NASA is its biggest customer, relying on SpaceX to ferry its astronauts to and from the International Space Station since 2020. SpaceX, is the only private company flying customers all the way to orbit, charging a much heftier price, too: tens of millions of dollars per seat. The capsule, carrying experiments but no passengers, landed intact. Blue Origin has launched 31 people so far, but flights are on hold following a rocket crash last fall. Like Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin aims for the fringes of space, quick ups-and-downs from West Texas. In contrast, the capsules used by SpaceX and Blue Origin are fully automated and parachute back down. Passengers can unstrap from their seats, float around the cabin for a few minutes and take in the sweeping views of Earth, before the space plane glides back home and lands on a runway. Once the mothership reaches about 50,000 feet (10 miles or 15 kilometers), the space plane is released and fires its rocket motor to make the final push to just over 50 miles (80 kilometers) up. Virgin Galactic’s rocket ship launches from the belly of an airplane, not from the ground, and requires two pilots in the cockpit. About 800 people are currently on Virgin Galactic’s waiting list, according to the company. Italian military and government researchers soared in June on the first commercial flight. Branson, the company’s founder, hopped on board for the first full-size crew ride in 2021. It was Virgin Galactic’s seventh trip to space since 2018, but the first with a ticket-holder. Also on board: Two pilots and the company’s astronaut trainer. He was joined by sweepstakes winner Keisha Schahaff, 46, a health coach from Antigua, and her daughter, Anastatia Mayers, 18, a student at Scotland’s University of Aberdeen. Ticket prices were $200,000 when Goodwin signed up. “I hope it shows them that these obstacles can be the start rather than the end to new adventures,” he said in a statement. The 80-year-old athlete - he competed in canoeing in the 1972 Olympics - has Parkinson’s disease and wants to be an inspiration to others.
Virgin Galactic passenger Jon Goodwin, who was among the first to buy a ticket in 2005, said he had faith that he would someday make the trip. Richard Branson’s company expects to begin offering monthly trips to customers on its winged space plane, joining Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX in the space tourism business. The rocket ship reached about 55 miles (88 kilometers) high. The space plane glided back to a runway landing at Spaceport America in the New Mexico desert, after a brief flight that gave passengers a few minutes of weightlessness.Ĭheers erupted from families and friends watching from below when the craft’s rocket motor fired after it was released from the plane that had carried it aloft. READ MORE: Astronauts get first look at the Artemis II spacecraft that will fly them around the moon (AP) - Virgin Galactic rocketed to the edge of space with its first tourists Thursday, including a former British Olympian who bought his ticket 18 years ago and a mother-daughter duo from the Caribbean. The updates to our airspace and real-time mission notification protocols will strengthen our preparations as we move closer to the commercial launch of our spaceflight experience," Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier said in a press release.TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES, N.M. Our test flight program is specifically designed to continually improve our processes and procedures. "We appreciate the FAA's thorough review of this inquiry. Shares of Virgin Galactic jumped as much as 10% in after-hours trading from its close of $22.56. The company said that it updated its calculations "to expand the protected airspace" during future missions, as well as taken "additional steps" to the FAA receives "real-time mission notifications." Virgin Galactic has made "required changes" to its communications during spaceflight operations, the FAA noted. "The investigation found the Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo vehicle deviated from its assigned airspace on its descent from space," the FAA said in a statement, adding that "Virgin Galactic failed to communicate the deviation" as required. Personal Loans for 670 Credit Score or Lower Personal Loans for 580 Credit Score or Lower Best Debt Consolidation Loans for Bad Credit
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