Branson says he will blast off into space in ‘just months’
SIR Richard Branson has stepped up his astronaut training in preparation for a space flight he believes is just months away.
His optimism looks set to intensify a three-way-race between rival billionaires to conquer the private space market. He told the BBC: “I’m going for astronaut training, I’m going for fitness training, centrifuge and other training, so that my body will hopefully cope well when I go into space.
“Instead of doing one set of tennis every morning and every evening, I’m doing two sets. I’m going kiting and biking – doing whatever it takes to make me as fit as possible.” He is also undergoing centrifuge training, memorably depicted by Roger Moore in the James Bond film Moonraker, in which the subject is subjected to high g-forces to simulate and prepare for the physical stresses of take-off.
Four years ago tragedy struck the Virgin space programme when its SpaceShipOne rocket ship exploded, killing one pilot and leaving the other seriously injured. In an interview to be broadcast tomorrow, the Virgin founder told BBC Radio 4’s You and Yours programme that commercial passenger space flights were tantalisingly close. “We’re talking about months away, not years away. It’s so close. There are exciting times ahead,” he said.
Two of the world’s richest men, Elon Musk, the PayPal founder, and Jeff Bezos, the Amazon boss, are also involved in the new space race.