The company of billionaire Richard Branson raises ticket prices nearly double after the success of last month’s spaceflight.
Virgin Galactic, a company under billionaire Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, announced on August 5 that it is resuming sales of space travel tickets at a price of $450,000 per seat. The company had halted ticket sales in December 2018, shortly after the VSS Unity spacecraft made its first flight to the edge of space. At that time, the ticket price was only $250,000 per seat.
Billionaire Richard Branson experiences weightlessness during the flight on July 11. (Photo: Virgin Galactic).
The ticket resumption event follows the fourth spaceflight of the VSS Unity from the Spaceport America in New Mexico on July 11. During this journey, VSS Unity carried a full crew for the first time, including two pilots, Branson, and three other passengers to the edge of space.
Virgin Galactic offers three options for customers: purchase a single seat, buy multiple seats at once, or book an entire flight on VSS Unity or other spacecraft (for example, the newly constructed model named VSS Imagine). The company also sells tickets for microgravity research and professional astronaut training, with prices expected to be higher, around $600,000, according to Michael Colglazier, CEO of Virgin Galactic.
The VSS Unity flies to the edge of space thanks to its mothership VMS Eve. VMS Eve carries VSS Unity to an altitude of approximately 15,000 meters, then releases it. VSS Unity will ignite its rocket engine and continue to ascend to suborbital space. Passengers will have the opportunity to view Earth against the backdrop of the dark universe and experience about 3 to 4 minutes of weightlessness. The aircraft will land on the runway about an hour after takeoff.
Approximately 600 people have purchased tickets so far, according to representatives from Virgin Galactic. However, they hope this number will significantly increase due to the heightened interest following the flight on July 11.
The next flight of VSS Unity will serve passengers from the Italian Air Force, scheduled to launch at the end of September. After this journey, VMS Eve is expected to move to Mojave, California, where The Spaceship Company, a subsidiary specializing in the production of aircraft and spacecraft for Virgin Galactic, is headquartered. Here, VMS Eve will undergo a series of upgrades, including reinforcement of many structural components.
VMS Eve is expected to return to Spaceport America around mid-2022. Virgin Galactic will conduct another test flight with a full crew shortly thereafter. If everything goes according to plan, the spacecraft will begin full commercial operations in the third quarter of 2022.
