LONDON:
The London Eye gives you a bird's eye-view of the city at 440 feet. How would
you like to go higher, say, 440,000
feet?
A prototype of the craft
you would ride for such a space venture was unveiled in Salford on Tuesday.
Rocket maker, Steve Bennett, says it is possible in the very near future for
tourists to take a ride in outer
space.
Trust him, he is
Britain's answer to Nasa and he builds rockets for a living. The amateur
scientist runs the Space Technology Laboratory at the University of Salford. The
three-seater capsule, Nova II, is powered by fuel that is made partly from
recycled tyres.
If his project
is successful people will pay up to £100,000 so they can enjoy a 20 minute
flight from a launch site in the US. Next September he hopes to give his 58ft
craft an unmanned launch to test its safety systems. He will build an even
bigger rocket capable of taking passengers 100km into space at a speed of
5633kmph.