Little Thom has always been fascinated by aliens and as a child it was always my dream to become an astronaut. I have obviously now given up on that idea so I was very excited to see photos of the first Virgin Galactic spaceship. The BBC reports that engineers are working on a project which could bring space travel to the general public a little bit closer.
They are developing a space ship which they hope to have ready to take paying customers into space in a couple of years.
The spaceship will have 6 seats for lucky passengers who will be able to watch themselves leaving earth from the windows on board.
The astronauts will be given training beforehand to check their mental and physical fitness. Can you imagine flying at 2,5000 miles per hour? It is anticipated that the space ship will require to be carried down the 10,000 ft runway and up to approximately 50,000 ft by a special plane. Once it reaches this height it will be released before it’s rocket motor is fired and it leaves the atmosphere.
Many people are worried about the environmental costs of space travel but Virgin claims the trips into space will have lower carbon emissions per passenger than a transatlantic flight.
Although the spaceship isn’t even ready yet over 400 people have bought a ticket!! Would you pay £125,000 to go into space? I’m off to buy a lottery ticket.
