Easy Exercises

Space-age tourism

Science fiction may soon become a reality for many wannabe astronauts. A British entrepreneur is hoping to make space travel accessible for everyone. But you had better start saving � there are no economy seats on this flight. Read the story and work with a friend to answer the following reading comprehension and discussion questions.

Photographs courtesy of AP/AFP/EPA

British entrepreneur Richard Branson has big plans to launch commercial space flights.

SpaceShipOne successfully lands after a historic flight into space.

The first commercial spacecraft named �SpaceShipOne� is seen attached to its White Knight launch aircraft.

British tycoon Richard Branson recently announced an ambitious plan for the world�s first commercial space flights, saying he would send thousands of paying astronauts into orbit in the next five years.

Branson said his Virgin Atlantic airline had signed a deal with the US company behind SpaceShipOne, which in June this year became the first private-manned craft to travel to space.

He also said that his new company � Virgin Galactic � would launch its maiden flight in only three years and that he would be on the very first trip into space.

TRIP OF A LIFETIME

�Within five years, Virgin Galactic will have created over 3,000 new astronauts from many countries,� Branson said, speaking alongside US aviation pioneer Burt Rutan, who designed and built SpaceShipOne.

�We plan to construct launch pads for commercial space travel in a number of countries over the next few years,� Branson said. �Would-be space tourists will pay fees starting at $207,000 (8.3 million baht) and receive three days of flight training before taking the real trip.�

Branson pledged that his aim was to make space travel possible for ordinary people.

SpaceShipOne shot into the history books recently when it became the first non-government-financed spaceship to travel beyond the 100-kilometre boundary of space and back again. � AFP

Questions

1. Who is Burt Rutan?
2. Branson�s first space flight will be in five years. True or false?
3. What will space tourists have to undergo before going to space?
4. Why is SpaceShipOne unique?
5. Find the noun meaning a curved path followed by a planet or an object as it moves around another planet, star, moon, etc.

Discussion

- If you had the money, would you want to take a flight into space? Why or why not?
- Imagine what it would be like to be in space. What would you see out the window of the spacecraft? List your answers in the space below.

Vocabulary

accessible (adj): that can be reached, entered, used, seen, etc.
tycoon (n): a person who is successful in business and has become rich and powerful
ambitious (adj): needing a lot of effort, money or time to succeed
maiden (adj): being the first of its kind
aviation (n): the designing, building and flying of aircraft
pioneer (n): a person who is the first to study and develop a particular area of knowledge, culture, etc.
pledge (v): to formally promise to give or do something