Ashton Kutcher signs up for space flight

In this Jan. 11, 2012 file photo, actor Ashton Kutcher speaks during the panel discussion for the sitcom "Two and a Half Men" at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour for CBS, the CW and Showtime in Pasadena, Calif. British billionaire Richard Branson announced that Kutcher will be the 500th customer to go into space. Kutcher is among dozens of Hollywood types, international entrepreneurs, scientists, space buffs and others who have made deposits to be among the first to reach the edge of the Earth on Branson's Virgin Galactic spaceline.
In this Jan. 11, 2012 file photo, actor Ashton Kutcher speaks during the panel discussion for the sitcom "Two and a Half Men" at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour for CBS, the CW and Showtime in Pasadena, Calif. British billionaire Richard Branson announced that Kutcher will be the 500th customer to go into space. Kutcher is among dozens of Hollywood types, international entrepreneurs, scientists, space buffs and others who have made deposits to be among the first to reach the edge of the Earth on Branson's Virgin Galactic spaceline.

— British billionaire Richard Branson said Monday his venture to launch paying tourists into space has netted its 500th customer, and it's none other than Ashton Kutcher.

Branson made the announcement on his blog.

Kutcher is among dozens of Hollywood types, international entrepreneurs, scientists, space buffs and others who have made deposits to be among the first to reach the edge of the Earth on Branson's Virgin Galactic space line.

Branson has said the aim is to one day make traveling to space safe and affordable for the masses, not just those who can afford the current $200,000 ticket price.

Virgin Galactic is in the final stages of its test flight program. The company will launch its spacecraft from Spaceport America, a specially designed terminal and runway built in a remote stretch of desert in southern New Mexico.

The company plans to begin commercial operations next year. Branson said he and his children plan to be on the first commercial flight.

Virgin Galactic customers will ride in a six-seat spacecraft that looks like a small plane, with wings near the rear that sweep upward. Once the craft and its mother ship reach a certain altitude, the smaller craft is released and its rockets are fired, pushing passengers back into their seats for the trip to suborbital space.

The spaceship features two large windows for each passenger, one on the side and one overhead, and small thrusters that allow the two pilots to maneuver the ship once in space.

Customers will get a 2 1/2-hour flight with about five minutes of weightlessness and views of Earth that until now only astronauts have been able to experience.

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