It was almost half a century ago that man first conquered space. Since then it has been unexplored, virgin territory, out of reach of all but the privileged few and far beyond the thousands of people who have ever dreamed of crossing that final frontier.

Virgin Galactic wants make the dreams of all these new-era pioneers a reality by offering them the opportunity to travel into space. The magical, unique, and never-to-be-repeated experience of contemplating the Earth from an altitude of 110 km must surely change the way we value the beauty and fragility of our planet.

And a new era is dawning in which space will be within the grasp of any human being, one which will engender future generations of private astronauts who will have a powerful impact on the way we manage our planet in the coming years.