TICKETS TO SPACE to go ON SALE

"Dec. 2, 2008 -- It has been more than 10 years since Rick Searfoss, a retired Air Force colonel, test pilot and NASA shuttle commander has been in space, but that is about to change. His new gig should put him beyond the atmosphere as often as four times a day -- and maybe put you in the cockpit right next to him.

Searfoss is the senior (and so far only) test pilot for XCOR Aerospace, a California startup that started selling tickets today for suborbital trips to space for $95,000 per ride.

That's about half the cost of what another commercial space venture, Virgin Galactic, is charging for future trips to space.

At XCOR Aerospace's bargain price, it won't be a glam-trip, like what competitor Virgin Galactic has in mind. XCOR's Lynx is a two-seater. Searfoss gets the left side, the one with the controls. A passenger will sit to his right.

"When people first look at this they say, 'How are you going to make any money?'" XCOR's Douglas Graham told Discovery News.

The concept is quite simple: You gas up and go.

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/12/02/space-ride-tickets.html