Table of Contents
What is Space Tourism?
Space tourism refers to a certain type of space travel that is done for pleasure or business objectives. It primarily refers to taking private persons into space for a fee. Space tourists are sometimes known as private astronauts or commercial astronauts.
To present, only the Russian Space Agency has successfully conducted regular commercial space flights, while a number of private businesses, like Virgin Galactic, are planning to do so in the near future.
“Taking more people into space will allow them, and us, to see both outward and back, but with a new viewpoint in both ways.”
Virgin Galactic is the world’s first commercial spaceline, and our mission is to connect people all over the world to the love, wonder, and amazement that space travel inspires. We think that spaceflight has the unique power to change our worldview, technology, and perhaps our evolutionary trajectory.
As the Earth’s spaceline, our goal is to alter access to space for the benefit of humanity, revealing the wonders of space to more people than ever before. Join us and help usher in this exciting new era of space exploration for mankind. We recognise that making better use of space holds the key to solving many of the problems we confront in supporting life on our beautiful, yet fragile, planet.
Virgin Galactic is a private space tourism corporation that hopes to someday transport wealthy travellers to space. The flight start date has been pushed back multiple times. Virgin Galactic, according to Branson, will be flying clients into space by 2007. Development problems, a disastrous ground test explosion in 2007 and a devastating test-flight disaster in October 2014 all contributed to the delay.
Virgin intends to launch future private space missions from the Spaceport America complex in New Mexico, but it has also agreed to build a spaceport in Abu Dhabi.
How Much Does a Virgin Space Flight Cost?
When Virgin Galactic initially began selling space voyage tickets, the price was quoted as $200,000, or roughly £150,000. However, this price was since doubled, and a ticket for a Virgin space voyage now costs $250,000, or around £175,000.
Because of the high cost, most individuals cannot afford Virgin space trips, and early waiting lists are dominated by celebrities and wealthy businesses. Nonetheless, Richard Branson has stated that he hopes to reduce the price to roughly $40,000, or £30,000, within ten years following the first flights.
Other Promising Space Tourism Companies
1. Xerox PARC
Elon Musk’s SpaceX is one of the most well-known organisations pursuing space tourism, and their objectives exceed those of Virgin Galactic. Indeed, SpaceX hopes to provide space tourism beyond Earth orbit, with journeys to the moon and return as a short-term aim and visits to Mars as a long-term goal. More information on SpaceX may be found in the article “SpaceX Information: Rockets, Spacecraft, and Spaceflights.”
2. Blue Origin 2
When it comes to short-term, sub-orbital space tourism, Blue Origin competes with Virgin Galactic. The American company, established by Amazon President Jeff Bezos, has constructed a space aircraft dubbed New Shepard and is purportedly planning to provide commercial space travel at costs comparable to those charged by Virgin Galactic. More details about Blue Origin may be found in the article “Blue Origin: Information About Blue Origin Space Flights.”
3. The Orion Span
Orion Span is a California-based aerospace firm founded by Frank Bunger. It has lofty objectives for its space tourism business, including the construction of the Aurora Space Station in low-Earth orbit. This will ultimately serve as a commercial space hotel where clients may stay. More information on Origin Span may be found in the article “Orion Span: Information About Orion Span Space Hotel.”
4. Boeing
Finally, via an arrangement with NASA, Boeing has made inroads into the space tourism market. The arrangement revolves around Boeing developing a spaceship called the CST-100 Starliner that will take people to space stations. Boeing obtained the ability to sell a limited number of tickets to tourists as part of the agreement.
Purchase a Space Flight from Virgin Galactic and Other Companies:
Virgin Galactic hopes to be the first private company to send paying clients into space, and it is one of the few organisations that has previously sold commercial space voyage tickets. So, how do you go about joining people who are already on the waiting list? We provide additional information about the various space tourism packages and explain how to purchase your ticket into space in the article “Space Flight: How to Book a Ticket into Space.”
Book a Space Hotel and a Virgin Galactic Flight
Virgin Galactic’s desire to offer commercial space trips raises the prospect that their ship may be used as a method of transportation to move from point A to point B on a regular basis. This might be crucial in the next years, when travellers for the first-time experience space hotels and accommodations. Read “Space Hotel: How to Book a Hotel in Space” to learn more about the rapidly approaching reality of space-based lodging and to discover exactly what you need to do to book a reservation in a space hotel.
The Space Industry and Virgin Galactic
Virgin Galactic is a prominent player in the space tourism sector, as well as one of the fastest-growing enterprises in the space industry as a whole. Others interested in Virgin Galactic space missions should learn more about the entire sector, including competing companies and those who may work with Virgin.
Virgin Galactic launched its billionaire founder Richard Branson, three other crew members and two pilots Sunday morning to the edge of space. Virgin Galactic will make a sub-orbital journey to get those Astronaut wings. The spaceplane reaches a maximum height of 55 miles above Earth.
The Karman line (62 miles) is recognised as the official border between Earth’s upper atmosphere and space by international aeronautic and astronautic federations in Europe; however, NASA, the Air Force, and the Federal Aviation Administration accept a minimum altitude of 50 miles.
More than 600 people have secured tickets with Virgin Galactic for $250,000 and have been waiting to travel for years. The business hopes to perform two more trips following this one before beginning commercial service next year.
The business is also planning research trips that will require low gravity in space. Virgin Galactic plans to launch from New Mexico’s Spaceport America about 10:30 a.m. ET on Sunday. The original goal time of 9 a.m. was missed due to overnight weather, according to the firm.
The company’s spaceplane SpaceShipTwo will be lifted to around 50,000 feet by the mothership WhiteKnightTwo, a custom-built plane, before it separates. CJ Sturckow and Kelly Latimer are operating the mothership, which will return to the runway as SpaceShipTwo continues on its journey.
After around six seconds, SpaceShipTwo pilots Dave Mackay and Michael Masucci will utilise the spaceplane’s hybrid rocket motor to break beyond the sound barrier. The spaceship will then reach the edge of space at approximately 300,000 feet above Earth, or around 55 miles.
Passengers will be able to unbuckle their chairs at this stage and experience weightlessness while staring out 17 windows on Earth. The spaceship’s wings will then be used by the pilots to glide back to the runway landing whence it took off.
How to View:
Virgin Galactic has not previously given a live feed of its test flights, but it intends to do so this time with several watching choices. The stream will be available on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and ViriginGalactic.com at the same time.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)
When Will the Flights Start?
Virgin Galactic will not begin commercial space travel operations until they are completely confident that doing so is safe. There is currently no set start date, but we will learn more as testing proceeds.
How Long Will the Flight Last?
The total spaceflight experience will take approximately ninety minutes from departure to return.
What About Visa and Immigration Requirements?
Flights operate from Spaceport America in New Mexico therefore normal United States entry requirements (ESTA) will apply. There are currently no additional requirements for space travel.
What Are the Health Prerequisites?
Because spaceflight has always been reserved for professional astronauts, who are undoubtedly among the fittest and healthiest people on the world, health is one of the important considerations Virgin Galactic has had to carefully examine. With the safety of its passengers in mind, Virgin Galactic will require spaceflight passengers to undergo a medical check that is personalised to the individual and based on their medical history.
This will offer an accurate evaluation of their fitness to fly and allow Virgin Galactic to adapt pre-flight preparations to ensure passengers have the finest spaceflight experience possible. If a traveller is unable to fly due to illness, their deposit will be returned.
Are There Any Age Restrictions?
Reservations are only accepted for those aged 18 and over. There are currently no upper age limits but you will need to meet minimum health and fitness requirements.
