Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic is going to be the first company bringing ordinary people to space. One trip to zero gravity will cost $130.000, and 300 people have already confirmed their journey. Are you going to be one of those pioneers?

Spacecraft that will be used is called Space Ship II, which is an enhanced version of Space Ship I. Space Ship II will be carried by a bigger plane, White Knight II, which was introduced to public last weekend in the Mojave desert. While Space Ship II is almost (60%) ready, White Knight II is ready to fly. This interesting looking airplane is completely made of carbon fiber composite. Bob Morgan, Lead engineer at Scaled Composites, said that the vehicle is triple the weight but has capacity for 12 more passengers. The plane’s cabling system is also carbon fiber.

Virgin Galactic Opening More Space Ports

During the introduction of White Knight II, Richard Branson announced that Virgin Galactic is going to open more space ports in addition to Mexico. Countries mentioned were Sweden, Spain and Far East. This is pretty interesting, because I live in Finland, next to Sweden. As soon as the Swedish space port has been opened, I will be there checking out the places. I wish I had extra $130.000, but it seems I have to wait for lower bids..

According to various sources, few older people are going to be among the first ones traveling to space. For example, Richard Branson’s parents as well as Stephen Hawking are going to be on board. I hope Mr. Hawking will stay healthy so that he will be able to join the flight. As you might know, Stephen Hawking suffers from Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. ALS is a progressive, usually fatal, neurodegenerative disease caused by the degeneration of motor neurons, the nerve cells in the central nervous system that control voluntary muscle movement.

The first Virgin Galactic spaceships will be called “Spirit of Steve Fossett” after Sir Richard’s friend and his mother, “Eve”. According to Wikipedia, “James Stephen Fossett (April 22, 1944 - missing September 3, 2007, declared legally dead February 15, 2008) was an American aviator, sailor, and adventurer who became the first person to fly solo nonstop around the world in a balloon. He made his fortune in the financial services industry and was best known for many world records, including five nonstop circumnavigations of the Earth: as a long-distance solo balloonist, as a sailor, and as a solo flight fixed-wing aircraft pilot”.

Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic is having a dream-come-true project. It is really fascinating to see ordinary people travelling to space and experiencing zero gravity. It is absolutely revolutionary! I wish I was going to join the first flights..

Source [Gizmodo via Techeblog]