There is a flutter of excitement high above earth when travellers aboard SpaceShipTwo, a new-age hybrid rocket attached to a mother ship, prepare for a mid-air takeoff. The spaceship is cruising smoothly and there is a brief moment of quiet, like the dramatic calm before a storm.
Then the rocket engines rev up and the countdown begins: five, four, three, two, one… The space travellers, their hearts thumping, are pinned to their seats as an unimaginable but controlled power blasts the rocket into space at around 4,000 km/h – three times the speed of sound.
The rocket begins its vertical climb, reaching its apogee at 110 km above earth. At this stage, the travellers can unfasten their seatbelts and experience the thrill of zero gravity for four minutes.
A few will somersault in the ship, some will float around... Outside the windows, inky darkness stretches as far as the eye can see while Mother Earth, wrapped in the fragile blanket of a protective atmosphere, will be visible as a blue globe.
Ignite the rockets
It's a fantasy experience, but no longer the stuff of dreams! In less than two years, space travel will be possible for all who can afford it when Virgin Galactic, Sir Richard Branson's space line, takes off for its first space flight late next year.
Each flight will take six passengers and two pilots and there will be one flight per week to begin with. The organisation intends to gradually increase flight frequency to one per day – an indication that the potential passenger list is growing tremendously.
Nearly 250 space travellers have already signed up from all over the world, including a dozen from the UAE.
In fact, the UAE has become the first place to have a chartered space flight of six booked in advance.
The UAE's Ibrahim Sharaf, president of the Sharaf Group, was the first Emirati to sign up for the trip and will be among the first 100 people to go into space.
Another UAE resident, Namira Salim, will become the first female expatriate to do so and is also among the top 100.
Going where a few have gone before
Intrepid traveller Ibrahim has undertaken many risky, adventurous journeys including a trip to the North Pole some time ago.
About his decision to take up this challenge, Ibrahim says, "Travel has played an important role in shaping who I am today. I've been very lucky to have the means to see and experience different countries and cultures of the world, and even more so to share the stories of those experiences with my family and friends.
"I am very excited about going into space with Virgin Galactic. It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me! Today, sub-orbital journeys represent the ultimate travel, if not a life, experience. I'm privileged to join with many others to be a part of creating space travel history."
Among those who figure on the first 100 to take the trip are actress and business woman Victoria Principle, director of Superman Returns Bryan Singer and entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson and his children Sam and Holly.
Anyone above the age of 18 can sign up for the flight, subject to medical fitness for which tests will be conducted. The initial price of the ticket for the first 100 'Founder members' is $200,000, which is the cost of the flight.
This category is now closed, as it has been fully booked. The next four categories of 'Pioneer members' will pay $175,000, $150,000, $125,000 and $100,000 and the remaining amount will be payable at the time of the scheduled flight.
The next category 'Voyager' is an attractive option where people have to pay just $20,000 upfront and the rest at the time of the flight. The level of deposit paid will determine your flight priority and the allocation of your seat number.
Over 65,000 people worldwide have already registered with Virgin Galactic as potential astronauts and 250 tickets have been sold.
Anyone above the age of 18 can sign up for the flight, subject to medical fitness for which tests will be conducted.
Tremendously excited about his new venture, Sir Richard Branson spoke about what the project would really mean to mankind at the unveiling of the programme in New York earlier this year.
"If our system could carry only people to space, that would be enough for me, because of the transforming effect it will have on the thousands who will travel with us.
It is quite clear from every astronaut that I have ever spoken to that seeing the planet from out there, surrounded by the incredibly thin protective layer of atmosphere helps one to wake up to the fragility of the small portion of the planet's mass that we inhabit, and the importance of protecting the earth."
So space travel will not only be about experiencing the thrill of zero gravity, but perhaps also an inspiration to take responsibility for conservation of our eco-system.
What kind of spacecraft has been built to make this dream come true? A new-age spaceship called SpaceShipTwo (SS2), modelled after 2004's SpaceShipOne (SS1).
SpaceShipOne was a model designed by Burt Rutan and his company, Scaled Composites.
It made three flights into space at altitudes greater than 100 km, earning it the prestigious $10 million Ansari X prize for creating the first commercial privately-funded spacecraft.
SpaceShipOne now rests at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC.
Recognising Burt's genius, Sir Richard decided to collaborate with him again on SpaceShipTwo, which is a more advanced and safer version of the previous model.
Bigger, faster, safer and more environmentally responsible, Virgin Galactic's new spaceship, called SpaceShipTwo (SS2), and carrier aircraft WhiteKnightTwo include advanced carbon composite materials, a hybrid rocket motor and a unique wing feathering technique that reduces friction and heat when the craft re-enters the atmosphere.
– Virgin has two WhiteKnightTwo aircraft, one called VirginMotherShip Eve (VMS Eve) and the other Spirit of Steve Fossett. Eve is Sir Richard's mother's name. "If you are going to build a mother ship, it's only right that you name it after your mother," he says. Not only that, but the 'Galactic Girl' figurehead, who will feature prominently on all VG vehicles was also based on photographs of Eve when she was young. Virgin Galactic will own and operate at least five of the new spaceships and their two motherships.
