LONDON, Sept. 27 (Xinhuanet) -- British billionaire Richard Branson announced Monday that his company Virgin Atlantic airline will launch the world's first commercial space flight in near future.

    Virgin Atlantic airline has signed a 14 million pounds (25 million US dollars) deal with the US company Mojave Aerospace Ventures which owns the technology behind SpaceShipOne, the first private manned craft to travel to space, Branson told a news conference at the Royal Aeronautical Society in London.

    SpaceShip One, which flew up to 98,547 meters above Earth in its first trial last June, was among the 23 craft vying for the X-Prize of 10 million US dollars, a reward for the first team that can send a non-governmental, three-person craft over 100 km into the space and repeat the feat in two weeks.

    According to Branson, would-be space tourists who take his Virgin Galactic craft would pay 115,000 pounds (207,000 dollars) for a flight. They will receive three days' flight training in advance.

    Up to 3,000 astronauts could be flying into space over a five-year period, predicted Branson. Enditem