Sir Richard Branson, CEO of Virgin Records and Virgin Atlantic Airlines, has started a new venture called Virgin Galactic and he’s going to be sending a certain celeb into space! The space ride will cost $200,000 and there’s already a long list to head to outerspace. Find out which celeb it is below!
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There’s soon to be a new man on the moon.
Ashton Kutcher became Virgin Galactic’s 500th customer on Monday, CEO Sir Richard Branson blogged.
Branson wrote:
Great news today from our Astronaut Relations team at Virgin Galactic: our 500th future astronaut customer has just signed up! Even better news is that number 500 is Ashton Kutcher. I gave Ashton a quick call to congratulate and welcome him. He is as thrilled as we are at the prospect of being among the first to cross the final frontier (and back!) with us and to experience the magic of space for himself.
The journey costs $200,000, a drop in the bucket for Kutcher, who is worth $140 million, according to MSNBC.com. Other celebs reportedly on the list for space: Tom Hanks, Katy Perry, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie (who will have to pay their own way). Stephen Hawking is reportedly getting a free ride from Branson, MSNBC reported.
One celeb ironically not interested in space travel? William Shatner, who made a career out of playing a fictional space captain. “William Shatner has said that he’s scared to go into space and it’s quite ironic really when you think of his career,” Branson told the Canadian Press.
Virgin Galactic started taking reservations for space flight in 2007. At the time, the space tourism group promised flights to altitudes of roughly 62 miles, the AP reported.
In October 2011, venture capitalist Alan Walton asked for a refund on his space ticket after seven years without going into orbit. That same month, Sir Branson opened Virgin Galactic’s Space Terminal to much fanfare in New Mexico (see photos below).
