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Virgin Galactic Appoints Tim Krenzien as Accredited Space Agent We are excited to announce that Tim Krenzien has been appointed as an Accredited Space Agent by Virgin Galactic. One of only 45 agents in the United States qualified to book passage for clients one of the world's greatest adventures; a journey into suborbital space.
 Passengers aboard Virgin Galactic spaceliners will ride in cushioned reclining seats during suborbital flights aboard SpaceShipTwo. The spacecraft will have many portholes to view the earth.
Virgin Galactic’s spaceliners will be specially outfitted SpaceShipTwo vehicles built by Mojave, California based Scaled Composites and veteran aerospace designer Burt Rutan. The new spacecraft, designed specifically for space tourism, will be three times the size of Rutan’s SpaceShipOne, which won the $10 million Ansari X Prize for privately developed piloted spacecraft capable of reaching suborbital space twice in a two week period.
Virgin Galactic Astronauts will spend 2 to 3 days of training at or near their New Mexico Spaceport before embarking on their suborbital flight, although the first flights will depart from their Mojave Spaceport. Virgin Galactic Astronauts will fly in SpaceShipTwo (SS2) designed and built by Burt Rutan of Scaled Composites and based on SpaceShipOne which has completed 3 suborbital flights and won the X Prize in 2004.
SS2 will be carried by a revolutionary mothership called WhiteKnightTwo. WK2 will climb to a height of around 50,000 feet (approximate cruising altitude of Concorde) where SS2 will be released before firing her rockets and accelerating in a vertical climb reaching a speed of 3.3 mach. Shortly afterward SS2 will slow to allow you to enjoy Zero G and continue to climb to a total altitude of 110km or 360,888 feet. After enjoying some of the most spectacular views and sensations ever experienced by mankind, the wings of the spacecraft will feather to allow a safe reentry at around 6 G’s. After reentry the wings will reconfigure to allow a gentle glide back to the spaceport. The entire flight will last about 2.5 hours.
It is very important to point out that Virgin Galactic will not commence commercial spaceflight operations until they are entirely satisfied that it is safe to do so. Any times and dates that we give are subject to change for this reason.
The design and build of SpaceShipTwo(SS2) and WhiteKnightTwo (WK2) is on schedule at Scaled Composites in California. If things continue to go as smoothly as they have been, we anticipate that the first SS2 and WK2 will be rolled out in autumn 2007. Virgin Galactic has then allowed 12 to 18 months of test flights to follow this, meaning that the inaugural flight should launch sometime toward the end of 2008 or in the first half of 2009. Test flights could take less or more time, so be aware of the fact that dates are in no way guaranteed.
Each SS2 carries 6 passengers and 2 pilots. During the first year of flight operations, Virgin Galactic anticipates operating one flight per week, and will carry just 6 passengers per week. This will allow the engineers and maintenance teams plenty of time to perfect spaceship maintenance and turnaround procedures. This means that Virgin Galactic should be able to fly all of it's Founders and Pioneers within this first year of operation. Voyagers will being flying in the second year.
A total of five SS2’s and 2 WK2’s have been ordered and the entire fleet delivered should be filled within 2 years of the first delivery. With this in mind, Virgin Galactic hopes to be operating at least once per day by the end of our second year of operation.
The full flight cost is $200,000.00 Founders are the first 100 people to fly commercially and pay the full $200,000.00 up front. Founder seats are available by invitation only. Pioneers will be the next 400 to fly with deposits ranging from $100,000.00 to $175,000.00, depending on flight priority. Voyagers will fly after the first 500 and currently pay a deposit of $20,000.00 to secure their seat.
For further information, please contact Accredited Space Agent, Tim Krenzien, and download the the Frequently Asked Questions VirginGalactic.pdf
Timothy J. Krenzien
President
Paul Klein Travel
100 W. Monroe Street, Suite 700
Chicago, IL 60603 USA
312.782.5343 or 800.950.7587
Tim Krenzien
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