Commercial space tourism will soon become a widespread reality as the technology in the industry continues to make breakthroughs in the years to come.
Billionaire entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson—Chairman of U.K.’s Virgin Group Plc—is working towards this goal with his company Virgin Galactic. The company is working on releasing the spacecraft Virgin Space Ship (VSS), capable of bringing civilians into space.
Last month VSS conducted a test run, flying over the Mohave Desert in California. The test lasted around 3 hours, as the mother ship named WhiteKnightTwo brought the VSS spaceship to an altitude of 30,000 feet.
“Seeing the finished spaceship in December was a major day for us but watching VSS Enterprise fly for the first time really brings home what beautiful, ground-breaking vehicles Burt and his team have developed for us,” said Branson in a statement. “It comes as no surprise that the flight went so well, the team is uniquely qualified to bring this important and incredible dream to reality,” he added.
VSS is an 8-seater designed for carrying 2 pilots and 6 passengers onboard. It will be connected to a mother ship that will bring it to an altitude of 50,000 feet and then release it. After being released, VSS will blast off on a rocket of its own that will propel it to an altitude of 60 miles above earth. At this altitude, passengers will experience zero-gravity effect and also be able to see earth’s curvature.
The VSS spaceship is designed by Burt Rutan, winner of 2004 X Prize, with a prototype craft that did two consecutive trips into suborbital space carrying the weight of at least three people.
Even though the spacecraft is not completely ready to carry passengers, Virgin Galactic has already received $45 million in deposits for space flight reservations from 330 people. Tickets can be purchased today at a price of $200,000 per flight.
Besides Virgin Galactic, there are other companies slowly realizing the potential of space tourism industry.
