Canadian Space Agency logo. Image Credit: CSA
(RIA Novosti) The Canadian Space Agency is planning to build two bases for launching rockets carrying space tourists, the Russian Space Agency Roscosmos said citing the information agency Canadian Press.
Cape Breton on Nova Scotia Island may become the Canadian version of America’s historic Cape Canaveral, which has launched Astronauts and unmanned rockets since the beginning of the space age.
Manitoba’s government welcomed the idea with enthusiasm.
British billionaire and founder of Virgin Group Sir Richard Branson is actively backing the project of Canadian Space Agency.
In 2009, Virgin Galactic, Richard Branson’s tourism company, unveiled SpaceShipTwo, a commercial six-passenger space vehicle which will take the passengers to an altitude of 110 km (68.3 miles) during a 2.5-hour flight with a five-minute period of weightlessness.
Following a series of test flights, the first customers are expected to board the craft in 2011, each paying $200,000 for a seat.
A total of 300 people across the world, including at least 11 Russians, have booked tickets for suborbital flights with Virgin Galactic. Another 85,000 people have filed flight applications on the agency’s website.
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