Branson unveils public space flights
From correspondents in London
September 27, 2004
BRITISH airline magnate Sir Richard Branson announced a plan Monday for the world’s first commercial space flights, saying “thousands” of fee-paying astronauts could be sent into orbit in the near future.
Sir Richard’s Virgin Atlantic airline has signed a technology licensing deal with the US company behind SpaceShipOne, which in June became the first private manned craft to travel to space, he told a press conference in London.