Join the Race for Space and earn a seat on a Virgin Galactic suborbital flight

When I was a kid, I dreamed about going to space. That meant I thought about being abducted by aliens or becoming an astronaut. I figured someday we’d be able to travel to space, but didn’t do too much about it figuring it was still so far away. Yesterday, hearing Richard Branson and Burt Rutan talk about their dream of getting 100,000 people into space, I realized semi-affordable commercial space flight will become a reality in my lifetime. And that’s exciting. Even better, Virgin America is teaming up with Virgin Galactic to make it possible for a frequent flyer to earn his or her way onto a suborbital flight.

Race for Space: Virgin America Elevate members will need 10,000 Elevate points (by July 2009) to enter the Race for Space and compete for a seat on one of Virgin Galactic’s first space flights. Elevate members earn 5 points for every $1 they spend on Virgin America. Virgin America wants to make it easy for you to get started earning points in the Race for Space and just launched a new airfare sale.

Deal: Main cabin seats are on sale for flights on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Book by Aug. 7 for travel between Sept. 2 and Dec. 17, 2008. Sample fares include Los Angeles (LAX) to San Francisco (SFO) for $59 each way, pre-tax; Los Angeles (LAX) to New York (JFK) or Washington, D.C., for $139 each way, pre-tax; blackout dates apply. For more information and booking, contact: Virgin America, (877) 359-8474.

I have 2,015 points so far. Will you play in the Race for Space?

— Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel Deal blogger

[Image: Virgin Galactic]

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 29, 2008 at 4:59 pm by Jen Leo and is filed under California, News, Tips & Advice, Space travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.