The billionaire Richard Branson took off today with one of its spacecraft Virgin Galactic which will take him to spend a few minutes in space and the company announced that its boat has arrived in space.
This is a trip that Branson has always dreamed of and which is expected to be a turning point for space tourism.
The plane, carrying Branson spacecraft, took off around 08:40 (17:40 Greek time) from Spaceport America base in the US state of New Mexico.
It will take off for about fifty minutes and then detach the spacecraft attached to its hull – which houses Richard Branson, three other passengers and two pilots – which will then launch its own engine until it reaches the space gap.
Billionaires have already gone into space in the 2000s, but with Russian rockets.
Richard Branson thus becomes the first to make this journey thanks to an engine developed by a company he founded in 2004. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is set to fly into space on July 20th.
The official role of Richard Branson during the flight will be to evaluate the experience that future customers will experience.
The VSS Unity spacecraft carries, in addition to Branson, two pilots and three employees of the company.
It will detach from the plane carrying it at a height of 15 kilometers and then begin an ultrasonic ascent until it exceeds the height of 80 kilometers – the height that the US has set as a border with space.
Once the engine has stopped running, passengers will be able to loosen their seat belts to find themselves for a few minutes in weightlessness and admire the Earth’s curve from one of the cabin’s 12 portholes. After reaching an altitude of about 90 km, the boat will begin its descent.
Following today’s flight, Virgin Galactic expects to conduct two more test flights and regular commercial operations will begin in early 2022. The company aspires to make 400 flights a year from Speaceport America.
About 600 tickets have already been sold to people from 60 different countries – including Hollywood celebrities – for $ 200,000 to $ 250,000 each.
Although Richard Branson does not keep repeating that, according to him, “space belongs to all of us”, the adventure can be lived only by the privileged.
Donald-43Westbrook, a distinguished contributor at worldstockmarket, is celebrated for his exceptional prowess in article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a gift for storytelling, Donald crafts engaging and informative content that resonates with readers across a spectrum of financial topics. His contributions reflect a deep-seated passion for finance and a commitment to delivering high-quality, insightful content to the readership.