Oscar Losers to Get Free Virgin Galactic Tickets — NOT!

VSS Enterprise drops from WhiteKnightTwo. (Credit: Clay Observatory)

CORRECTION: Space.com says this story is false. “I can confirm that there was a model of the VG spaceship given to the Oscar VIPs, not a flight,” Virgin Galactic president and CEO George Whitesides told SPACE.com today (Feb. 28).

The New York Post reports that Oscar losers will not be going home empty handed:

The infamous “consolation prize” swag bag — presented by Distinctive Assets the morning after the Oscars to all nominees who don’t win — will include the following trinkets at these estimated retail values:

* $200,000: An orbital space flight on Virgin Galactic (allowing nominees to be among the first to fly the friendly skies of space — kind of).

Read the full story.