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See the original image at news.com.au

Sydney to London in 45 Minutes

news.com.au — Richard Branson believes that technology similar to that used by Virgin Galactic will eventually be used for sub-orbital flights between continents. Instead of cruising back down to the same place, passengers will be able to go to another spaceport on another continent, the airline executive predicts.

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  • cosmikdebris, on 02/05/2008, -1/+31Jeez, it took months of squalid conditions to get them to the colony when they were convicts. Guess the up-shot of this is, we can get them over here to work in London bars far quicker. Apologies to my Aussie friends, it's my humour, my brother has lived in Perth since 1970.
    • omenmedia, on 02/05/2008, -0/+20Perhaps if the trip only takes 45 minutes, we can also bring over some of our ICE COLD beer, and it will actually remain cold when served.
      • Gizza, on 02/05/2008, -4/+3I'm an Aussie and even I know you're not suppose to drink beer ice cold. It loses all flavour that way. Certainly though, it shouldn't be drunk warm.
      • psychochicken, on 02/05/2008, -3/+2The only drink that should be drunk ICE COLD is Fanta on a hot, hot day.

        Seriously try it.
    • mattimoto, on 02/05/2008, -2/+5Why put an Aussie behind a London bar when you can get a Polish guy to do it for a little less and with far fewer visa hassles.....
    • kbcool, on 02/05/2008, -1/+5That's ok, you don't need to apologise. You send all your garbage over here to work in our bars.

      There's so many yobbo poms around Bondi, Coogee etc that you've forced out all the well heeled, well educated Australians and those areas are beginning to fall apart. I love going to the UK though, all your girls love Aussies. Pity it doesn't work the other way round for you guys.
  • ToeCracker, on 02/05/2008, -2/+24That's ok Graham you pommy bastard! Still enjoy kicking your ass in the ashes time after time. LOL. Yes I am a crook from down under a descendant from the convict ships. And no need to aplogise, us Aussies and the poms love to hate each other.
    • cosmikdebris, on 02/05/2008, -0/+17lol... I'm Welsh, 700 years of living under English occupation.
      • kazamx, on 02/05/2008, -0/+3and we still haven't managed to bash the lazy sheep shaggers into respectable members of the world society. Fear not though world, we will keep trying
      • rdoger6424, on 02/05/2008, -0/+3how many years with vowels?
  • Error601, on 02/05/2008, -11/+2They actually dug out the space pen urban legend? There's also no way you could make that flight with less fuel unless you figure out how to bypass physics. That's starting to get the smell of an investment scam.

    • daxsymbiont, on 02/05/2008, -1/+4are you sure? i'm thinking of air resistance in atmosphere.

      but i've no idea what i'm talking about.
    • Tenlow, on 02/05/2008, -1/+6If there is a way, Branson is going to find it. He may not know a lot about physics, but he does know a lot about making money, and I don't mean with scams.
    • sdellboy, on 02/05/2008, -5/+3*sigh*
      Of course...Branson has a huge history of investment scams....
  • mark076h, on 02/05/2008, -6/+5you wont have much fun at your destination after paying an arm and leg for the ticket.
    • WhereAmI, on 02/05/2008, -1/+5At first...when is anything new cheap?
  • shaundee, on 02/05/2008, -1/+3Bring it on Branso
  • cambrown99, on 02/05/2008, -0/+20I would be happy if he ran all of the world's air travel. He clearly does it better than anyone else.
    • cr3ative, on 02/05/2008, -0/+11If you've ever flown Virgin Atlantic, you'll know it's really damned good for an economy ticket. The staff are actually helpful and attentive.

