Today, adventurous British entrepreneur Richard Branson formally announced that his Virgin transport, entertainment and communications company plans to launch commercial sub-orbital space flights by 2007.

Virgin Galactic Airways was first introduced on May 1, 1999. The first Galactic flights are planned to take place in two-and-a-half to three years time. Branson will begin taking deposits as early as next year.

The first space vehicle will be called VSS-Enterprise. Five Virgin Galactic SpaceShips are to be built. They will carry five passengers in luxury seats.

The trip will be three hours long and will included three minutes of weightlessness. The training required before take-off: one week.

Fares will start sky high at $208,000 (115,000 pounds, 169,000 euros) for a suborbital flight, including three days' training.

Eventually, Sir Richard says prices will come down to a level where "masses of people" will get to enjoy the space experience.

Flights, initially, will take off from the Mojave desert.

"Space tourism should have happened years ago," said David Ashford, Bristol Spaceplanes Limited.

The real market, the big market, will be going into orbit.

"Those privileged space pioneers who can afford to take our first flights will not only have the most awesome experience of their lives, but by stepping up to the plate first they will bring the dream of space travel for many millions closer to reality."

The Virgin transport, entertainment and communications group has signed an agreement with pioneering aviation designer Burt Rutan to build an aircraft based on Rutan's SpaceShipOne vessel, Branson said.

SpaceShipOne cracked the barrier to manned commercial space flight in June by flying 98,547 meters, or about 99 kilometers (328,491 feet, or about 62 miles) above Earth, just a little more than 120 meters (400 feet) above the distance scientists widely consider to be the boundary of space. The flight lasted 90 minutes.

SpaceShipOne's effort was bankrolled by billionaire Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.

Virgin said its agreement to license technology from Allen's company, Mohave Aerospace Ventures, could be worth up to $25 million (14 million pounds, 21 million euros) over the next 15 years, depending on the number of spaceships built by Virgin.

The company said it planned to begin construction of the first vessel, VSS Enterprise, next year, and would invest about 60 million pounds (US$108 million) in spaceships and ground infrastructure for the venture.

“We hope to create thousands of astronauts over the next few years and bring alive their dream of seeing the majestic beauty of our planet from above, the stars in all their glory and the amazing sensations of weightlessness and space flight," said Richard Branson.

The development will also allow every country in the world to have their own astronauts rather than the privileged few.

For more information, go to: VirginGalactic.com

Doesn't it just make you wonder who will be the first "virgin" bride to be married on a Galactic space flight?

EBay and Virgin could make a killing auctioning off those first five 2007 tickets.

Now there's an idea!

Calling all wannabe astronauts...

Here's to healthy, adventuresome, soulful and galactic living!

~ Jennifer King