Monday 23 September
Los Angeles international airport
California
The immigration officer at Los Angeles airport scrutinises the line on my customs declaration form where I鈥檝e ticked 鈥淭he primary purpose of this trip is business鈥.
鈥淎nd what is the nature of your business, sir?鈥 One word sums it up. 鈥淎stronaut,鈥 I say. 鈥淎 future astronaut with .鈥
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To my surprise, the official is well aware of Richard Branson鈥檚 space enterprise and recalls the rocket engine tests over the summer. My first encounter is showing that the US takes the world鈥檚 first commerical spaceline pretty seriously, as demonstrated by the lengthening queue of impatient passengers, while we chat animatedly.
Space travel has been in my blood since I was a kid, holding my transistor radio close to my ear to hear Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landing on the moon in 1969. Fast forward to 2008, and I was having a beer with the colleague with whom I had set up a TV company that makes science documentaries.
Our discussion turned to space tourism. 鈥淵ou know,鈥 he mused, 鈥渋f the TV company bought back your shareholding, you could fly to space with Virgin Galactic鈥︹ It was a no-brainer: within four months, I was the proud owner of ticket number 249.
鈥淚t was a no brainer. Within four months I was the proud owner of ticket number 249鈥
Tuesday 24 September
Beverly Hills
California
鈥淪ir, we鈥檙e giving you the red-carpet treatment,鈥 says the hotel doorman as I arrive at the opulent hotel.
The red carpet stretches through the lobby between elegantly clad guests sipping champagne cocktails. Virgin Galactic astronauts are, by and large, fairly well-heeled 鈥 although $250,000 for a day trip to space is far from the most expensive option. At a previous Virgin Galactic party, I met singer Sarah Brightman, but she has now joined the exclusive club of travellers paying over a hundred times more for a week in orbit on the International Space Station.
Wednesday 25 September
Mojave
California
The sun is rising over the windy, scrubby desert as we turn in at a sign reading: 鈥淢ojave Air and Space Port 鈥 Home of SpaceShipOne.鈥
This is where the dream began. Back in 2004, aircraft designer Burt Rutan flew his rocketplane into space, twice in the course of a fortnight, to win the Ansari X Prize for sending the first human into space on a privately funded mission.
Our coach parks by the descendant of the original plane, Virgin Galactic鈥檚 SpaceShipTwo, which will take two crew and six passengers to space. The first flights could begin next year. When they do, SpaceShipTwo will be strapped underneath the twin-fuselage 鈥渕other ship鈥 that will carry it to an altitude of 15 kilometres, where it will be released. Fittingly, the carrier-plane is named Eve, after Branson鈥檚 mother, who was a pioneering glider pilot.
After a few seconds, the pilot on board SpaceShipTwo will ignite the rocket engine. It will streak ahead of the mother ship, breaking the sound barrier. Then the pilot will pull back on the stick, and we will head almost vertically upwards. In 90 seconds, we will climb from 15 kilometres to 100 kilometres and into space. After the engine cuts out, our momentum will continue to carry us up for a few minutes 鈥 the maximum altitude won鈥檛 be known accurately until SpaceShipTwo completes its current tests 鈥 before gravity reasserts its authority, and we will head back down to Earth.
For now, the planes are dwarfed by the vast hangar behind. Here, the laconically named 鈥淭he Spaceship Company鈥 can construct two mother ships and three spaceplanes at once. We crowd the remaining floor space, as the world鈥檚 largest ever gathering of space-folk: exactly 300 future astronauts, along with 400 guests. Some have been waiting since the first tickets were sold in 2004.
Virgin Galactic鈥檚 top brass appear on the platform, looking rather glum. They have had to cancel a powered flight of SpaceShipTwo 鈥 only its third 鈥 because it is too windy.
There鈥檚 still plenty to come, though, as we are treated to a behind-the-scenes view of the project. In an adjacent hangar, components of both vehicles are constructed from composite materials: shaped in a mould and then heat-treated to cure and harden them. In the world鈥檚 pioneering spacecraft assembly line, there isn鈥檛 a robot in sight: this intricate work is all undertaken meticulously by hand.
We are ushered into the hangar to be shown something that very few people even in The Spaceship Company have seen. 鈥淪trictly no photography,鈥 we are warned. In here, the seats are being designed, and it is no small challenge. They must be comfortable for take-off and landing; be able to support us sitting upright for the 4g we will experience as the rocket blasts us into space; be able to fold flat for our weightless phase; and be a relaxing couch for the 6g crushing us on re-entry. The seat must be adjustable in width and height to accommodate all astronauts, while keeping the eyeline at the same level so everyone can see out of the windows. There are no height or weight restrictions on Virgin Galactic.
Lunch is a time to catch up with my fellow-travellers. is 鈥渢he Finnish astronaut鈥. He鈥檚 so keen on the flight that he has remortgaged his house and is selling branded clothing to pay off the balance on his ticket before he flies. I buy a woollen hat reading 鈥淪uomalainen Astronautti鈥 鈥 if it鈥檚 warm enough for nights in Finland, it鈥檚 got to be good for stargazing at home.
