How much will Virgin Galactic’s first commercial space flight cost and what will happen on board?
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Virgin Galactic is Richard Branson’s commercial spaceflight company, first announced as an idea in 2009.
It promises to provide space for all of humanity as tourists can pay for an experience like no other.
The first flight with tourists will take place later this year and the demand for the future missions is apparently high.
So how much will it cost those interested? Find out the answer and everything else you need to know about Virgin Galactic below.
Virgin Galactic is Richard Branson’s commercial aerospace company, which has been in operation since 2009
The project takes paying customers to a suborbital altitude of 80 km in a 90-minute flight
Tourists can count on almost half a million dollars for a ticket, but apparently it is in high demand
What is Virgin Galactic?
Virgin Galactic is Richard Branson’s commercial aerospace company, which has been in operation since 2009.
The first flight, Galactic 01, will launch at 4pm UK time on June 29, but with no paying customers on board.
Instead, it will carry three crew members from the Italian Air Force and Italy’s National Research Council with one astronaut instructor from Virgin Galactic.
If successful, Galactic 01 could pave the way for tourists heading to space on other Galactic flights later this year.
How much do Virgin Galactic tickets cost?
Eventually, if they can, a ticket for tourists to have the space experience will cost $450,000.
Organizers have said this is a price people are willing to pay, and “demand is high,” according to the Virgin Galactic website, with hundreds of customers already lining up.
Galactic 01 is a crewed research mission from the Italian Air Force and the National Research Council of Italy together with a Virgin Galactic astronaut instructor
How much does it cost to build the Virgin Galactic spacecraft?
According to research by New space economyeach flight will incur operating costs of $586,000, including the cost of running the engines and the customer’s insurance.
To build the plane – of which there are currently three – is expected to cost about $35 million each.
This means that one aircraft only needs 17 flights to become profitable, while they are built to last ten years, and the company hopes to eventually fly every 50 times a year.
When is the first Galactic flight for tourists?
After Galactic 01’s science mission at the end of June, the first flight with tourists is scheduled for August.
Galactic 02 has not yet marked a specific date, but will take place early this month.
According to the company’s website, flights are expected to operate once a month from then on, though they hope to expand their flight schedule within the first year.
What happens on board?
The passenger plane is launched from an aircraft carrier at 15 km, before ascending independently to an altitude of 80 km
The design of the cabin is quite minimalist – with seats, windows and a large rear-view mirror making up most of the layout
Galactic flights should last 90 minutes, starting with a launch from 15 km above Earth from an aircraft carrier.
That’s already higher than typical commercial jets will fly, which are only up to eight miles high.
The plane and crew will then ascend to 50 miles (80 km) above our planet, a suborbital altitude, meaning they will reach the edge of space without actually going into orbit.
Once the spaceplane reaches the edge of space, it hovers in place for five minutes to allow passengers to experience gravity, and the amazing view of both space and Earth from the series of windows in the plane’s roof and sides. .