Virgin Galactic isn't the only firm promising to let you pay for a seat on a space flight, but odds are it will be the first to pull it off. Just two weeks ago, the firm's ship — the SpaceShipTwo — powered by its rocket engine for the first time, blasted across the sky above the Mojave Desert in the U.S.

Compared to the old way of getting up high — packed in a cramped capsule or shuttle attached to a rocket — Virgin Galactic's method is a breakthrough in technology and user comfort.

Branson envisions the SpaceShipTwo first taking a ride under the wing of the WhiteKnightTwo, a specially designed carrier aircraft. When the two vehicles reach 50,000 feet (15,240 meters), the SpaceShipTwo will detach and fire up its engines, blasting itself, one pilot and six passengers at a speed of almost 4,000 kilometers per hour to a height of 100 kilometers above the surface of Earth.

Here, at suborbital altitude, you will be able to look out of the SpaceShipTwo's windows and see the curvature of Earth. Perhaps even better, having escaped Earth's gravity, you will be able to experience weightlessness and float around the ship. Afterward, the ship will return to Earth by landing on a runway.

The concept of using a craft like the SpaceShipTwo to ferry paying tourists up to the heavens is definitely revolutionary, but the most eye-catching thing about the venture could well be its prices. Even when you keep in mind that Virgin Galactic customers will be merely taking a two-and-a-half hour trip to the edge of space, the asking price of US$200,000 (approximately NT$5.9 million) sounds downright reasonable.

In fact, according to the firm, 530 people have already made reservations for spots on the ship, which the company hopes will make its first commercial flight sometime in 2014.

Branson first took an interest in spaceflight in 2004 when SpaceShipOne, developed by American engineer Burt Rutan, became the first privately funded ship to travel into space. Branson took the technology and ran with it, helping to pay for the world's first purpose-built private spaceport in the U.S. state of New Mexico.

Not everything has gone smoothly, however. In 2007, a test of the spaceship's propulsion system went horribly wrong, triggering an explosion that killed three people. The tragedy was a stark reminder of the risks involved in spaceflight. Though some risks will always remain, it seems certain that in the future many of us will be given the opportunity to travel into space.