Local Travel Agent: Space Tourism is the Future – RochesterFirst

ROCHESTER N.Y. (WROC) A local travel agent has a front row seat to Richard Bransons Virgin Galactic flight to space this weekend.

Chosen from a lottery, Craig Curran will fly to Spaceport America in New Mexico to see the launch.

Its history, and Im going to be there and Ive got my small contribution to it in terms of being a future astronaut, being part of the comradery, said Curran.

Curran has had a ticket to fly to space since 2011. Hes still waiting for space travel to open commercially, but the time is nearing.

But, tickets to space are not cheap. Right now, they cost upwards of $250,000. Curran said similar to commercial air travel, prices should reduce over time.

It will come down it will be democratized and available for a wide array of people. But initially yes, its going to be quite expensive to do this. This is rocket science after all, said Curran.

But you dont need spacecraft, to have a space experience. In September, Curran is chartering a Zero G flight from the Rochester airport.

This is the same aircraft thats used for NASA research [and] training for astronauts. People will have the chance to actually experience weightlessness, said Curran.

Curran said experiences like the Zero G flight will help him be as prepared as possible for his future trip.

I want to make the most of my flight to space with Virgin Galactic. So, the more acclimated I am to weightlessness, the more I can take advantage of the time that Im weightless 55 miles above the earth, said Curran.

While Curran doesnt know the exact date hell get to travel to space, he estimates 2023 or 2024.

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Local Travel Agent: Space Tourism is the Future - RochesterFirst