I am looking for only 4 sponsors to take part in this marketing/PR opportunity. I need £100,000 to become the first person born in Wales, raised in Wales and living in Wales to go into space. If I raise the ticket price then SXC (Space Expedition Corporation) have pledged to donate talks to Welsh universities.
I have pledged £25,000 (25% of the ticket price)
I am looking for another 3 sponsors (£25,000 each) or
1 sponsor (£75,000)
Sponsors will:-
Benefit from the publicity involved with SXC donating talks to Welsh universities.
SXC have stated that they are keen to be involved in any publicity.
Benefit from publicity in me becoming the first Welsh person in space.
There has been some press coverage already.
Evening Post:-
http://www.southwales-eveningpost.co.uk/Swansea-man-fear-heights-asks-help-raising-65/story-20271706-detail/story.html
BBC Radio Wales:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u36PjzvyV5Q
The Taffanaut Facebook page will have more than 4000 likes by the end of January with an average 450+ new likes every month. These are mostly in the UK (Wales) but there is interest from other countries (EG USA, Europe). A broad cross section of people are liking the page including a large set from further and higher education. I have already made contact with some press around the world. As soon as I get at least 1 sponsor pledge then press agencies are likely to cover the story further.
Any future income directly derived from being the first Welsh person in space will be split accordingly between sponsors.
I am happy to take part in any publicity (within reason. I don't do topless). I am happy to answer any questions and can be contacted via Facebook
or Email me (See http://taffanaut.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/the-taffanaut-chronicles-contents.html)
FAQs:-
Why invest in me?
I was born, raised and went to university in Wales and want to try and give something back to the area which I grew up in. I am passionate about this cause and will do whatever I can to help it succeed.
Has anyone Welsh ever been into space?
There has been more than one astronaut of Welsh descent (E.g. Joe Tanner having one Welsh parent) but no one born and raised in Wales with UK citizenship has ever been into space.
When will the trip to space take place?
XCOR's competitor, Virgin Galactic look likely to start commercial flights in 2014. XCOR flights are likely to take place shortly after.
Why SXC and XCOR?
The two major companies currently competing in the space tourism market are XCOR and Virgin Galactic. XCOR appears to be more focused on "making space accessible" and has a current ticket price less than half that of Virgin Galactic. Although Virgin Galactic is likely to make commercial trips into space before XCOR I believe that the high ticket price for Virgin Galactic will deter everyone apart from the rich and famous. I could not justify asking for £250,000 and have therefore opted to back XCOR via SXC.
What does the trip involve?
The XCOR Lynx is a revolutionary reusable space plane that takes off from a runway and reaches a speed of up to Mach 3 in approx. 4 minutes. The craft will reach 100 km (61 miles) which is the international recognised start of space, before re-entering the atmosphere and gliding back to Earth.
When is payment required?
As a first step I simply ask for a commitment to pay.
To who is payment made?
The company selling tickets and requiring payment is SXC.
What happens if for some reason the flight does not go ahead?
Both Virgin Galactic and XCOR are committed to developing and flying their space planes and numerous bookings have already been made. I will need to pass two medicals to be declare space worthy. If I fail the first medical then all money will be returned. If I fail the second medical then a small amount will be retained by XCOR (approx. £1500 in total).
Can this plan change?
Yes. I have never attempted anything like this before so there is a chance that I have made naïve mistakes. I am happy to change any aspect of this plan if it helps achieve success without compromising the original aims.
Further info:-
SXC video:-
http://vimeo.com/70553551
SXC web page:-
http://www.spacexc.com/en/home/
XCOR web page:-
http://www.xcor.com/
