Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson has signed a £14m agreement which he hopes will see his company take passengers into space. The British entrepreneur is having five “spaceliners” built in the US by the team behind the SpaceShipOne vehicle.

The California-based rocket plane became the first privately developed carrier to go above 100km in June. Sir Richard says it will cost around £100,000 to go on a “Virgin Galactic” spaceliner, and the first flights should begin in about three years’ time.

“If it is a success, we want to move into orbital flights and then, possibly, even get a hotel up there.”

Sir Richard revealed his new venture at a briefing held on Monday at the Royal Aeronautical Society in London.

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