SCIENCE WEEK IRELAND: A LIFE-CHANGING experience is promised when the first rocket flights begin carrying ordinary people into space.
The trip's greatest challenge, however, seems to be price, with the standard ticket costing $175,000 (€140,000).
These flights could begin taking off from California's Mojave Desert with their first paying space tourists as early as 2010.
Although relatively short despite the distances covered, they will be memorable, according to Stephen Attenborough, commercial director of Virgin Galactic.
Virgin founder Richard Branson is deeply involved in this latest company project to bring ordinary people on sub-orbital flights, delivering them after a 4,000km/h rocket ride to between 100km and 140km above the earth's surface.
He and his family are likely to be the first passengers aboard this $350 million (€280 million) effort to supply a real space adventure to anyone who can afford it.
Mr Attenborough described the Virgin Galactic mission in a presentation yesterday at the science gallery at Trinity College Dublin.
One of Ireland's earliest booked passengers, entrepreneur and businessman Bill Cullen, was also on hand at this Science Week Ireland event to describe why he has signed up.
"My main focus is to raise between €2 million and €5 million for the Irish Youth Foundation," he said before the meeting. How this will be done remains a secret until he takes off.
"I have no qualms at all," he said of the flight itself. "Not at all, I am really looking forward to it."
He expects going up will have something akin to a spiritual dimension to it, but it will also be fun. "I can see myself up there with my camcorder saying 'wow, it is worth every penny'."
The first 100 prepaid "founder" passengers paid $200,000 (€160,000) for the privilege. The Irish contingent along with Mr Cullen and two unnamed ticket holders are businessmen Tom Higgins and PJ King.
No Irish women have signed on as yet, but there are 25 women included in the 100 "pioneer" customers who paid €140,000 for the flight, which includes a full five minutes of complete weightlessness, Mr Attenborough said.
A specially-designed aircraft piggy-backs the rocket-powered SpaceShipTwo up to about 15km before its engine fires, boosting it to above 100km.
Each flight carries two pilots and six passengers, and the company believes that if business remains brisk it can recoup all the costs within three years, said Mr Attenborough.
"The great thing about the experience is it is a tourism experience. You can be just about anyone to go on these flights."
WHAT'S ON
• Astronomical Observations, free public access to telescopes, Science Buildings, NUI Maynooth, Co Kildare, 8pm weather permitting, confirm availability by contacting Dr Peter van der Burgt on 01-7083872.
• Irelandboinc.com computing for science, free public computer project that plugs your home computer in to international scientific research, runs through Nov 30th, access any time, information at www.irelandboinc.com and local contact information from Science Week Ireland website www.scienceweek.ie
Tomorrow
• The Cosmos Revealed, free public show, University of Limerick, Jean Monnet Lecture Theatre, 10am and 1.10pm.
• Science Live, primary level workshop, Monaghan Library, North Road, Monaghan town, 10am and 11.30am, contact Karen McCague on 047-81830 to book.
