These Famous People Have Tickets for Richard Branson's Space Flights As Richard Branson prepares to launch the first-ever commercial space flights, here's a look at the famous faces who will be on board.
By Ashley Lee
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
While most are finalizing their annual holiday travel plans, a select few are dropping a pretty penny for a seat on Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic flights to space.
Tickets for the two-hour SpaceShipTwo voyage, the first-ever commercial space exploration, are $250,000 a pop. The journey requires three days of pre-flight preparation, team-bonding and training onsite at Spaceport America in New Mexico. "Learning how to make the most of the time in microgravity and tips on how to be comfortable and safe in macro gravity will form an important part of the preparation, as well as to be thoroughly familiar with all safety and emergency procedures," says a Virgin Galactic representative.
The vehicle is also equipped with plenty of in-board and out-board fixed cameras to record the experience for posterity, and will collect footage for an NBC broadcast. Full space test flights are tentatively scheduled to begin late 2013, with commercial flights expected to lift off come 2014.
See who has already bought tickets for an upcoming journey to space.
Image Credit: freefever.comKaty Perry
The "Roar" singer recently announced that she'll be kicking off a yearlong world tour in the U.K. come May 7, but also plans to travel to space via Virgin Galactic.
Related: Trekking Into Space With Branson? You Can Now Pay Your Way in Bitcoins
Image Credit: Dan Steinberg/APBryan Singer
The Hollywood director-producer of The Usual Suspects, Jack the Giant Slayer and the X-Men films has nabbed a seat on an upcoming spacing flight.
Image Credit: experiencefilm.comTom Hanks
Though he just steered a cargo ship in his latest film Captain Phillips, actor Tom Hanks will be boarding an upcoming Virgin Galactic voyage.
Image Credit: casino.orgAshton Kutcher
The Two and a Half Men actor and startup investor (Foursquare, Uber and Airbnb, among many others) opted to give Branson's space voyages a shot.
Related: Want to See the Earth From Space? This Startup Plans to Take You There.
Image Credit: Kevin Mazur/AMA2012/WireImageJustin Bieber and Scooter Braun
The pop musician and his manager will both be flying into space on an upcoming voyage. Branson tweeted out the news with, "Congrats, see you up there!"
Image Credit: dailyrecord.co.ukBrad Pitt and Angelina Jolie
The film industry couple – who each have ventured into producing and directing movies, respectively – will explore space on an upcoming flight.
James Lovelock
The independent scientist, environmentalist and author will head to outer space as well.
Image Credit: columbiamissourian.comWally Funk
The aviator was also the first female air safety investigator and the first Federal Aviation Agency inspector.
Related: Richard Branson Shares Letter He Wrote to 12-Year-Old Fan About Keys to Success
Image Credit: photoshot.comSarah Brightman
The singer is also part of the Advisory Council for the Challenger Center and launched the Brightman STEM Scholarship program with Virgin Galactic.
Image Credit: collider.comLeonardo DiCaprio
The actor in The Great Gatsby and the upcoming The Wolf of Wall Street will fly into space on an upcoming voyage.
Image Credit: thebraiser.comLady Gaga
The pop singer will perform live on the aircraft, which will be streamed back to Earth in a pioneering performance. She admitted that she was asked by Virgin Galactic to participate and didn't have to pay for her ticket.
Related: The Wild and Crazy Career Paths of 5 Self-Made Billionaires (Infographic)
