Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson has been attending space school as his company prepares to shoot for the stars.

Mr Branson has completed a spaceflight training course at the National Aerospace Training and Research Centre NASTAR(SM) just outside Philadelphia.

The instruction was in preparation for a flight aboard Space Ship Two, the sub-orbital vehicle Virgin Galactic is involved in developing.

The test flying programme is expected to begin in the summer of 2008, with the first flight into space expected to take place the following year.

Commercial operations are expected to begin from Spaceport America, in New Mexico, once all test flying is successfully completed and the FAA has issued a license to fly.

Virgin Galactic plan to charge £100,000 per passenger - but you have to survive the centrifuge. At one point it reaches 6G - that is six times your body weight.

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