Others prefer to be anonymous. I meet a family who have booked a whole flight for themselves. Their desire for privacy is because they have encountered hostility at home for overindulging their teenage children with this trip and for polluting the atmosphere. In fact, each Virgin Galactic flight will be relatively clean, compared with other ways of spending $250,000 on vacation: its carbon footprint, per person, is only 0.8 tonnes 鈥 from London to New York.
The briefing continues with medics recommending how to be fit for the flight: nothing too 鈥渞ight-stuff鈥 about it, I鈥檓 pleased to hear. Lose weight and keep fit, with lots of cardiovascular exercise. And the pilots describe what it is like to fly the carrier-plane 鈥 鈥渋t handles very much like the U2 spyplane鈥 鈥 and SpaceShipTwo as its powers through the sound-barrier (only the second commercial plane to travel faster than Mach 1; the first being Concorde).
Branson enthuses over future plans, starting with orbital platforms and moving on to lunar excursions. The audience has a single question for him, shouted out in unison: 鈥淲hen?鈥 We are all too aware that Virgin Galactic flights are now running years behind the original schedule. But the powered flights have boosted morale. Branson says he expects a test flight into space before the end of February; and passenger flights to start by the middle of next year.
The day closes back in Los Angeles at the legendary annual Virgin Galactic party, held at the , right under the belly of NASA鈥檚 space shuttle . Will the five Virgin spaceships develop their own personalities, I wonder? And, will the SpaceShipTwo that flies me to space become the centrepiece of an exhibit, proudly proclaiming it has flown not just dozens, but thousands of people beyond our planet?
Thursday 26 September
Bob Hope airport, Burbank
California
鈥淚t鈥檚 always good to have a doctor on board,鈥 I joke to my companion, who introduces himself as El Salvador鈥檚 lone astronaut, a neurosurgeon by day and an amateur astronomer by night.
This is no ordinary flight. I鈥檓 on board the Zero-G plane, which will introduce us to weightlessness. Colloquially known as the Vomit Comet, it鈥檚 a modified Boeing 727, which will climb and drop at an angle of 45 degrees in 15 parabolic loops to make us weightless for 30 seconds at a time. Inside, the floor, walls and ceiling constitute a large padded cell to ensure soft landings as we pull out of each period of free fall, and are squashed to the floor with a force of 1.8g.
At the party last night, Virgin Galactic鈥檚 CEO George Whitesides had told me the key to defying the effect of the Vomit Comet is to stare intently at a spot on the ceiling during the high-g phases. 鈥淓ven if someone鈥檚 talking to you, don鈥檛 turn your head,鈥 Whitesides said. For me, at least, that advice works well.
As the plane rises to the top of the first loop, we are treated to Mars gravity. I鈥檓 one-third of my weight on Earth; but I feel like a feather 鈥 a slight jump and I hit the ceiling. The next two loops are moon gravity. My neighbours and I are confused 鈥 surely this is zero-g already? We feel we could just float away: it strikes me that it鈥檚 just as well the Apollo astronauts had heavy spacesuits, or they really would have spent half their time off the ground.
Actual zero-g comes as a totally unreal experience. One moment, I鈥檓 lying on my back. The next, I鈥檓 levitating 鈥 as if someone has waved a magic wand. Everyone gasps. The first couple of weightless loops are totally disorientating: I touch the floor, and fly all the way to the ceiling, where another push leads to me yo-yoing.
I control my bounces, and float in the middle of the cabin. With nothing to touch, you are literally suspended and helpless. Instinctively, I do what we have been warned not to 鈥 try to swim. You don鈥檛 move, of course; and your limbs just crash into everyone else.
鈥淚nstinctively, I do what we鈥檝e been warned not to 鈥 try to swim. You don鈥檛 move, of course鈥
Eventually, I manage to perfect the art of somersaults in mid-air. And a long push down the cabin has me flying like Superman. I can see why Virgin astronauts are encouraged to prepare for the weightless experience, otherwise we could spend our precious few minutes in space just thrashing around. (And I do hope my fellow astronauts will have practised their weightless manoeuvres too!)
After the penultimate float, when I鈥檓 perfecting my flight up and down the cabin, someone shouts 鈥渂lood!鈥. Instinctively, I touch the top of my head 鈥 and see my encrimsoned fingers. I have no idea what I bumped into. But it鈥檚 time to sit out the rest of the ride, while the neurosurgeon treats my superficial wound.
Back at the debriefing, the door is flung open, and Branson sticks his head in. 鈥淵ou guys are ahead of me here,鈥 he declares 鈥 a sentiment that鈥檚 surely rare for him. He鈥檚 going up on the next flight. Pointing to my head, I advise him to keep his speed down 鈥 perhaps foolish advice for one of this planet鈥檚 high-fliers.
And so it鈥檚 back to terrestrial reality. Sharing my experiences with fellow British ticket-holder , he says his inspiration was Biggles, the fictional flying ace. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why I went into aerospace and travelled the world,鈥 says Ranger. He is now an entrepreneur, working with a team that hopes to win the next X Prize for sending a privately built rover to the moon. 鈥淵ou know what we are all actually doing?鈥 says Ranger. 鈥淲e are living out our childhood dreams.鈥
This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淭he Astronaut Diaries鈥
