City Banker PAYS $50,000 To Become World's FIRST Affordable Space Tourist

by **J The Kidd** Mon Dec 01, 2008 1:03 pm

A banker is set to become the world's first 'affordable' space tourist.

Per Wimmer will tomorrow be announced as the first customer of private space tourism company Xcor.

In 2010, he hopes to fly to an altitude of 200,000 ft in the Lynx, a
two-seater jet-powered spaceplane built by the LA-based firm.

The flight, lasting 30 minutes and costing around $50,000, will allow
passengers to experience weightlessness for several minutes.

Unlike rival schemes such as Virgin Galactic, it will take off and land
under its own power - four jet engines - reaching Mach 2 before gliding
back to earth.

City Banker PAYS $50,000 To Become World's FIRST Affordable Space Tourist FUCKUPAYMEUNDERRATEDOVERWORKEDUNDERPAID

Mr Wimmer, who runs investment bank Wimmer Financial and lives in
Islington, said he hoped the flight would allow him to see the earth
from the edge of space.

'It's the view of the earth I'm really looking forward to, I think
it will be an unforgettable experience to see the dark of space against
the curve of the earth,' he said.

Mr Wimmer, 40, is working with London charities and schools to raise awareness of space.

He is so keen to leave earth's atmosphere that he has bought another
two tickets to space, one with Virgin Galactic and one with rival firm
Space Adventures.

'It will be a real race to see which of them goes up first - but if it
is Xcor, I will become the first affordable space tourist,' he said.

Although several tourists have paid to visit the Russian Soyuz space
capsule, it cost them millions of pounds. The new breed of space
sightseers will pay much less.

'Our mission is to radically lower the cost of spaceflight,' said Xcor chief executive Jeff Greason.

'We have designed this aircraft to operate like a commercial aircraft.'

The firm is expected to undercut rivals with its flights. Virgin Galactic charges $100,000 and is also set to launch in 2010.