After 7-Yr Wait, Man Gives Up Space Dream

LOS ANGELES: Venture capitalist Alan Walton has trekked to the North Pole, climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and skydived over Mount Everest . A hop into space to enjoy a few minutes of weightlessness would have been the ultimate adventure.

After waiting seven years to fly aboard Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic spaceline, Walton gave up on the dream and asked for a $200,000 ticket refund on his 75th birthday this past spring. Walton, who was among the first 100 customers to sign up, is not as spry as he used to be, and he's concerned about project delays.

"This was a decision I wish I didn't have to make," he said recently. But "it was time." Promises of space travel for masses reached a euphoric pitch in 2004 when the experimental SpaceShip One airlaunched over the Mojave Desert and became the first privately financed spacecraft to dash into space.

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