Earlier this month, Virgin Galactic had successfully launched its first space tourists. The spaceflight company is aiming to repeat the mission in September.
Virgin Galactic Will Fly Space Tourists Next Month
The corporation announced that Galactic 03, its third commercial spaceflight and eighth overall, will launch on Sept. 8. The launch is set from Spaceport America in New Mexico.
Galactic 03 will transport three paying passengers to and from suborbital space. Virgin Galactic hasn't yet named the next batch of space tourists, but they reportedly bought their tickets for a while.
The three Galactic 03 crew members are the first of Virgin Galactic's group of "Founder" astronauts. According to the company, these inaugural customers' forward-thinking vision and early ticket purchases helped make the dream of routine commercial spaceflights a reality. Since purchasing their tickets in 2005, the Galactic 03 crew has taken an active role in the company's thriving Future Astronaut community.
The three passengers on Galactic 03 are "founding astronauts," so it's possible that they didn't spend that much; nonetheless, Virgin Galactic is presently selling tickets for $450,000; the cost of a seat has increased several times over the years.
The passengers of Galactic 03 will travel in VSS Unity, a spacecraft operated by Virgin Galactic and steered by Nicola Pecile and Michael Masucci. The company's carrier aircraft, VMS Eve, which will drop the vehicle at roughly 50,000 feet (15,000 meters), will lift off the vehicle beneath its wings.
Then, Unity will launch itself into suborbital space using its onboard rocket motor. Before returning to Earth for a runway landing at Spaceport America, the guests will experience a brief period of weightlessness and observe Earth against the darkness of space.
The flight will be live-streamed on VirginGalactic.com.
Virgin Galactic's First Space Tourism Flight Was a Success
On Aug. 10, Galactic 02 blasted off with three passengers - 80-year-old former Olympian from the United Kingdom, Jon Goodwin, and mother and daughter, Keisha Schahaff and Anastatia Mayers, respectively. It was a historic flight as it was the first time civilians were flown into space.
The mother and daughter won their tickets for the voyage. Meanwhile, Goodwin brought his ticket for $250,000 in 2005. He was the second person with Parkinson's disease to go to space.
The first female Caribbean astronauts are from Antigua, Schahaff, and Mayers. Schahaff believed that the females from the island would feel unstoppable after the encounter. She wished kids would understand that it was acceptable to fantasize and to have "crazy dreams."
Schahaff described the encounter as being lovely in retrospect. She noted that following it, she felt a complete connection. Her daughter Mayers described it as being "so deep within yourself," similar to how one feels "so truly" in love.
Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Galactic, witnessed the historic space flight with Mayer and Schahaff's families in Antigua and Barbuda. He shared some posts on Twitter during the flight. In one video, they can be seen clapping their hands and cheering. They all became emotional simultaneously, with Branson laughing while wiping away the tears from his face.
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