Two tickets for British rocket space trip sold
The first two tickets for a trip into space in a British rocket have been snapped up for £250,000.
Inventor Steve Bennett, from Dukinfield, Greater Manchester, has sold the seats to a couple who live in Gibraltar.
The ex-pats, aged 50 and 40, want to remain anonymous so they don't have to spend the next two years defending their decision.
The trio hopes to take to the skies and beyond in 2003 and by doing so aims to win the international space travel X-Prize, which comes with a $10m dollar reward.
The 15-minute flight will offer the travellers five minutes of weightlessness as they soar 62 miles from the surface of earth.
Mr Bennett said: "To win the competition, the rocket must be able to carry three people and make two trips. So in effect that's six seats. The next ticket is on sale for £500,000. We have had quite a lot of interest in it but so far no one has put up the cash".
The couple, who also pledged a further £250,000 to help fund the project, heard about the Starchaser mission on the Discovery Channel, which is providing sponsorship along with Microsoft among others.
"They know the risk," said Mr Bennett.
". I am willing to take the risk. I am flying with them and I have a beautiful family I want to come back to. I think they are happier that I am flying with them."
Mr Bennett's recent successful unmanned launches at Grange-over-Sands, in Cumbria, have been a huge boost towards achieving his dream of space travel after a number of his earlier projects went up in smoke.
