Virgin Galactic has revealed that 100 people have shelled out $450,000 for a flight on its suborbital spaceplane. This also means that the total number of reservations for its upcoming spaceflight service has reached 700, with 600 of them having paid $250,000 before the seat prices surged to $450,000.
The space company revealed these details in its latest earnings reports, released on November 9. The company is aiming to launch a space tourism service by the end of next year to send passengers around 55 miles above our planet for a few minutes of weightlessness and unmatched views of our planet, before returning.
Space tourism service in the offing
It hoped to kick off the service by mid-2022, but recently it noted that more time will be required to inspect its VSS Unity suborbital spaceplane, and also VMS Eve, which flies Unity on the first stage of its ascend, to keep the vehicle’s structural integrity intact.
“We are entering our fleet enhancement period with a clear roadmap for increasing the durability, reliability, and predictability of our vehicles in preparation for commercial service next year,” said Michael Colglazier, CEO of Virgin Galactic, in Virgin Galactic’s earnings report.
“Demand for space travel is strong, and we’ve been selling seats ahead of the pace we had planned. This demonstrates the incredible market for our product and appreciation for the value of the unique experience we offer,” he added.
Billionaire space race getting fierce
Virgin Galactic is locking horns with Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin in the space tourism sector. The company’s first crewed flight sent Bezos and three others to the edge of space on its New Shepard rocket, just nine days after Branson’s spaceflight.
Besides, Jeff Bezos has also shown interest in taking things to another level by building a commercial space station in low-Earth orbit. Blue Origin revealed its ambitious plan at the International Astronautical Congress in Dubai on October 25. The space station will be called Orbital Reef and would be hosting astronauts from around the world. It will be also be used for scientific experiments in microgravity conditions.
