Branson opens space agency in SA
2012-05-02 20:14
Do you have a spare R1.5-million? If so, you certainly are eligible
to be a passenger of Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic's space
travel.
Bookings for the world's first private spaceline opened in May and
can now be be made right here in South Africa through Giltedge Travel's
accredited ‘Space Guru,' Candice Sheridan - selected as an accredited
agent for Virgin Galatic. The US$ 200,000 ticket price secures 3 days of
pre-flight preparation and hospitality, including G-force
acclimatisatio.
Sir Richard Branson, inspired by the lunar landings he witnessed as a
child, had been looking for technology that would enable the Virgin
Group to provide safe and affordable space travel to the masses since
the early 1990's. He found this technology in SpaceShipOne, the
brainchild of legendary aircraft designer, Burt Rutan. Funded by Paul
Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, SpaceShipOne successfully completed
three spectacular manned sub-orbital flights in 2004, thus winning the
$10 million Ansari X-Prize. Virgin licensed the unique technology and
ordered 5 scaled-up, commercial versions of the spacecraft to be called
SpaceShipTwo along with two carrier aircraft named WhiteKnightTwo - in
the autumn of 2004 Virgin Galactic was announced to the world.
The 2-hour spaceflight itself will propel the six passengers and two
pilots out of the atmosphere at over three times the speed of sound, to a
peak altitude of around 70 miles. Here the astronauts will leave their
seats to enjoy around 4-minutes of weightlessness and a life-changing
view up to 1000 miles in any direction, allowing them to see the
curvature of the Earth, the thin ribbon of atmosphere and the blackness
of space.
Sean Kritzinger, CEO of Giltedge Travel, says "Our agents have
undergone extensive product training in the Virgin Galactic Space Guru
Program and we are confident that our future astronauts will be getting
the best possible care and attention when booking their spaceflights.
Giltedge Travel has a proven track record of delivering exceptional and
unique travel experiences and we are very excited to be working with
Virgin Galactic on this truly pioneering adventure."
For more information about booking your place in space please contact:Sean Kritzinger
Owner Sure Giltedge Travel via email sean@gilt-edge.co.za or on 021 7130296
