Virgin Galactic Set to Give NASA Workers a Ride to Space
British billionaire Richard Branson is planning on giving NASA engineers, technologists and scientific researchers a personal ride into space on his private space shuttle venture, Virgin Galactic.
"Virgin Galactic" is preparing to become the world’s first commercial carrier in space.
The company says it has already confirmed an order from NASA for one charter suborbital spaceflight so the space agency can conduct experiments.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
"We are excited to be working with NASA to provide the research community with this opportunity to carry out experiments in space. An enormous range of disciplines can benefit from access to space, but historically, such research opportunities have been rare and expensive," said George Whitesides, chief executive of Virgin Galactic.
NASA's order includes options for two additional charter flights. Should NASA accept all the options available to them, the contract value will amount to $4.5 million.
In a statement from Virgin Galactic, the company said each space mission allows for up to 1,300 pounds of scientific experiments. They will provide a flight test engineer on every flight to monitor and interact with experiments as necessary.
This latest feature is something that has never before been available on suborbital vehicles.
Virgin Galactic is planning on having its first passenger flight sometime in 2012 from the yet-to-be finished Spaceport America in New Mexico.
Virgin Galactic's space carrier aircraft will fly "SpaceShipTwo" under its wing to 50,000 feet, where the spaceship will separate and blast off. The craft will then climb to the edge of space, which is about 60 miles above the Earth's surface.
At that suborbital altitude, passengers will experience weightlessness and see the curvature of the Earth.
The company said it has taken about 455 reservations for the first ride so far. The price per flight for an aspiring space tourists rests at $200,000.
The Spaceship Co. in Mojave currently develops the spaceships and carrier aircraft's that Virgin Galactic hopes to use in the future.
Mike Vinje, partnership development manager for both Kennedy Space Center and NASA, recently said the NASA is working with other private companies and individuals who want to do the following: launch rockets or space vehicles from Cape Canaveral or do research on space exploration or technologies.
