Something of the scale of what Burt Rutan is attempting is revealed in a BBC story. Work is under way on SpaceShipTwo, the passenger-carrying suborbital vehicle which "will not look anything like its predecessor."

With the new vehicle Rutan is aiming for a top altitude of between 84 and 87 miles (135-140 km), rather than the 62.5 miles (100km) it took to win the Ansari X-Prize. The extra altitude will add about another 90 seconds of zero-g for passengers to enjoy. Passengers will be able to float around the cabin.

Instead of shoulder harnesses and tight seatbelts we want this roller coaster-type bar that you fold out of the way and you can float around. We think that's important. If you want the view, we have handles there so you can float over and put your nose right against your own window.

Richard Branson has ordered five vehicles based on SS2. Each will be capable of flying at least five and more likely around eight people per trip. Rutan and Branson plan a luxury service. SpaceShipTwo’s cabin will have about the same diameter as a Gulfstream V business jet, slightly over 6ft in height and 7ft in width.

Rutan wants his Mojave-based company, Scaled Composites, to create 3,000 new astronauts a year - for each departure point, Rutan adds, and for each ship. "Mojave is not going to be the only place in the world where there will be a place to buy tickets and fly a spaceflight," he says.

With tickets starting at maybe $200,000 a ride, this is going to make space tourism into a whole new industry. Further down the road Rutan intends to develop vehicles to take fare-paying passengers into orbit. Thanks in part to one man’s vision and enterprise, large numbers of us will have the chance to take off-planet trips; including me. This is exciting stuff. As Rutan puts it:

Every kid who dreams, 'Wouldn't it be cool to fly in space?' will know that in your lifetime, you are going to go to orbit. You will know that, not just dream that. That is the neatest thing about the whole programme.