Private Company Unveils Tourist Spaceship

Another company has high hopes for space tourism

The European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS) has publicly announced plans to join the space tourism race by 2012. The company believes the space tourism industry could be a multibillion-dollar industry in 20 years, especially as companies continue to develop technology to safely and easily take tourists up on trips. EADS is currently Europe's biggest aerospace company, with the Astrium division being responsible for the space tourism endeavor.

Astrium is best known for creating the Ariane rocket, which is responsible for taking a large portion of commercial satellites into orbit.

The Astrium division plans on carrying space tourists on a suborbital ride higher than 100 kilometers above Earth. The craft will use traditional runways and normal jet engines to take off and climb to 12 kilometers, then the rocket engines would be ignited to take the craft up another 60 kilometers in just 80 seconds. The spacecraft will then coast the rest of the way until it's eventual 100 kilometer apogee.

The expected cost of one ticket will run roughly $267,000 per flight. Due to safety precautions, only four passengers at a time will be able to enjoy the hour and a half-long flight.

EADS already has already created specifications for a rocket plane, but now is seeking co-investors to help ease the cost of construction. Most contributed funding should come from private investors, though several governments may become involved with the project. Bavaria -- where the engines will be produced -- is a likely candidate of a for German participation in the project.

"We believe it is the will of human beings to visit space and we have to give them the possibility to do that, said Francois Auque, Astrium CEO.

The space jet is scheduled to become operational next year, with 2012 as the goal for commercial launch.

The space tourism sector is picking up -- for example, companies including Virgin Galactic, Benson Space, Space Adventures -- are all vying for the top spot of the budding industry. Space Adventures remains the only company to successfully take a paying customer into orbit at a cost of $20 million per flight.