Vacation: SpaceShipTwo
On December 7th 2009, Virgin Galactic unveiled SpaceShipTwo, the first commercial passenger spacecraft. This is the successor to the SpaceShipOne prototype that made history last year by becoming the first privately manned craft to reach space. There are already about 300 people who have paid the $200,000 ticket to ride on this spacecraft when it is ready. This is obviously much more affordable than the millions of dollars that only a wealthy few have paid to ride on Russian rockets.
SpaceShipTwo will be able to accommodate 6 passengers and 2 pilots. It is about 60 feet long with an inner cabin designed with maximum space in mind to allow passengers to float around in zero gravity. Each passenger will get one side window and one overhead window for the best views possible. It is designed to ride up to an altitude of about 50,000 feet atop the White Knight Two launch vehicle (recently renamed EVE after Sir Richard Branson’s mother). Once released, it will use its own rockets to soar up to a final altitude of 65 miles – space! You will then get about 5 minutes of pure weightlessness. The entire trip would be about 2.5 hours. You’ll get to experience speeds of up to 2,600 mph, G-forces, amazing views of the Earth, and bragging rights for being included in a very elite club of astronauts.
Virgin Galactic plans to build about five commercial ships and launch vehicles. The first two have already been named: VSS Enterprise and VSS Voyager. They are looking to start flying paying customers sometime in 2011. If you’ve got some disposable income handy, this is truly the opportunity of a lifetime. Of course, if you are not a trendsetter, I’m sure the price will drop over time as more and more people start flying 
Be a part of history and book your next flight with Virgin Galactic!
