Santosh George Kulangara, a travel freak from a Kerala village will have the rare honour of being perhaps the first Indian tourist in space.
Global space tour operator Virgin Galactic just confirmed his reservation for the space flight sometime in 2008.
"I'm thrilled. It will be a historic moment. Space is the last destination known to man and I'm excited to be able to see it," Kulangara told TOI over the phone from his home in Marangattupalli in Kottayam district.
According to the letter from Virgin Galactic president Will Whitehorn, Kulangara has been allotted voyager reservation number 38.
The confirmation comes on a payment of $20,000. But that's only part of it. The total expense for the trip is $2, 00,000, roughly Rs 90 lakh.
"Some weeks ago, I got the welcome pack introducing me to the various aspects of the tour," a visibly excited Kulangara said.
"I will be travelling with five other tourists and two navigators. The tour operator has called a meeting in Paris in May this year, where I will be able to meet my fellow passengers," he said.
There will be no real landing in space, but we will be able to experience zero gravity and the re-entry of the spacecraft into the earth's atmosphere. The sojourn in space will last only 2-3 hours," Kulangara explained.
The take off will be from the US. Virgin's craft for the sub-orbital flight is being put to shape at Rutan's base in Mojave, California.
"What I'm told is that it will be ready by the end of 2007. Then there will be a week-long training programme. The actual journey will take place sometime in mid-2008."
Kulangara confessed that he had not broken the news even to his two children. "Only my wife and a few friends know about this," Kulangara said adding that his wife Soncy was stunned by the news.
"It's difficult to believe that an Indian can achieve such things," he said.
"My message to the younger generation is that if you have a dream, it is achievable," said Kulangara who hosts a popular travel show 'Sancharam' on local TV.
"People never believed when I said I had travelled 50 countries. But this proves, we can also do it."
"The tour operator has agreed to allow me to shoot the trip so that I can pass it on to the rest of the world," he said.
Kulangara is also a successful entrepreneur running one of the country's largest educational publishing houses.
Global space tour operator Virgin Galactic just confirmed his reservation for the space flight sometime in 2008.
According to the letter from Virgin Galactic president Will Whitehorn, Kulangara has been allotted voyager reservation number 38.
The confirmation comes on a payment of $20,000. But that's only part of it. The total expense for the trip is $2, 00,000, roughly Rs 90 lakh.
"Some weeks ago, I got the welcome pack introducing me to the various aspects of the tour," a visibly excited Kulangara said.
"I will be travelling with five other tourists and two navigators. The tour operator has called a meeting in Paris in May this year, where I will be able to meet my fellow passengers," he said.
There will be no real landing in space, but we will be able to experience zero gravity and the re-entry of the spacecraft into the earth's atmosphere. The sojourn in space will last only 2-3 hours," Kulangara explained.
The take off will be from the US. Virgin's craft for the sub-orbital flight is being put to shape at Rutan's base in Mojave, California.
"What I'm told is that it will be ready by the end of 2007. Then there will be a week-long training programme. The actual journey will take place sometime in mid-2008."
Kulangara confessed that he had not broken the news even to his two children. "Only my wife and a few friends know about this," Kulangara said adding that his wife Soncy was stunned by the news.
"It's difficult to believe that an Indian can achieve such things," he said.
"My message to the younger generation is that if you have a dream, it is achievable," said Kulangara who hosts a popular travel show 'Sancharam' on local TV.
"People never believed when I said I had travelled 50 countries. But this proves, we can also do it."
"The tour operator has agreed to allow me to shoot the trip so that I can pass it on to the rest of the world," he said.
Kulangara is also a successful entrepreneur running one of the country's largest educational publishing houses.
