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Virgin Galactic preps SpaceShipTwo
Virgin Galactic continues its march toward bringing space tourism to the (wealthy) masses and is reportedly putting the finishing touches on SpaceShipTwo, the vehicle that will take adventurous, and well heeled, travelers into sub-orbit. According to this story from the Telegraph, test flights are scheduled to begin in early 2010, with regular flights getting underway in 2012. SpaceShipTwo is the second stage of a planned orbital delivery system. The first stage, dubbed WhiteKnightTwo, has been conducting test flights for a year, and will carry the smaller craft up to 50,000 feet. Upon reaching that altitude, SpaceShipTwo will detach and engage its own rocket engines, which will propel its passengers up to the edge of space at speeds exceeding Mach 3. Once there, the rockets will cut out, and those on board will have the opportunity to experience true weightlessness for s a brief time.
According to Virgin Galactic, more than 300 people have already payed the $200,000 ticket price to take the flight. Presumably that will include luggage fees that are all the rage with the airlines these days. Another 82,000 have expressed interest in taking future flights as well.
It appears that 2012 will be a milestone year for space tourism, as that is when the first space hotel is scheduled to open its doors too. Of course, the combined cost of hopping a flight on Virgin Galactic and spending a few days in that hotel will set you back a cool $4.6 million, but the view will be spectacular.
Filed under: Airlines, Transportation, News
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Babel Dec 2nd 2009 4:14PM
i'll book it...
Ken Dec 20th 2009 12:52PM
At this point, I am not going to jump for joy until I see some actual test flights of the supposed spacecraft. Every year, private space travel is "just three short years away!" It's been like this for the past 10 years. In 1999, private space travel was supposed to take off in 2002. In 2004 (when the X Prize was won by SS1) Rutan and Branson said private space travel was to begin in 2007. I am getting a little frustrated in how all these promises are being delayed again and again and again..... It may be better if they followed the model of Jeff Bezoz' "Blue Origin" company, by not giving a set date at all! Still, SS2 will be revealed to the public in 5 days. I am very excited for that, to say the least. Let's hope the test flights will come quickly and without delay!
Kraig Dec 2nd 2009 8:37PM
I'm right there with you Ken. It always seems to be just over the horizon. Fortunately, WhiteKnightTwo has been undergoing testing for a year now, so hopefully that's a good sign.
Looking forward to seeing SST as well.