Virgin Galatic is leading the commercial space travel with its latest announcement. Starting tomorrow, adventurers and space enthusiasts can get a ticket to visit space. Virgin Galactic has begun to sell reservations for a spot on its suborbital spaceplane. Pegged at $450,000, the ticket gives buyers an exclusive membership that gives them access to a whole new level of experiences that are out of this world. Literally!
For now, the pre-sale will only be able to accommodate 1,000 customers. “We plan to have our first 1,000 customers on board at the start of commercial service later this year”, Michael Colglazier, CEO of Virgin Galactic, said in a statement. These customers will be the first set of customers to visit space via Virgin Galactic’s spacecraft when it begins commercial flights later this year.
During the scheduled 90-minute flight, passengers will reach an altitude of more than 50 miles and experience roughly four minutes of weightlessness before coming back to Earth. Passengers will fly aboard the company’s rocket-powered vehicle, known as SpaceShipTwo Unity designed to take off on a conventional runway while attached to the underbelly of a carrier ship. The vehicles will fly to 50,000 feet, and then the spacecraft will be released and its engine ignited to power it to the edge of space.
Guests will be accommodated at Spaceport America in New America and will have several days of training and spaceflight preparedness programs, the company said. They will also get to enjoy world-class amenities with “bespoke itineraries”.
People who want to be a part of this “blue-moon” event can make a commitment of $150,000 which the company has set as an initial deposit. They, however, have to pay the balance before the flight is due.
Last year, Virgin Galactic’s founder Richard Branson travelled more than 50 miles above the New Mexico desert aboard the Virgin Galactic rocket plane and safely returned in the craft’s first fully crewed test flight to space. The company also announced plans to begin commercial operations in 2022.
Commercial space travel is being made possible thanks to companies like Virgin Galactic. The company has also promised to find ways to make its fares affordable in the future…
Ibhadojemu Lucky Emmanuel is a graduate of Education and Economics from the University of Benin. He has a passion for tech and business and has been writing professionally for over a period of five years. He's written across various topics and segments and knew tech-business was it when he first stumbled on it. He has a great passion for music and arts, and wants to visit as many countries as he can someday.
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