How to Book a Trip into Outer Space

The day has finally come when adventurous travelers can book a trip into outer space, thanks to the seemingly bottomless purse strings and creativity of Virgin Atlantic entrepreneur Richard Branson. He has announced that he is taking reservations from individuals who would like to travel on a suborbital trip into outer space aboard his Virgin Galactic spaceship as early as 2009.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

1. Go to the Virgin Galactic website and read up on Branson's initiative, which is described as a "groundbreaking opportunity" for members of the public to become among the world's first ever non-professional astronauts. The plans call for Virgin Galactic to own and operate its own fleet of spaceships for this endeavor.

2. Visit the website's section that describes what will happen in flight and what training is involved. Pre-flight training will require travelers to spend three days at Virgin Galactic's planned Spaceport in Mexico. Training will focus on zero gravity, safety and bonding among travelers. "Simple and unrestrictive" pre-flight medical checks will also be conducted.

3. Keep in mind that no planets will be visited and that the entire flight is expected to last just 2 1/2 hours. But Virgin Galactic expects the spaceship to travel three times the speed of sound, or 2,500 miles per hour, and you will be taken just past the official boundary of outer space -- 62.5 miles.

4. 
    
   Richard Branson

   Go to the "Book" link, if you've decided to become one of Virgin Galactic's passengers. The link will take you to a form you'll need to fill out to express your interest. Virgin Galactic says you'll be contacted by an agent about your reservations, when more questions will be asked about your travel plans. Believe it or not, the site also lists dozens of Accredited Space Agents, travel agents around the world who are equipped to handle reservations for the Galactic venture.

Tips & Warnings

• Cautious but curious travelers might want to wait at least until the first two groups fly on Virgin Galactic -- "Astronauts," the first 250 flyers who have already reserved places, and "Pioneers," the next 1,000 flyers who book a reservation.
• Branson's endeavor, naturally, comes with its own risks.

Resources

• Virgin Galactic
• Space.com