Dreams up in Space

Many of us have dreamt of taking a trip into space- I know I have. Well, with the release of Richard Branson's commercial space programme, my dream is no closer to coming true. With a price tag of $200 000 (R1,5 million) it is slightly out of my price range.

Branson teamed up with aviation designer, Burt Rutan to develop SpaceShipTwo -SS2. Amazing how they spend years and billions creating craft, and they can only come up with bland names-The first one-VSS Enterprise-the second-VSS Voyager, both from Star Trek
Unlike what we have become used to with the Space Shuttle launches, the launch will not be one of massive rockets jetting off from a ground base in a dramatic plume of smoke and flame-SS2, will simply piggy back upon another plane- it seems this method of launching is the way things will be heading. NASA is also looking at this option to launch its new set of re-entry craft-whenever they are ready.

But back to SS2. The craft will be attached to White Knight Two-WK2 (also named Eve,which looks like an aviation version of Siamese twins, strangely joined at the wing), which will take off like any normal plane.
Upon reaching about 50 000 feet (roughly 15km), SS2 will ignite it's hybrid rocket and detach from WK2, heading up into space. It's maximum altitude is 110 km. This is not deep space, but just beyond the atmosphere. Still it give the six space tourists a whole 6 minutes of weightlessness, in which they can release their safety belts and bob around the cabin like methane filled baloons. They will also be able to see the curve of the earth.
Then it is back down to mother Earth. The entire trip will be around two and a half hours.

This is (and excuse the pun) Virgin territory for us as nobody has ventured into the commercial space travel scene before. The aim is to make space travel affordable (very subjective word this) and allow more people to access this type of travel. Virgin plans to spend more than $400 million on a fleet of five space vehicles. The first 'space' tests of SS2 begin next year and hopefully will go commercial in 2011. Having said this, it is said that 300 people have already bought tickets.

There are other entrepreneurs  in the process of creating their own fly to space for cash craft as well. Sort of like a commercial space race.
Okay, the truth is that this is good news in general-for the sake of progress and human technology. I mean wow, commercial space travel- but the reality is that, as wonderful as it may seem, unless you win the lotto, rob a bank, write an instant commercial hit, book or song, suddenly become a holly (or bolly) wood movie star, or find you had a stinking rich uncle who is now dead and you stand to inherit his fortune- you will only read about it in the papers or watch the footage on TV. So I say yipee. As much as it means for news and the rich, is as little as it means for the man in the street. Unless it becomes so cheap that us mortals can afford it.
So my dream will remain a dream....but I am going to check my family tree quick.