| A computerized picture released June 13, 2007 by the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company EADS Astrium branch shows its future tourism plane-rocket. The group plans to have a space tourist plane in operation by 2012. The vessel, which EADS plans to start developing next year, would provide tourists with a 90-minute suborbital flight, including three minutes of weightlessness at an altitude of more than 100 km (62 miles), Francois, the president of EADS Astrium, told reporters June 13, 2007 in Paris. The fare could be "around 150,000 to 200,000 euros (199,000-265,000 dollars) for this suborbital flight, while it costs 25 million dollars for the few space tourists flying in the narrow capsule of the Russian rocket Soyuz," Auque said. (Xinhua/AFP) |
