Kate Winslet Nabs A Ticket Into Space

Kate Winslet is really getting in good with the Branson clan. The 37-year-old actress recently got married to Branson nephew Ned Rocknroll, and now she’s been given a ticket to go into space as part of one of Virgin Galactic’s 2-hour flights headed into space to check out how the Earth looks from above.

The $200,000 price tag attached to the gift makes it sound like a pretty sweet wedding present. However, that doesn't seem to be the case. According to the Telegraph, Winslet earned her wings quite a while ago, after pulling Sir Richard Branson’s then-90-year-old mother from a house fire last year on Necker Island. So, while the marriage between good ol’ Rocknroll and Winslet might have seemed a little preemptive, the actress has really been seen as a sort-of part of the family for quite a while.

As part of her $200,000 space ticket, Winslet will join a slew of famous civilian faces, including Stephen Hawking, Russell Brand, and Ashton Kutcher to be pinned to her seat and travel at rates of almost 2500 mph to reach their ultimately space-tacular destination. Her husband, who is said to be a part-time employee of Virgin Galactic, may even join her on the flight. Flights into space with the private company are expected to begin sometime next year. Here’s hoping that Winslet gives us more notice for the voyage into outer space than she gave us for her impromptu nuptials, although I’m not really keeping my fingers crossed.