Virgin Galactic lets you fly
The flights will initially take off from Mojave in California, USA, after which Virgin Galactic will have a purpose-built headquarters, Spaceport America in New Mexico, USA.
All those who complete the journey will officially receive the 'wings' and title of astronaut. The term astronaut is derived from the Greek words astron (star) and nautes (sailor). In the US, people who travel above an altitude of 80 km are designated astronauts. These space flights will take travellers 110 km above Earth – 10 km above the Karman line, the internationally accepted altitude that defines where space 'begins'.
Those who sign up will have a three-day pre-launch training session where the future astronauts will be put through G-force acclimatisation and safety training procedures
aboard a craft that will replicate the interiors of SS2.
The final countdown
Sharon Garrett, head of space marketing and PR for the Virgin Galactic Accredited Space Office in Dubai, feels it might be really interesting for individuals to create a space legacy for their future generations by being among the first thousands to travel to space and back.
Another space traveller, who does not want to be named, talked about the passion to explore space that he has nurtured since childhood. He still carries a comic book that he read as a five-year old, a book that triggered his curiosity about space travel.
Soon after signing up as one of the first hundred for this adventure, he explained, "I feel [commercial] space travel will re-ignite the interest of future generations in science and astronomy. Personally, I think it will be interesting to see stars in space because they won't twinkle (Earth's atmosphere is responsible for the twinkling effect).
Ever since I signed up as [one of the first members], my children have begun to actually care about what I do. My only wish now is to do it before Richard Branson!"
This is just the beginning of a new era. What does space travel bode for the future?
According to space enthusiasts, it might revolutionise the way we travel by plane from point A to B. We might be able to travel faster. For instance, we could get into a plane that could have a detachable spaceship, exit the atmosphere in Sydney and return back to earth in the US all within a matter of hours!
Says Sharon, "As a kid I simply loved the Jetsons cartoons. I feel space travel is going to give me an opportunity to star in my own Jetsons cartoon. Some day we might have space hotels. I think our entire perspective is about to change."
Want a taste of space?
Taste of Space is the fitting nomenclature for this unique travel package that is designed to tempt would-be astronauts. You can get an idea of what to expect in space by trying this four-night package, which starts at Dh45,326 per person.
It includes return business class flights from Dubai to
New York, accommodation at the Four Seasons (in Philadelphia and New York), daily breakfast, transfers and a half-day, sub-orbital space experience in the centrifuge at Nastar Center.
A Taste of Space is for people who are looking for something unusual for their next short break and will give potential astronauts the opportunity to quell any fears with the nearest thing to real-life space travel without leaving the earth.
In the centrifuge
So what does the preparation training in a space flight simulator feel like? Sharon Garrett, head of space marketing and PR for the Virgin Galactic Accredited Space Office in Dubai, described her own experience during pre-flight training in the NASTAR centrifuge last summer.
"The centrifuge has a vertical spinning movement, but once inside you don't feel the spin. I was very nervous and tense before the takeoff simulation.
"During the training, you are taught a few basic exercises that are anti-G straining manoeuvres that help you hold on during takeoff and touchdown. These techniques involve clenching your bottom and thigh muscles, which helps the traveller to keep the blood in the upper part of the body and ward off the G-LOC or gravity-induced loss of consciousness. If you do not follow those instructions you are likely to pass out and miss the thrill.
I kept thinking that I was going to be sick, but once inside and bolted in, I began to relax as I was provided with visual aids of space. The entire flight experience was simulated; you could even hear instructions on the radio.
"At first, the spaceship hitches a ride up to around 50,000 feet attached to this mother ship that travels in wide spirals to that altitude. At 50,000 feet, the spaceship is released from the mother ship.
I could feel the excitement building up as the countdown began and I felt the movement of the spaceship falling forward to the earth as the rocket ignition began. Then another countdown and for 90 seconds I felt the thrill of hurtling through space, with visual aids outside completing the feeling of authentic space travel as we accelerated to 4,000 km/h.
"At the apogee, or highest point, the engine switches off and we just glide with the initial momentum.
We were allowed to take off our seatbelts and experience weightlessness for about four minutes. We were in space for seven minutes before the rocket revved up for re-entry into the earth's atmosphere. While doing that the travellers are taught to shallow breathe, like pursing your lips to play the trumpet.
"As the ship enters the earth's atmosphere one can feel the gravitational drag and at 70,000 feet the downward hurtle changes into a glide and that is the unique feathering technique of the spacecraft.
"Rutan's ingenious feathering design allows re-entry deceleration to occur at a higher altitude and greatly reduces the forces and heating on the structure. It was incredible. As I stepped out of the centrifuge, I wanted to do it all over again. Not just the simulation this time, but the real trip!"
Log on to www.virgingalacticme.com or contact Sharon Garrett at galactic@sharaftravel.com for more information.
