Blasting off with Richard Branson
This entreprenuer scored one of the first seats on Virgin Galactic's private rocket to sub-orbital space.
(Fortune Small Business) -- When Richard Branson launches his space-tourism business in 2010, Yacov Wrocherinsky will be among the first to soar.
The entrepreneur is one of 250 people who have signed on for a $200,000 seat on Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo, which will transport passengers into sub-orbital space, roughly 68 miles above earth.
"This is like a dream come true," says Wrocherinsky, founder and CEO of Infinity Info Systems, a CRM technology consultancy based in New York City. "I don't see it as buying a ticket. It's paying to support their entrepreneurship and develop space travel - and I get to go on a flight too."
The 48-year-old has already participated in six zero-gravity flights - where a plane dives steeply to simulate weightlessness - including one with Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, who sparked Wrocherinsky's love of space with his historic 1969 moon walk.
"People choose their own hobbies," Wrocherinsky says. "I love space."
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