Virgin Galactic signs Nasa co-operation deal

Sir Richard Branson’s space tourism company has signed a deal with Nasa to help get its flights off the ground, MPs heard today.

Will Whitehorn, president of Virgin Galactic, confirmed that the company had signed a cooperation deal with the US space agency at midnight in an unprecedented collaboration.
He told the Commons Science and Technology Committee that the firm would benefit from the agency's expertise, while Nasa would use seats on its flights for early astronaut training.

Mr Whitehorn said: “They obviously believe in it and who am I to question them?”
Virgin Galactic will offer members of the public the chance to experience a few minutes in space in a $200,000 two-and-a-half hour flight from 2008.

The company’s rocket-powered ships will be launched from adapted jet aircraft at 50,000 feet, reducing fuel costs and environmental impact. Each flight will carry six “astronaut passengers” and two pilots.

The sub-orbital rocket flight will be brief, but will include the chance to experience weightlessness and to see the earth from space. The ship will “float” to earth like a shuttlecock using “feathering” technology, Mr Whitehorn said.

Professor Stephen Hawking, the wheelchair-bound physicist, is booked on one of the first flights, courtesy of sponsorship from Sir Richard. Mr Whitehorn said that fares for passenger flights into space would tumble from the $200,000 (£100,000) now advertised. “We believe that after five years we can get that cost down to $75,000 and after nine years to $50,000 or £25,000.”