Big dreams, few results in private space exploration

0 Comments | AFP, September, 2007

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico (AFP) — A dusty launchpad in a remote region of New Mexico could become one of the first gateways to the heavens for private individuals clamoring to be the pioneer generation of space tourists.

If British billionaire Richard Branson's vision is realised, by 2010, tourists could be paying around 200,000 dollars to board "SpaceShipTwo" and be rocketed into space to experience weightlessness before returning to earth.

Branson's Virgin Galactic has already begun taking reservations for seats aboard "SpaceShipTwo", a six-seater reusable spacecraft developed by American engineer Burt Rutan.

"I think they will get two or three missions a day, five days a week, around 700, 800 flights a year," Ben Woods, a member of the New Mexico Spaceport...