Most thrill seekers would be well satisfied with a flight to the edge of space. But once Richard Branson's space tourism outfit Virgin Galactic is up and running in (probably) 2010 he plans something even more extraordinary.
The company is exploring the idea of flying from Kiruna in the frozen far north of Sweden into the aurora borealis - the northern lights. No one has even sent a rocket with cameras on board into the ethereal curtains of winter light, let alone a person.
Although the feasibility study into how the flights will operate has not yet been officially completed, the plan looks certain to go ahead and Kiruna is already marketing itself as Virgin's European base. Before Christmas, I visited Esrange, the Swedish rocket base that will act as mission control for Branson's flights. Here's my report.
Here's Virgin Galactic's promotional animation of what the first flights from New Mexico will be like. And here's my podcast interview with the SpaceShipOne test pilot Brian Binnie.
Now all I need to do is find £100,000 for a ticket.
Happy New Year!
