Virgin Galactic

Virgin Galactic is a company of the Virgin Group of the billionaire Richard Branson. This company has like drank to sell suborbital flights with the public.

Goal

Virgin Galactic plans to send in orbit 500 passengers per year to the cost of: 200000 $US each one, at an altitude of 100 km with a 7 minutes total in Weightlessness.

To date, only approximately 500 astronauts took off of the Earth. At present, only the Russian federal Space agency sends tourists in space to the cost of: 20000000 $US for a one 10 days duration stay.

Space vehicle

During the race of the Ansari X-Prize, Virgin Galactic signs an agreement of a value of: 21000000 $US with Mojave Aerospace Ventures with an aim of financing the development of the space Tourism. The agreement is announced by Branson and Burt Rutan on September 27th, 2004 with the Royal Aeronautical Society with London. The plan envisages the construction of 5 space vehicles based on the SpaceShipOne. After having gained Ansari X-Prize on October 4th, 2004, construction begins in 2005 in forecasts to make tens, to see hundreds, tests in 2007.

The vehicle used for tourist sending will be equipped with 6 places plus 2 pilots. The total duration of the voyage will be 3 a.m. including 7 minutes in weightlessness. The company envisages to allow the passengers to be detached their seats and to float in the cabin to benefit the maximum of the experiment.

The vehicle will fly a little higher than SpaceShipOne to allow one longer duration in weightlessness. SpaceShipTwo is the name of the prototype vehicle of Virgin. The construction of five SpaceShipTwo and two WhiteKnightTwo will be necessary to the realization of the project.

Reservations

Branson suggested the initial price of the tickets with: 200000 $US for a suborbital flight including 2 days of drive. The company estimates the market potential between: 7000 and: 15000 customers over one period of 2008 to 2013. Moreover, they estimate that only: 5000 customers, over these 5 years, would be enough to make profitable the company. The profits of the first flights would be reinvested to make more accessible the price of the tickets. Among the interested people to have expressed their desire to belong to the first customers, there is the guitarist Dave Navarro group Jane' S Addiction, the actress of Alien Sigourney Weaver, the realizer Bryan Singer, the musician Moby and Paris Hilton. Richard Branson has to him also his list of close friends and relationship wanting to take part in the experiment. In March 2005, Doug Ramsberg, of the state of the Colorado, gained its free voyage on board Virgin Galatic to a contest of the company Volvo financed by Virgin.

January 8th 2007, Stephen Hawking (65 years) announced that it envisaged to accomplish a voyage in space at the time of one of the first tourist flights of the private company in two years. “This year I envisaged a flight (atmospheric) in weightlessness before going in space in 2009”, it explained, in an interview published by the Daily Telegraph.

External bonds

Official web site
Scaled composites
XPRIZE foundation which launched the Ansari X Prize

www.voyageursdanslespace.com official distributer in France

Random links: