Los Angeles international airport
California
The immigration officer at Los Angeles airport scrutinises the line on my customs declaration form where I've ticked "The primary purpose of this trip is business".
"And what is the nature of your business, sir?" One word sums it up. "Astronaut," I say. "A future astronaut with Virgin Galactic."
To my surprise, the official is well aware of Richard Branson's space enterprise and recalls the rocket engine tests over the summer. My first encounter is showing that the US takes the world's first commerical spaceline pretty seriously, as demonstrated by the lengthening queue of impatient passengers, while we chat animatedly.
Space travel has been in my blood since I was a kid, holding my transistor radio close to my ear to hear Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landing on the moon in 1969. Fast forward to 2008, and I was having a beer with ...
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