Celebrities dust off their spacesuits

Celebrities dust off their spacesuits
By admin


Ashton Kutcher's plan to buy Mila Kunis a space flight as a wedding gift will grow Virgin Galactic's celebrity headcount further, as it revealed a 2014 launch date is looking likely.

The company confirmed Leonardo DiCaprio and Justin Bieber have already joined Kutcher among the high-profile customers for its forthcoming spaceflights, with its total tally of passengers now at 600.

Although it expects to achieve a full space flight by the end of the year, the company will have to undertake a number of other tasks before it can take its first paying customers into space.

"We will need to undertake a number of test spaceflights, fit and flight test the interior and of course move the vehicles and the spaceline operation down to Spaceport America," a Virgin Galactic spokesperson told Travel Today.

"Our best estimate at the moment, if test flights continue as expected, is that we could see the first paying customer flights in 2014."

But the firm stressed that safety will always be its "North Star", meaning dates may shift to ensure customers can travel securely.

"As always, the Spaceship test program, first test flight to space and start date for commercial service will be dictated by safety," the spokesperson said.

The success of the recent supersonic, rocket powered flight of SpaceshipTwo was hailed as a "huge step forward" and highlighted as the first time a vehicle built for commercial service had broken the sound barrier since Concorde – the only other vehicle ever to do so.

Meanwhile, Virgin Glaactic named its 600th passenger as Marsha Waters, the owner of an accounting services company in Blackpool in the UK.

But no matter who signs up for the spaceflight – be it DiCaprio or Waters – the passengers for the first official flight will be none other than Virgin boss Richard Branson himself, accompanied by his children.

Latest News

  • Aviation

Air Vanuatu cancels all flights to Australia, files for insolvency

Hundreds of passengers have been stranded across the Pacific, Australia and New Zealand after Air Vanuatu cancelled a slew off flights across the region. Riddled with technical faults over the last year, Air Vanuatu filed for insolvency on Monday and has cancelled flights to and from Sydney, Brisbane and Auckland until at least Sunday. The Vanuatu […]

  • Destinations

Tropical North Queensland action-packed events calendar for adventure enthusiasts

Sporting enthusiasts and adventure seekers are gearing up for an action-packed year in Tropical North Queensland, with a lineup of sports events and adrenaline-pumping experiences set to take centre stage in 2024. Leading the charge is the highly-anticipated return of the Crankworx World Tour ‘Paradise Edition’ to Cairns from 22-26 May 2024. The mountain biking […]

  • Travel Agents

Disney Days returns with Inside Out 2 showing in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Auckland

Time is running out for agents to register their Expression of Interest to an exclusive screening of the much-anticipated Disney and Pixar film, Inside Out 2, hosted by Disney Destinations Australia/New Zealand team and partner United Airlines. Places are limited and applications must be in by 17 May. In addition to the screening of the […]

  • Cruise

Aranui Cruises slashes prices with No Single Supplement and Half Price offers

French Polynesian cargo cruise line Aranui Cruises is slashing thousands off its 2025 Austral and Marquesas Islands cruises with an autumn sale offering 50 per cent off the second guest in a twin share room and no single supplement for solo travellers. On sale until June 21, 2024, Aranui’s 12-day roundtrip voyage from Papeete to […]