Commercial space flights should begin launching from Oklahoma's spaceport near Burns Flat by early 2007 with tickets costing up to $200,000, a private company revealed Wednesday.
Rocketplane Limited Inc. Vice President David Urie told the Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority at its meeting in Tulsa that the company will be the first in the country with flights open to the public.
"There's plenty of competition out there," he said, singling out Burt Rutan, who won the X Prize competition last October for sending the first privately funded craft into space.
Rutan's technology was purchased by Virgin Airways owner Richard Branson with the intention of blasting tourists into space, but his timeline is behind that of Rocketplane.
"We're confident there will be a big enough market for all of us to prosper," Urie said. "Experiencing space is the dream of a lifetime for millions."
The Rocketplane XP launch vehicle that is in development will take off and land like a standard airplane but will feature a reusable rocket engine.
Two passengers and the pilot will be able to travel 60 miles above Earth and experience zero gravity for several minutes.
"That's the 'Whee!' factor," said Urie, whose company motto is "Outer Space. It Can Change Your Inner Space Forever."
The 45-minute flight will be the centerpiece of a four-day package that will include health tests and training beforehand and a banquet afterward, Urie said. Customers will get to keep their flight suits and will receive a video documentary of all that took place.
"We intend to make it a five-star experience," he said.
Rocketplane plans to build three crafts, each launching at least 50 times annually.
Virginia-based Space Adventures, which has made a name for itself by coordinating trips for millionaires to travel on Russian rockets, is in negotiations with Rocketplane to buy a block of tickets to sell, Urie said.
It will be a contract valued at "tens of millions of dollars," he said.
As years pass, trips to space will become more affordable, Urie assured.
"We expect to take two directions with the business within three to five years after the initial launch," he said. "The first will be to offer the same trip for less money, and the other will be to offer more extravagant trips for more money. The sky's not the limit here."
Rocketplane is based in Oklahoma City but will relocate to the spaceport at the old Clinton-Sherman Air Force Base when it is time to assemble the crafts.
Company officials chose the state because of the resources of the spaceport, which features the nation's fourth-longest runway.
Engine tests will take place this summer, with flight tests beginning in 2006 and public flights commencing during the first quarter of 2007, Urie said.
The Federal Aviation Administration is expected to grant the spaceport a space launch license in December, Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority Chairman Ken McGill said.
The state Legislature created the authority in 1999 to help lure a chunk of the world's $100 billion space business to the area. It also approved $15 million in tax breaks for Rocketplane.
The authority has received letters of intent from more than a half-dozen other companies to locate at the spaceport.
Brian Barber 581-8322
brian.barber@tulsaworld.com