Milton siblings have journeys booked aboard Virgin Galactic spacecraft - Action News
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Milton siblings have journeys booked aboard Virgin Galactic spacecraft

An 11-year-old girl from Milton, Ont., and her brother hope to become the youngest people to travel to space in Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic spacecraft.

2 tickets for flight in space costs father $500,000

Space kids

11 years ago
Duration 2:20
An 11-year-old girl from Milton, Ont., and her brother hope to become the youngest people to travel to space in Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic spacecraft.

An 11-year-old girl from Milton, Ont., and her brother hope to become the youngest people to travel to space in Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic spacecraft.

U.S. regulations restrict space travel to people aged 18 and older, which means Zainab Azim and her 10-year-old brother Ali may have to wait a few years beyond 2015, when their suborbital flight is supposed to take place.

Virgin Galactic is planning to send its first paying passengers into space for a suborbital experience of weightlessness sometime this year.

Though her mom hopes she'll become Prime Minister of Canada someday, Zainab has her own ambitious career goals.

"I wanna be an astronaut and a doctor. And a soccer player. And a horseback rider. And a fencing player," she said with a giggle.

The children's father, real estate entrepreneur Azim Rizvee, didn't hesitate about paying the $250,000 a ticket to secure his children's spot on a flight to space.

"We want them to have bigger than life dreams, and try to make those dreams come true," he said. "We worked hard for our money. Kids come first in our life. That's what our value system and beliefs are about."

Zainab knows about the government regulations that may restrict her travels, but she doesn't seem to mind.

"I don't care if I'm the youngest or not. I just wanna go. I wanna go and discover," she said

The journey will take them 359,000 feet above earth, and Ali said he's keen to try out spacewalking.

"They have you attached to the spaceship. But you get to go outside in open space and just fool around, have fun, do flips and it's just amazing,"

Virgin Galactic is planning to send its first paying passengers into space sometime this year.