Forget about Florida. Have you ever considered vacationing in space? Thanks to Virgin Galactic, we are getting closer and closer to this possibility. Last year, Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo crashed in the southwest desert, killing a pilot and completely destroying the aircraft. However, Virgin is getting ready to launch a second SpaceShipTwo this month in Mojave, California for its’ first test flight.
Known for his radical ideas and sense of adventure, Sir Richard Branson launched the Virgin Galactic project in 2004, with the sole hopes of making space travel available to the public. The concept is for passengers to be carried by another aircraft until they reach 50,000 feet, when the two aircrafts will disconnect and the SpaceShip will continue its’ journey up. Passengers will be able to experience zero gravity.
Some hopeful passengers have already put down $250,000 to reserve a spot on Virgin Galactic when it actually comes out, which could be several years. After going through extensive testing, the aircraft must be certified and licensed by the FAA, which is not an easy task in this field. There are several other companies trying to send people to space, including Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin. It will be exciting to see this actually happen in the near future!
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