That time JK Rowling turned down a chance to travel into space

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That time JK Rowling turned down a chance to travel into space

At this point in human history, very very few people have been into space and very, very, very few people even have the opportunity to go beyond our planet. JK Rowling apparently once had that chance, but she turned it down. What the hell Rowling?

The author related the invitation—and her snub thereof—to a group of fans at an event in London following the release of her most recent book, The Casual Vacancy.

Said Rowling:

“I was offered a seat. For a mere £2 million I could have been on the shuttle, but I turned it down.” As Website Citizens in Space notes, it’s unclear who it was that extended the invitation, as NASA doesn’t exactly let civilians tag along on its flights. The Independent, which first reported the quote, mentioned Richard Branson‘s commercial spaceline Virgin Galactic in the story, but it wasn’t specified whether the offer came from them. (For one thing, Virgin Galactic charges $200,000, not £2 million, for their two-hour flights… though, honestly, Rowling is so rich I would hardly be surprised if she misremembered a decimal place or two.)

Via