• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Mainer to Become One of 45 Virgin Galactic 'Space Agents'

Posted on: Sunday, 28 January 2007, 15:00 CST

By TUX TURKEL

Pamela Hurley-Moser wants to be a travel agent to the stars.

Or at least to travelers obsessed with flying 75 miles above the earth.

Hurley-Moser, the founder of Hurley Travel Experts in Portland, is among 45 agents in North America selected for training to become an "accredited space agent." She's the only Maine travel agent who will be able to reserve seats aboard Virgin Galactic's suborbital space flights.

The first launch is planned for late next year or 2009. The ticket price is considered quite reasonable for space flight - $200,000 for a 2?-hour blast.

Hurley-Moser is going to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida next week for a two-day training session. She'll learn how to market the trips, find clients, and answer any questions potential space tourists may have.

Example: What is the maximum speed of the spaceship?

Answer: 2,500 mph, or more than three times the speed of sound.

Hurley-Moser has filled several passport books while traveling around the world. It's not surprising that she wants to do more than sell space flights; she plans to be a passenger, too.

"I absolutely want to go," she said Friday. "I have a real appetite for adventure travel, and space travel is the ultimate. How much farther can you go?"

Hurley-Moser is part of a team assembled by Virgin and Virtuoso Ltd., a luxury travel network. The only other New England travel agent is in Connecticut.

"Hurley-Moser's passion for space travel, combined with her talent for selling unique experiences, makes her an ideal candidate for this new level of space tourism," said Carolyn Wincer, head of astronaut sales for Virgin Galactic.

Virgin Galactic was established by Richard Branson's Virgin Group, which operates Virgin Atlantic airlines. His goal is to develop private-market space tourism.

The craft will be modeled after SpaceShipOne, designed by Burt Rutan. In 2004, SpaceShipOne was the first privately funded craft to reach space.

Passengers will undergo three days of preparation and training. They'll take off at first from a spaceport being built in California's Mojave Desert. A long-term headquarters is planned for New Mexico.

Passengers will travel in a spacecraft that will climb to 50,000 feet while attached to a specially designed carrier aircraft. Once released, the spacecraft will climb vertically, reaching the speed of sound in 10 seconds and more than three times the speed of sound in under 30 seconds.

Then the rocket motor will shut down and passengers will experience the silence of space and the magic of weightlessness. They will be able to see the curvature of the Earth and 1,000 miles in any direction. The spacecraft will finally re-enter the atmosphere and make a normal runway landing. The trip lasts about 2? hours.

Several Mainers want to take this trip. Some have already contacted Hurley-Moser. She knows others who may be interested.

"It's for someone who wants experiential travel, a life experience," she said. "They don't need another boat or another car."

The training session that Hurley-Moser will attend next week has attracted national attention. A crew from NBC's "Today" show is expected to attend; the segment is set to air Feb. 15.

Hurley-Moser is looking forward to space flight, but even next week's trip to Florida should be an adventure. Just back to work after maternity leave, she'll be traveling with her 6-week-old daughter.

Staff Writer Tux Turkel can be contacted at 791-6462 or at:

tturkel@pressherald.com

Source: Portland Press Herald

More News in this Category