Virgin Galactic, which is offering space flights to the edge of the atmosphere starting in late 2009 or early 2010, has refused a $1 million proposal to shoot a sex scene in zero gravity, according to the company's president.

Will Whitehorn, president of Virgin Galactic, said the offer "was $1 million, up front, for a sex-in-space movie. That was money we had to refuse, I'm afraid."

The identity of the person or company making the offer was not revealed.

Whitehorn reported the rejected transaction on Sept. 30 during the International Astronautical Congress. He also said Virgin Galactic, part of Richard Branson's Virgin Group, is planning to begin flights of the WhiteKnightTwo aircraft in late 2009 or early 2010 from Sierra County, N.M.

The aircraft will carry the SpaceShipTwo craft, which is released during flight and then climbs to a 60-mile altitude. Passengers will get around five minutes of weightlessness as the vehicle approaches the limits of the Earth's atmosphere. Virgin Galactic is charging about $200,000 per person for the two-hour flight.

Whitehorn said that the company has received $40 million in deposits from 280 customers. Earlier this year, Whitehorn estimated that Virgin Galactic had spent some $100 million developing its business, mainly in research and development of the aircraft.

Private Media Group's 2000 release The Uranus Experiment: Part Two had a sex scene that the company said was shot in zero gravity. The production was nominated for a Nebula Award by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.