Richard Branson, the British billionaire and owner of Virgin Atlantic, is going to send people into space. No, I mean outer space, as in space flight. He already has a home base in New Mexico called Spaceport America. From this port of departure, he intends to someday send tourists aboard a spacecraft. He has no shortage of people willing to plunk down the $200K to be among the first civilians in space. In fact, Richard Branson stated that enough tests will be done by Christmas of 2012 to start sending people into space. Branson expects that he and his family will be the first to board the spacecraft into space once all the tests are completed successfully.

Personally, I find the idea exhilarating to say the least. I suppose the flight itself will be nothing more than Alan Shepard's first flight in space. It lasted about 15 minutes. The article I linked above did not say how long the flight would last. But, it is difficult to imagine it lasting longer than half an hour. I suppose I will never be among the people who will ever get the chance to go aboard Richard Branson's spacecraft. I can think of a whole lot more things I would like to spend $200K (if I even had that kind of money) on than 15 minutes of fame in traveling around the planet. I have to admit, as a young boy who was thrilled by the idea of space travel, the idea does excite me. But, after hitting 60 in September, I think I can get by without that particular thrill.

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