TripZilla
Singaporeans will be able to travel to space by the end of next year. XCOR Space Expeditions, a US-based company, is making space travel a reality for the average Joe.
The XCOR Lynx Mark II space shuttle at 8.5 m long, 7.3 m wide and 2.2 m tall is set to carry passengers out into space.
The journey to space begins in the XCOR spaceport, located at Curacao, in the southern Caribbean islands. There, you will board the spacecraft which seats only two – the pilot and one other space traveller.
Aboard the LynxMark II, with acceleration occurring at the speed of sound, you will be propelled into space in just three minutes. You will then hover in space for about six minutes and literally get an out-of-this-world experience of weightlessness.
Want to see the Grand Canyon from outer space? You can on the descent back to Earth. Passengers just need to pick the spot they want to see and the pilot will customise the journey back down to Earth.
What do you need for space travel? No visas are required but the space flight will cost you US$100,000 (S$ 125,000). Passengers must be certified medically fit and undergo a compulsory training programme that is held in the Netherlands.
The Desdemona simulator will be used to prepare space travellers who will experience the illusion of weightlessness. The graphically animated simulation of the space flight generates the highest performance simulation in the world and is used to train astronauts.
Ticket sales for these commercial space flights have finally launched in Singapore. Hopeful space cadets should contact Crystal Time, a Singapore-based company that has partnered up with XCOR Space Expeditions to make space travel a reality for Singaporeans in the fourth quarter of 2015.
Image credits: XCOR Space Expeditions, XCOR Aerospace
