. I stay on earth. I know of no place in the solar system that is better.

[Paleo Conservative]

So will they have a 100 mile high club?

[KevinDavis]

More like the 200 mile high mile club..

[Vaquero]

[Visalia]

A great idea until the first accident. This is dangerous stuff. Not like flying from Hoboken to Chicago.

[clyde asbury]

A great idea until the first accident.

At some point, there will have been more successful flights than accidents.

[finnigan2]

Richard Branson is a very likeable, charming and bright fellow with a showman's gift for self promotion.
I think his latest space flight gimmick will give Virgin Airlines free publicity for the next five or six years which I think is what it has been designed to do all along.
Branson's claim to have already collected over $13 million in "deposits" for this trip is, I think, a showman's boast that is just as imaginary as the rest of his plans for this venture .
In short: "Don't eat that stuff Aylmer, it ain't good for you."

[buccaneer81]

At some point, there will have been more successful flights than accidents

Yup. Like the Space Shuttle. 112 successful flights, 2 accidents. Yet we give up so easily.

If we had had this type of mindset 80 years ago, we might be flying on DC-3s by now.

[demlosers]

Cool; it's a start.

[S0122017]

ONLY one in 56 flights kills all passengers?

My, i can imagine little travelling to take place if commercial vehicles had that death rate.

[clyde asbury]

If we had had this type of mindset 80 years ago, we might be flying on DC-3s by now.

Myopia can do that.