Space tourism will not be cheap, The Guardian reported. Branson, a British billionaire, is charging $200,000 for a two-hour trip. He already has sold 500 tickets even though the service will not start until 2010 and hopes to eventually have 5,000 passengers a year.

Virgin Galactic is to have its own spaceport in New Mexico and also will use Esrange space center in Sweden. Esrange, located near the iron-mining center of Kiruna, is used by the European Space Agency for rocket launches.

The northern lights, with their shimmering colored curtains, are caused by charged particles blown by solar wind. While the lights are spectacular from a distance, no one knows what the view from inside the lights will be.