For Sh15m, you can blast off to space with Virgin Galactic

Mid last month, Ashish Thakkar, a Dubai-based multi-billionaire entrepreneur, started his mission to hoist Kenya’s flag in space, for the first time ever.

And perhaps to mark the milestone, Prime Minister Raila Odinga graced the occasion and pinned a Kenyan flag sticker on Thakkar’s sleeve.

Mr Thakkar, who will take off to space on the Virgin Galactic flight, hopes to demonstrate to the world the opportunities available in the three East African states.

The razzmatazz of hoisting the Kenyan, Ugandan and Tanzanian flags aside, Mr Thakkar’s bid signals the growing trend of space travel which is increasingly being commercialised by the private sector.

Since the Cold War, the development of space travel was carried out by governments with some like the US and Russia recently cutting their budgets while China and India boosting their investments on space programmes.

Space tourism is catching on as passengers pay for flights into space.

Infrastructure to further grow space travel is continuously being developed through the construction of space ports with various companies moving into the industry.

Private companies such as Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic are offering people like Thakkar an opportunity to go to the space for $200,000 per ticket.

Passengers on the reusable spacecraft will make a two-and-a-half hour trip into low orbit, and view the earth from over 50,000 feet above.

This ticket price is expected to fall over time, allowing for more private tours, but the price will still remain prohibitive for most people as the cost of developing spacecraft remains high.

Dennis Tito, an American businessman, was the first space tourist in April 2001 when he went for a nine-day trip.

He was followed by South African computer millionaire Mark Shuttleworth in 2002.

Price tag

Last week the World Space Forum 2010 was opened bringing together space business leaders from around the world to exchange ideas and develop solutions.

Technical development in the space industry, impact of the global economy on the industry, legal and regulatory environment and the outlook over the next three decades for the industry were the four key areas of discussion.