Space tourism is the recent phenomenon of tourists paying for flights into space.
As of 2009, orbital space tourism opportunities are limited and expensive. A short while ago we only had the Russian Space Agency providing transport via their Russian Soyuz TMA-16 Spacecraft. But we’ve learned that an American based company called Virgin Galactic isn’t far behind with their SS1 and SS2 Spacecraft. And it looks like the pricetag on the Virgin Galactic flights is going to be FAR more reasonable than their Russian counterparts.
Guy Laliberte the Canadian acrobat and founder of Cirque du Soleil is set to become the seventh private space explorer when he lifts off Sept. 30 aboard the Russian Soyuz TMA-16 Spacecraft.
Laliberte booked his trip with the Russian Federal Space Agency through the U.S. firm Space Adventures, which usually charges about $30 million for the excursions. Laliberte is set to visit the International Space Station for about 12 days.
The last space tourist to fly was Charles Simonyi, a Hungarian software executive who made his second paid trip to the space station in March, also through Space Adventures. Laliberte will be making the eighth space tourist flight.
It is said that Laliberte could be the last private citizen to travel to space for a while. If NASA retires its space shuttle fleet in 2010 as planned, the Russian vehicles will be the only way to transport people to the International Space Station. In that case, available Soyuz seats could become scarce for space tourists.
But we found out that since this statement was made there has been a new company rising out of the shadows that could possibly revolutionize the space tourist industry AND the way we explore space.
The company is called Virgin Galactic Tours.
Virgin Galactic’s sub-orbital space trips promise to be the most intense and wonderful experiences that passengers have ever had. Astronauts of the past 45 years have all returned to earth struggling to convey the enormity of what they have discovered and with their perceptions clearly changed. To be able to extend that privilege to people from all walks of life has been a long held ambition at Virgin. To date more than 200 tickets have already been sold!
Get this! The cost of the flights are only $200,000 as compared to Russia’s $30 million! And I’m sure the price will go down the more popular this gets as does with just about everything.
Here’s how it will work:
The Virgin Galactic SS2 (Space Ship 2) will be carried by a revolutionary mothership called WhiteKnightTwo. She will climb to a height of around 50,000 feet (approximate cruising altitude of Concorde) where SS2 will be released before firing her rockets and accelerating in a vertical climb reaching a speed of 3.3 mach. Shortly afterward SS2 will slow to allow you to enjoy zero g and continue to climb to a total altitude of 110km or 360,888 feet – that’s 10 kilometers or 33,000 feet into space! After enjoying some of the most spectacular views and sensations ever experienced by humankind, the wings of the spacecraft will feather to allow a safe re-entry at around 6 g’s. After re-entry the wings will re-configure to allow a gentle glide back to the spaceport. On your return to terra firma you will be given your Virgin Galactic astronaut wings! To visit Virgin Galactics Video Gallery to see first hand what awaits Virgin Galactic Astronauts…Click Here.
Virgin Galactic Flight Profile of SpaceShip Two
Tags: Space, Space Tourism // Comments
