EDMONTON—It travels over three times the speed of sound and flies up to 10 kilometres above the established boundary of Earth’s atmosphere, allowing passengers to experience a few minutes of weightlessness and a view of Earth from outer space.
That is the once-in-a-lifetime thrill Virgin Galactic, a company within British business tycoon Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, is offering paying passengers on its suborbital spacecraft VSS Enterprise.
Also known as SpaceShipTwo, the spacecraft uses the basic technology of SpaceShipOne that in 2004 won the Ansari X Award given to the first private sector-built manned spacecraft to reach space twice within two weeks.
The spacecraft marked a milestone last week after a successful landing in its first manned, gliding-free flight. It was released from the WhiteKnightTwo mothership at an altitude of 14 kilometers above the Mojave Desert in California.
“Now, the sky is no longer the limit and we will begin the process of pushing beyond to the final frontier of space itself over the next year,” Branson said in a news release following the test.
The preparation and build-up to the first flight has become subject of a new documentary series that started airing in the National Geographic Channel this week.
While there are other companies working on developing their own commercial suborbital spaceflights, Virgin remains confident that it will be the first to the market. No firm date for the inaugural flight has been determined yet, though it is expected to take place sometime in 2011.
The VSS Enterprise is twice the size of its predecessor and can carry two pilots and six passengers.
Tickets on the spacecraft cost US$200,000 with a minimum required deposit of US$20,000. Virgin Galactic says 370 customers from around the world have already signed up, their deposits totalling US$50 million.
In energy-rich Alberta, seven people have already registered to be on the suborbital flight to space.
“I have several more inquiries, I would be very disappointed if I’m not up to at least 10 by Christmas,” says Michael Broadhurst, managing director of the Calgary-based Vision2000 Travel Group, the only travel agency in the Prairies accredited to sell tickets for the flight.
Broadhurst attributes the relatively higher demand in Alberta compared to other areas in Canada to the “pioneering spirit” of Albertans.
“They are more adventurous… they have that entrepreneurial adventurist spirit, and I think they just want to get it out there,” he says.
The trip is not the most expensive package the travel agency offers, as they could arrange a luxury or adventure trip that could cost just as much for a weekend, but it is the first one going to outer space.
“This one is expensive for a very, or comparatively short, experience, but it is in my opinion just a huge rush. I can’t think of anything more thrilling than doing this,” Broadhurst says.
He adds that the travellers’ experience begins the moment they put down their deposits, as they get invited to different events such as the opening this week of Spaceport America in New Mexico that will serve as Virgin Galactic’s operating base, and other VIP events. Passengers also undergo three days of preparation before the flight.
Virgin Galactic plans to fly 500 people in the first year and 50,000 in the first 10 years.
That is the once-in-a-lifetime thrill Virgin Galactic, a company within British business tycoon Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, is offering paying passengers on its suborbital spacecraft VSS Enterprise.
Also known as SpaceShipTwo, the spacecraft uses the basic technology of SpaceShipOne that in 2004 won the Ansari X Award given to the first private sector-built manned spacecraft to reach space twice within two weeks.
The spacecraft marked a milestone last week after a successful landing in its first manned, gliding-free flight. It was released from the WhiteKnightTwo mothership at an altitude of 14 kilometers above the Mojave Desert in California.
“Now, the sky is no longer the limit and we will begin the process of pushing beyond to the final frontier of space itself over the next year,” Branson said in a news release following the test.
The preparation and build-up to the first flight has become subject of a new documentary series that started airing in the National Geographic Channel this week.
While there are other companies working on developing their own commercial suborbital spaceflights, Virgin remains confident that it will be the first to the market. No firm date for the inaugural flight has been determined yet, though it is expected to take place sometime in 2011.
The VSS Enterprise is twice the size of its predecessor and can carry two pilots and six passengers.
Tickets on the spacecraft cost US$200,000 with a minimum required deposit of US$20,000. Virgin Galactic says 370 customers from around the world have already signed up, their deposits totalling US$50 million.
In energy-rich Alberta, seven people have already registered to be on the suborbital flight to space.
“I have several more inquiries, I would be very disappointed if I’m not up to at least 10 by Christmas,” says Michael Broadhurst, managing director of the Calgary-based Vision2000 Travel Group, the only travel agency in the Prairies accredited to sell tickets for the flight.
Broadhurst attributes the relatively higher demand in Alberta compared to other areas in Canada to the “pioneering spirit” of Albertans.
“They are more adventurous… they have that entrepreneurial adventurist spirit, and I think they just want to get it out there,” he says.
The trip is not the most expensive package the travel agency offers, as they could arrange a luxury or adventure trip that could cost just as much for a weekend, but it is the first one going to outer space.
“This one is expensive for a very, or comparatively short, experience, but it is in my opinion just a huge rush. I can’t think of anything more thrilling than doing this,” Broadhurst says.
He adds that the travellers’ experience begins the moment they put down their deposits, as they get invited to different events such as the opening this week of Spaceport America in New Mexico that will serve as Virgin Galactic’s operating base, and other VIP events. Passengers also undergo three days of preparation before the flight.
Virgin Galactic plans to fly 500 people in the first year and 50,000 in the first 10 years.
