Firm rockets into space tourism
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Europe's EADS Astrium says it will build a plane to take fare-paying passengers on sub-orbital space rides.
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LOS ANGELES - Thrill seekers are plunking down six figures to ride rockets that haven't even been built yet, and a new airline called Virgin Galactic promises to be up and soaring in the next three years. Still, the budding space tourism faces a myriad of safety concerns - in the sky and on the ground - that must be resolved before any paying passenger takes off...
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MOJAVE, CALIF. -- A stubby private rocket plane blasted through Earth&#39;s atmosphere for a second time in a week yesterday, capturing a $10-million US prize meant to encourage space tourism.
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The U.S. team that took the first privately funded, manned ship into space makes a bid to capture a &#36;10 million prize this week -- signaling that commercial space travel has nearly arrived.
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A ticket may soon be all that separates you from a dream voyage to the final frontier. British entrepreneur Richard Branson said Virgin company -- which includes an airline -- plans to start offering commercial space flights over the next few years.
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A beefed-up motor will boost the power of a rocket vying for the $10 million human space flight prize. SpaceShipOne became the first privately funded craft to carry a person to the edge of space in June.
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Regardless, space competitions are poised to become big business.
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A MANNED rocket ship, financed entirely with private funds, reached the edge of space on Monday. The spaceship&#39;s builders and backers say the project&#39;s success marks a new age for commercial space tourism and travel.
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Sir Richard Branson hopes his new company will be the first to send adventuresome tourists into space. Branson, founder of airlines, entertainment and telecom holding company Virgin Group, announced Monday
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LONDON, England -- British entrepreneur Richard Branson announced his company has signed a deal to offer the world&#39;s first commercial flights to space under the branding &quot;Virgin Galactic.
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LONDON  -- British airline magnate Richard Branson announced a hugely ambitious plan for the world's first commercial space flights, saying he would send "thousands" of fee-paying astronauts into orbit in the next five years.       Branson, a flamboyant communicator and high-profile tycoon, said his Virgin Atlantic airline had signed a technology licensing deal with the US company behind SpaceShipOne, which in June became the first private manned craft to travel to space...
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pioneering bid to win a $10 million (5.6 million pounds) prize and prove that space is open for business. space travel as ordinary as a Caribbean cruise.
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After years of capturing the imagination of wide-eyed daredevils, dreamers and would-be entrepreneurs, space travel for ordinary people may finally be taking flight.
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European aerospace company EADS on Wednesday unveiled a model of a jet designed to take tourists into space, rocketing paying passengers to weightlessness at more than 62 miles above the Earth.
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The private sector joins the space community with a successful sub-orbital flight above the Mojave Desert.
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EADS wants to boldly go where plenty have been before and beat the likes of Richard Branson to the stars.   The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company wants to get into the space tourism business before 2010.
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Space entrepreneurs say they believe they are on the brink of developing a vibrant tourism industry, but worry that government regulation may stifle it before it can take off.