COUNTDOWN TO LIFTOFF INCHES CLOSER THE STARRY-EYED LINEUP FOR VIRGIN GALACTIC'S VISIONARY SPACE TRIPS.

Byline: JIM SKEEN Staff Writer

When a Virgin Galactic rocket plane zooms into space from Mojave Airport, among its first passengers will be rich British marketing whiz Trevor Beattie.

Beattie, who has worked on ad campaigns for clients ranging from Victoria's Secret to British Prime Minister Tony Blair's Labour Party, has already put up $200,000 for a ride on the rocket plane now being built in secret in Mojave.

``When I was a kid, I wanted to be Buzz Aldrin,'' Beattie said. ``Now I'm a fully grown adult, with a company and being forced to conform -- and I still want to be Buzz Aldrin.''

British tycoon Sir Richard Branson is partnering with maverick aerospace designer Burt Rutan to build the spaceliner, which will use technologies proven in the suborbital spaceflights of Rutan's SpaceShipOne rocket plane in 2004 from Mojave Airport.

The first flights are planned out of Mojave: The company had initially planned for operations in 2008, but it is not talking about timelines.

``I'm not going to tell you when we are operating,'' said Alex Tai, the company's vice president of operations. ``It's coming to a spaceport near you soon.''

Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo will carry between six and nine people in a cabin large enough to allow them to float in weightlessness and equipped with numerous windows, but officials are saying little more about it.

The spacecraft is also expected to fly higher than 90 miles up, well over the 67-mile mark set by SpaceShipOne and high enough for the blue sky to turn into the black of space and to see the curvature of Earth for thousands of miles.

``We want you to have the ability to float up to the nearest window and enjoy the view,'' Tai said.

In discussions with Rutan, Virgin Galactic officials said they asked him to make the spacecraft safe and to maximize the experience for their passengers. They said they told Rutan to take as long as he needs to achieve those goals.

``We are going to go ahead and let Burt do it the way he knows best,'' Tai said, speaking last week in Los Angeles at the International Space Development Conference.

The company has hired a chief medical officer and isin the process of drawing up medical guidelines for its passengers.

The company is planning to make sure its passengers experience G-forces and weightlessness, and spin them on a centrifuge through special aircraft flights prior to their actual spaceflight. The goal is to protect the passengers from sensory overload and allow them to fully enjoy the experience of space.

``It's not a 4-minute experience, it's a 3-day experience,'' Tai said.

For the experience, passengers will pay $200,000 each. Despite the hefty price tag, the company has set up a group called the Virgin Galactic Founders that features 100 people who have already paid upfront for the right to be among the first passengers, said Stephen Attenborough, head of astronaut relations for the company.

Besides Beattie, the group includes a couple that plans to honeymoon on a spaceflight and actress Victoric Principal, whom Attenborough said has been a wonderful ambassador for the company in attracting female passengers.

``She's showing that space travel is not just for the boys,'' Attenborough said.

Beattie said one of the key attractions for him was the involvement of Rutan. Beattie said he believes Rutan will make a safe spacecraft that will provide a great ride.

``I'm an evangelist for this because I totally believe,'' Beattie said.

To accommodate Virgin Galactic's initial operations, the Mojave Airport, with the aid of state Sen. Roy Ashburn, R-Bakersfield, is seeking an $11 million state loan to build a hangar and passenger terminal.

Virgin Galactic has announced that it plans eventually to move its space flights to a spaceport being developed by the state of New Mexico.

james.skeen(at)dailynews

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