      Compared to US Airways, who I flew with just before a Virgin flight, it's luxury. I'm surprised the US Airways staff didn't stab me in the throat for asking for a pillow. :(
      • kazamx, on 02/05/2008, -0/+8On Virgin they give you an Ice cream when your watching films. come on we all know we love little things like that. ice cream £0.10 Future ticket sales in the bag, priceless.
        • williamdyer, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1We Americans love being screeched at by spotty old bags and ageing poofters who tell us to look up what is in the "snack boxes" in the back of the sticky, torn airline magazine. Nope, you won't get me off United!
  • mnxxx, on 02/05/2008, -10/+1Thats not bad considering it takes me 45 min to get starbucks. My question is will your face still be the same after the flight or are you paying for the flight AND a face lift?
  • greenlight2001, on 02/05/2008, -4/+10He *almost* has a mullet. A little more business in the front and I'd lose a little bit of respect for him.
  • SilentRamble42, on 02/05/2008, -3/+11Dugg for "spaceport."
    • omenmedia, on 02/05/2008, -0/+16Mos Eisley spaceport. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious.
    • kibbled, on 02/05/2008, -0/+7How fast can the plane make the Kessel Run?
  • MrWhite7, on 02/05/2008, -10/+1Didn't he die in a balloon crash?
  • protodon, on 02/05/2008, -2/+2Basically it's the same exact technology but landing somewhere else. I'm blown away. It still costs the same and only carries a few people. Somebody needs start making those scramjets commercially viable, well just viable, thencommerically viable. Also let's get rid of this rocket nonsense.
  • omenmedia, on 02/05/2008, -1/+4That's the same amount of time it takes me to drive to work. :(
  • mal1964, on 02/05/2008, -0/+20What will we do without the joy of long delays at the airport ,rude flight attendants, lost luggage, and the kid kicking the back of your chair for eight hours?
    • jgzman, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1They will start by reducing flight time so the kid will only kick the back of your chair for 45 minutes. A well, during acceleration, he probably won't be able to lift his foot, so that's a benefit as well.
      • MinsterX, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1And just think of the pressure on all those "Mile High"-ers out there. Come to think of it that line works on so many levels.

        "Just strap yourself in a feel the Gees!"
    • ep53, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1Go suck a lemon?
  • Morality, on 02/05/2008, -14/+2What could possibly be so ***** important that you have to go across the globe in 45 minutes? A human life isn't worth the amount of fuel and pollution this would cause.
    • sdellboy, on 02/05/2008, -1/+8What could possibly be so ***** important that you have to drive across London in one hour? A human life isn't worth the amount of fuel and pollution that would cause.
    • ChayD, on 02/05/2008, -0/+3Beacuse of the "I am a busy executive; Every second counts. Productivity is key. Only losers sleep. Report. Proposal. Meeting. Presentation. *fiddles with CrackBerry* How's my portfolio doing?" types. I didn't believe people like that existed until I started working in London. That said, I'd happily fly to NY in 45 mins, much better than 5-7 f**king hours crammed into a tiny seat, watching movies I've already seen a hundred times.
    • twinklyJesus, on 02/05/2008, -0/+2What an ignoramus
    • merper, on 02/05/2008, -0/+5Few things piss me off more than environmentalists who are idiots. Do you think this thing runs on oil?

      http://spacefellowship.com/News/?p=623

      Output is mostly Nitrogen.
  • Cannon49, on 02/05/2008, -4/+30I can't wait for the American's to declare these spaceships as "threats to national security"
    • sremick, on 02/05/2008, -2/+3Well THIS American welcomes them with open arms. Perhaps you meant our corrupt government, which most Americans don't approve of or agree with?
  • Kenzan, on 02/05/2008, -0/+9You know, using the words: "galactic" and "spaceport" in the article doesn't change the fact that the vehicles are sub-orbital. It's not like you'll be blasting your way out of Mos Eisley any time soon or anything.
    • kazamx, on 02/05/2008, -1/+3on the other hand, its a dam good start.
  • trackerbishop, on 02/05/2008, -24/+2Wonder why no RON PAUL articles make it to digg but are all over reddit? Digg has been hijacked by neocons and now anything RON PAUL gets buried.

