OFFERING THE ULTIMATE GETAWAY 2-HOUR TRIPS TO SPACE AVAILABLE FOR TOURISTS.Byline: MUHAMMED EL-HASAN Staff Writer Imagine yourself on a vacation so amazing that you feel like you're floating on air. Now imagine that you're really floating -- this time in space. Redondo Beach Redondo Beach (rĭdŏn`dō), city (1990 pop. 60,167), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1892. Once a commercial port for Los Angeles, it is a residential and resort city with a protected harbor and an excellent marina. resident Michelle Montgomery hopes people make this mental leap. Montgomery's Cassis Travel Services in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. is one of only a few dozen travel agencies in North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. offering suborbital suborbital /sub·or·bi·tal/ (sub-or´bi-t'l) infraorbital. sub·or·bit·al adj. Situated on or below the floor of the orbit of the eye. n. trips to the edge of space, where tourists can experience a few minutes of weightlessness weightlessness, the absence of any observable effects of gravitation. This condition is experienced by an observer when he and his immediate surroundings are allowed to move freely in the local gravitational field. . The travel packages cost $200,000 each for trips through billionaire businessman Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic Virgin Galactic is a company within Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group, which plans to offer sub-orbital spaceflights and later orbital spaceflights to the paying public. Mission space venture. Cassis' status as an approved seller of these trips puts the agency in the vanguard of what may become a growing and evolving niche of the leisure industry. "I think we're on the edge of a whole new era of air travel," Montgomery said. Virgin Galactic awarded the exclusive right to sell the trips in North America to the Virtuoso luxury travel network, which includes numerous agencies worldwide including Cassis. About 200 people worldwide already have paid $20,000 to $200,000 to reserve a seat on Virgin Galactic, which could start taking off from the Mojave Desert Mojave or Mohave Desert, c.15,000 sq mi (38,850 sq km), region of low, barren mountains and flat valleys, 2,000 to 5,000 ft (610–1,524 m) high, S Calif.; part of the Great Basin of the United States. as early as 2009. Cassis and other Virtuoso members are just starting to promote the trips after a select few travel agents were trained in February at Kennedy Space Center Kennedy Space Center (Cape Canaveral) U.S. launch site for manned space missions. [U.S. Hist.: WB, So:562] See : Astronautics . So far, no one has made reservations through Cassis, although at least two people have made serious inquiries with the agency, Montgomery said. Marketing will target wealthy baby boomers See generation X. , she said. "(They) have the desire to do it, plus they can pay," Montgomery said. "They've done it all. They've been to Italy five times, they've done the safaris. They've been to all the high-end cruises. This has a wow factor to it." Virgin Galactic "looks promising," said Gerard Tellis, a professor of innovation at USC's Marshall School of Business The Marshall School of Business (also known as USC Marshall School of Business) is the business school at the University of Southern California. It is the largest of USC's 17 professional schools. The current Dean is James G. Ellis. . He likened the venture to the first commercially available personal computer in 1975, which was "just a little box with flashing lights" able to do only modest functions, Tellis said. "That's how things start, and over time the innovators are able to bring costs down and increase the benefits," Tellis said. Interest in Virgin Galactic flights will grow as celebrities and other tourists start taking the trips, said John Spencer John Spencer can refer to different people: Earls
"But real space tourism is a very niche market A niche market also known as a target market is a focused, targetable portion (subset) of a market sector. By definition, then, a business that focuses on a niche market is addressing a need for a product or service that is not being addressed by mainstream providers. , a high, high-end market," Spencer said. To prepare the North American North American named after North America. North American blastomycosis see North American blastomycosis. North American cattle tick see boophilusannulatus. "space agents," Virgin Galactic hosted them for two days of training at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. They learned about the planned suborbital trips and rode in a flight simulator and a G-force simulator that created the gravity-intensifying sensation of ascension to space. The agents then can bring that experience and the excitement it carried to unique sales pitches. "It's something a little bit different," said Patricia O'Neill, the only Cassis space agent and one of 47 in North America chosen by Virtuoso to participate in the program. "You're selling an experience instead of a destination. No hotels in space ... yet." Lindsey Wallace, an agent at Linara Travel in Calabasas, said he hasn't sold any space trips yet, but he's seen some interest as he prepares his marketing plan. "We definitely have some inquiries and we have a few in the works," Wallace said. Virgin Galactic will base its tourist spacecraft on SpaceShipOne, which made history in 2004 by being the first privately funded manned rocket to reach space, defined as at least 62 miles up. Burt Rutan, who designed SpaceShipOne, also is designing Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo. The craft will carry six passengers and two pilots for the two-hour trip. Passengers will experience four minutes to five minutes of zero gravity as they leave their seats to float around and marvel at Earth below. Re-entry RE-ENTRY, estates. The resuming or retaking possession of land which the party lately had. 2. Ground rent deeds and leases frequently contain a clause authorizing the landlord to reenter on the non-payment of rent, or the breach of some covenant, when the will be intense enough to create the effect of six times the force of gravity on the passengers. The first commercial flights likely will take off from the Mojave Desert before the operation is moved to New Mexico in 2010 or 2011. Virgin Galactic has set a goal of 500 passengers in the first year and 50,000 in the first decade. But this may just be the beginning, said Spencer of the Space Tourism Society. As technology advances and the price of space flights drops, entertainment in space will grow, Spencer said. Activities could include zero-gravity basketball and dune buggy races around the moon, he said. muhammed.el-hasan(at)dailybreeze.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- 2 -- color) Virgin employees sit in the cabin of a prototype Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo spacecraft last month at the Science Museum in London. SpaceShipTwo is due to be the first-ever vehicle for space tourism. SpaceShipTwo will carry six passengers and two pilots, offering a total flight time of two hours. Flight costs are estimated to be $200,000 per passenger. At right, Michele Montgomery, left, and Patricia O'Neill of Cassis Travel Services, who will sell seats on the Virgin Galactic spaceship. O'Neill has received a virtual flight experience so she can better target potential customers. Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images Photo provided by Brad Graverson |
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