Virgin Galactic plans more spaceships

Virgin Galactic, billionaire Richard Branson's space travel venture, plans to order five more spaceships and aims to turn a profit in five years from its commercial launch in 2010, an official told Reuters yesterday.

Prospective space travellers have so far placed deposits totalling more than $31 million for tickets that cost $200,000 each and would give them five minutes in space, said Alex Tai, the firm's group director.

"In the short term, we have firm orders for five spaceships and options for seven ... We believe there is a very strong market," Mr Tai said in an interview at the Singapore Airshow.

About 80,000 people from 120 countries have shown interest in these commercial space flights that are likely to start in 2010. Seriously interested travellers are asked to deposit at least $20,000, according to Virgin Galactic's Website ( http://www.virgingalactic.com ).

"It's silly to divide the $200,000 by that five minutes. It really is a life-time experience," Mr Tai said.

Virgin, which aims to be the first to take paying passengers into space on a regular basis, will invest $250 million in the space programme, Mr Tai said.