US launches first tourists into space in coming months
Founder and CEO of Virgin Galactic, British billionaire Richard Branson, made a very optimistic forecast for space tourism. According to him, before the era of flights of tourists into space, it was not months, but months, to wait.
Not so long ago, Branson's company held successful tests of its suborbital spacecraft VSS Unity, and now the billionaire promises the most real flights on the ship, these are models. We are talking about the SpaceShipTwo model (VSS Unity - the name of the ship itself). The launch is carried out together with the carrier aircraft WhiteKnightTwo, which raises the spacecraft to the desired height, and then it is launched using its already supersonic engines.
While the price of the issue remains impressive - a ticket to an unforgettable journey, during which you will find yourself in a state of weightlessness for a few minutes, will cost $ 250, but this is a huge leap from what originally appeared in the news space tourism figure of $ 20-40 million, and even from the named $ 10 million, which Orion Space asks for rest on "Aurora Stations" the first (not yet built) hotel in orbit. In addition, it is noted that the cost will subsequently decline.
The 67-year-old Virgin Galactic founder, who had already embarked on all the necessary pre-flight tests, including training in a centrifuge, volunteered to be one of the first tourists. In addition to Branson himself, the list of people who want to take part in the flight is already 650 people. Given the SpaceShipTwo capacity of 8 people (including two pilots), servicing only this number of customers will require more than one year.
Not so long ago, Branson's company held successful tests of its suborbital spacecraft VSS Unity, and now the billionaire promises the most real flights on the ship, these are models. We are talking about the SpaceShipTwo model (VSS Unity - the name of the ship itself). The launch is carried out together with the carrier aircraft WhiteKnightTwo, which raises the spacecraft to the desired height, and then it is launched using its already supersonic engines.
While the price of the issue remains impressive - a ticket to an unforgettable journey, during which you will find yourself in a state of weightlessness for a few minutes, will cost $ 250, but this is a huge leap from what originally appeared in the news space tourism figure of $ 20-40 million, and even from the named $ 10 million, which Orion Space asks for rest on "Aurora Stations" the first (not yet built) hotel in orbit. In addition, it is noted that the cost will subsequently decline.
The 67-year-old Virgin Galactic founder, who had already embarked on all the necessary pre-flight tests, including training in a centrifuge, volunteered to be one of the first tourists. In addition to Branson himself, the list of people who want to take part in the flight is already 650 people. Given the SpaceShipTwo capacity of 8 people (including two pilots), servicing only this number of customers will require more than one year.
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