Commercial flights for people willing to go to infinity and beyond could be available in just three years <\/p>\n
INTREPID travellers couldfly to space from a UK space port as soon as 2020, under new laws. <\/p>\n
Commercial flights for people willing to go to infinity and beyond could be available in just three years. <\/p>\n
Space travel has long been a dream for people hoping to explore the area outside our planet. <\/p>\n
Richard Bransons Virgin Galactic and Dutch-founded Xcor are among those who could take passengers up to the final frontier when services go live. <\/p>\n
In Virgin Galactics plans, astronauts would cost $250,000 for the flight into the Earths atmosphere. <\/p>\n
SpaceX is also offering trips to the International Space Station after it made history in 2012 when it became the first commercial spacecraft to deliver cargo to the space station. <\/p>\n
Last night its Falcon 9 rocket launched on a mission to resupply the space station. <\/p>\n
Under new powers unveiled this week scientists will blast into space to conduct zero gravity experiments in a bid to find cures for deadly bugs like MRSA and Salmonella. <\/p>\n
The laws allowing commercial flights to take off from UK space ports by 2020 will also permit researchers to carry out tests on potential new antibiotics in orbit. <\/p>\n
The powers in the Spaceflight bill will be revealed in Parliament this week. <\/p>\n
PA:Press Association <\/p>\n
It means a rocket space flight could take off from a space port in Britain before a new runway is built at Heathrow. <\/p>\n
Science minister Jo Johnson said the new powers would cement the UKs position as a world leader in an emerging market worth up to 25billion over the next 20 years. <\/p>\n
Space ports could be set up and satellites launched from regions across the UK under the plans. <\/p>\n
Newquay in Cornwall, Llanbedr in Snowdonia, and three Scottish sites, Glasgow Prestwick and Campbeltown, and Stornaway in the Western Isles have all been shortlisted as potential space port sites. <\/p>\n
Because of Britains position far from the equator, its likely space planes would take off from a horizontal runway rather than a rocket launch pad. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
They will transport satellites up into orbit or take paying space tourists although its thought space tourism would only make up around 10 per cent of the industry. <\/p>\n
NASA scientists have been carrying out scientific research in space for the last five years. <\/p>\n
SXC Space Expedition <\/p>\n
This week US scientists sent the lethal MRSA bug up to the International Space station for astronauts to study how the superbug becomes resistant to antibiotics. <\/p>\n
Aviation minister Lord Ahmad said the ambition was to launch a space flight from the UK as soon as possible. <\/p>\n
He said: Our ambition is to allow for safe and competitive access to space from the UK, so we remain at the forefront of a new commercial space age. <\/p>\n
Mr Johnson added: From the launch of Rosetta, the first spacecraft to orbit a comet, to Tim Peakes six months on the International Space Station, the UKs space sector has achieved phenomenal things in orbit and beyond. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
With this weeks Spaceflight Bill launch, we will cement the UKs position as a world leader in this emerging market, giving us an opportunity to build on existing strengths in research and innovation. The Bill will be unveiled in parliament this week. <\/p>\n
BY JO JOHNSON, SCIENCE MINISTER <\/p>\n
When we think of spaceflights, we often think of America: of NASA and Apollo 11 perhaps Sandra Bullock in Gravity. But just as with the drama of spaceflight in that film, the reality is far different. <\/p>\n
Later this week the Transport Secretary Chris Grayling will be bringing forward the powers that could allow satellites and sub-orbital flights to launch into space from UK soil. <\/p>\n
These laws and funding could potentially lay the groundwork for us to reach for the stars quite literally and see a commercial satellite launch from a UK Spaceport taking off as early as 2020. <\/p>\n
Satellite launch capability offers the opportunity to build on our existing strengths in science, research and innovation. <\/p>\n
Alongside our on-going research and discoveries in space, commercial satellite launch capability will create highly skilled jobs and boost local economies. <\/p>\n
It is vital that our economy is ready for the future. <\/p>\n
In 2017 no one can doubt Britains place as a space nation. <\/p>\n
It is a daring step for the future of the UK in space, and it is one which we are excited to be taking. <\/p>\n
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You could fly to SPACE from the UK within three years as plans are for space port are unveiled - The Sun<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Commercial flights for people willing to go to infinity and beyond could be available in just three years INTREPID travellers couldfly to space from a UK space port as soon as 2020, under new laws. Continue reading