Space & Astronomy

Stephen Hawking is planning to go in to space

By T.K. Randall
March 20, 2017 ·  1 comment

Stephen Hawking aboard the 'Vomit Comet' back in 2007. Image Credit: NASA Having suffered from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) for most of his adult life, Hawking certainly isn't the typical astronaut candidate. Despite his disability however, there may soon be a chance for him to live out his dream of going in to space thanks to entrepreneur Richard Branson.

Creator of the world's first commercial spaceline, Branson's fledgling company Virgin Galactic should soon be set to begin sending passengers in to space and Hawking is on the VIP guest list.

"I thought no-one would take me but Richard Branson has offered me a seat on Virgin Galactic and I said yes immediately," said Hawking during a recent interview with Piers Morgan."Since that day, I have never changed my mind."

The world-famous theoretical physicist found out for himself what the weightlessness of space is like back in 2007 when he flew aboard the "Vomit Comet" - an aircraft that creates a near-weightless environment by flying to a high-altitude and going in to freefall for several seconds.

"It was amazing", he said at the time.

Source: Independent | Comments (1)

Tags: Stephen Hawking, Virgin Galactic