    NEWS: RON PAUL WON LA, RON PAUL GOT 2ND IN MAINE IN TERMS OF DELEGATES!

    OBAMA WANTS PERMANENT BASES IN IRAQ!
  • Homerr, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1020th century = Concorde
    21st century = SpaceShipTwo
    • tensvb, on 02/05/2008, -1/+5There is a huge difference...
      Concord = government project = economic disaster and a waste of public money
      SpaceShipTwo = private company = might be sucessful, might be not, but I don't have to pay for it
  • Drehmini, on 02/05/2008, -2/+3As I was reading the article I was instantly distracted by the carousel of stories that featured two women..
    This story http://www.news.com.au/travel/story/0,23483,230899 ...
  • swordedge, on 02/05/2008, -1/+4so maybe Branson will implement something that has been in Science Fiction for at least 30 years, maybe more.
    • kazamx, on 02/05/2008, -0/+5There is a BIG difference. Something that someone wrote in a book, it NOT real. What Mr Branson is doing IS real. Do you need walking through this in more detail?
    • jgzman, on 02/05/2008, -0/+2Many things were sci-fi before they were real.
      Automatic Doors
      Spaceflight
      Personal Wireless 'Communicators' (Beam me up, Scotty)
  • IWDA4, on 02/05/2008, -6/+1virgin lolllol
  • thedinomeister, on 02/05/2008, -1/+4Ummm...what the hell has been holding these things up? It's 2008 and people have been working on the "45min" to london project for 20 years. Since then we have only made steps backwards. Instead they retired the Concord (wtf?!!!) and they spent billions on a full double decker jumbo jet design-- the A380.

    Screw this, if I had billions of dollars at my disposal I would have an efficient supersonic plane ready in 1 year for EVERYONE to use, not just the SUPER RICH.
    • bigbchew, on 02/05/2008, -1/+3Here here, I thought the same when they 'retired' the Concorde. What company would ever want to suppress better technology to have it available only for the super-rich? Clearly not companies interested in making money...
      I suppose our government overlords see traveling across continents in
  • 3leggedHorse, on 02/05/2008, -0/+5 ***** you leave Sydney 3/4/08 @ 1200pm and arrive in London 3/4/08 @ 0145. That would add a whole new dimension to jet lag.
  • VinnieDaMac, on 02/05/2008, -3/+1Flight times are the second biggest reason why I had traveling. The first obviously being the cost.
  • sc0rpi0n, on 02/05/2008, -0/+4Pilot: Ladies and gentlemen, too bad I could not stop this plane in London. We are now heading directly into our Sun in 45 minutes.
  • whatsgoodike, on 02/05/2008, -0/+4FTA (pic cap): "Branson said he would like to see the company's second spaceport set up in Australia in 2006"
    I can't wait?
  • Privil3g3, on 02/05/2008, -0/+2"Smithers, I've designed a new plane. I call it the Spruce Moose, and it will carry 200 passengers from the New York’s idle-wild airport to the Belgium Congo in 17 minutes!"

    "...get in"
  • FoxFire13, on 02/05/2008, -0/+0What is this? A plane for ANTS!?!?
  • dylangaine, on 02/05/2008, -0/+2your lunch on the floor in 45 seconds
  • algo, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1i saw this earlier today, london to sydney in under five hours, still acceptable:
    http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-2343581 ...
  • phuntimes, on 02/05/2008, -0/+0YES, individuals can make their dreams come true. Powered flight, telephone, electricity and personal computers were NOT government projects.
  • srodolff, on 02/05/2008, -0/+145 minutes!?! Pffft!!....transporters FTW.......
  • yoga4u, on 02/06/2008, -0/+1it is looking to interesting.
  • hoffey, on 02/07/2008, -0/+1http://www.virgingalactic.com/pressftp/index_full. ...

    looks gorgeous.
  • plasma25, on 02/07/2008, -0/+0I live in Sydney.....I'd pay good money for a flight like this!
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