Twenty-five Belgians among first space tourists

During a press conference yesterday in Antwerp, British entrepreneur Richard Branson, the billionaire and founder of space travel company Virgin Galactic, announced that so far 25 Belgians have purchased a ticket to space. Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic flight, the first commercial trip to space, is scheduled to take place in 2015.

Branson was guest of honour at the i-SUP event, a VITO (Flemish Institute for Technological Research) conference around sustainable business and manufacturing. A known philanthropist, Branson opened the three-day event with a plea to search for solutions to the climate problem.

Branson also talked about "his greatest adventure", organising the world’s first ever commercial space flights. "I can’t say exactly when, but the first tourist trip to space is very near," he told De Tijd. "In the meantime, some 800 tourists have bought a round-trip ticket to space, including 25 Belgians."