1. What is the decision facing Virgin Galactic?

Would you like to travel to outer space? Unless you are an astronaut or scientist conducting experiments in the weightlessness of space, is there any reason for you to undertake the risk of space travel? Sir Richard Branson, one of Britain's best-known entrepreneurs, thinks there are a lot of consumers who see outer space as the ultimate adventure holiday. In fact, up to 40 percent of people in one survey said they would like to travel to space. Branson thinks this kind of enthusiasm could lead to thousands of passengers per year hoping to go boldly where few have gone before. Richard Branson is not new to creating successful businesses. He has created a number of companies under the "Virgin" brand name, including the Virgin Atlantic airline, Virgin Records, Virgin Megastores, and the Virgin Mobile phone service. To capitalize on the growing interest in space tourism that one day may be a multi-billion-dollar industry, Branson created Virgin Galactic after watching Spaceship One, the first spacecraft designed and built by a private citizen, reach space in 2004.