Iteam on News re Virgin (Branson not Mary) Space Travel

[natalie_1982]

Last night on the news at ten, I only caught part of a story that was about Virgin and Space Tourists. Did anyone see the rest of it? What was it about? Does this mean that the whole Space Cadet show is a farce? Does anyone actually watch Space Cadets?

[charliebaps]

In answer to the first part of your question, Richard Branson is setting up a launch site in a desert in the USA (built by Americans) then he is going to provide the rocket that will give space tourists a 3 hour ride into space. The rocket will be 'dropped' by a bigger aircraft at a certain altitude then the rocket will blast off in the sky. It can do this as it will be a lot smaller than the big ground based launch pads we are used to seeing on the news. The current cost is something like �110,000 for the 3 hour trip (quite low I thought, even though beyond by reach by three zeros!) and he hopes the price will drop further making it more affordable for regular people. The first launch, he hopes, will be in 2008.

[libertie]

And in answer to the second part, although I have'nt watched Space Cadets I do believe that it's a sort of reality tv thingy, but the space cadets....with the exception of one, who is an actor....think they are really going into space!!

[CT]

Here's the bit about Branson's Space Plane.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4531018.stm
And here's something about that Space Cadets show.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4530608.stm