Virgin Galactic readies space travel for the masses

My wife has a complete fascination with space travel. I don’t know why she never attempted to become an astronaut. She just loves any kind of science fiction, and “obsessed” is not strong enough of a word when it comes to her passion for Star Trek: The Next Generation. She can quote every line of dialogue from every episode of all 7 seasons!

But to my surprise, Lane has no interest when it comes to flying into space even though commercial space travel is about to become a lot more affordable.

What’s “affordable” is, of course, a relative term. The Russians in recent years have allowed the ultra-rich to pay $20-$25 million to go into outer space. Now Virgin mogul Richard Branson has VirginGalactic.com, a company designed to fly people into suborbital space at a cost of $200,000.

Branson’s ships look exactly like they’re out of a sci-fi movie. Virgin Galactic is taking reservations to fly as soon as next year. So far, 500 people have signed up.

As for me, I wouldn’t ever want to go into outer space either. I wouldn’t care if it was free; it’s just not my thing! But for those who are into it, think of the price curve from $20 million just a few years ago to $200,000.

As with any cycle of technology, there’s no doubt in mind that it will be one day become routine and affordable for our children to go into space!