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Virgin Galactic’s first commercial flight took off today, which could mark the official start of space tourism. Who is behind the company, how is the business doing, and who is the biggest competitor?
Space tourism company Virgin Galactic has completed its first commercial space flight. During the “VSS Unity” flight, which lasted a total of 90 minutes, two members of the Italian Air Force and an Italian researcher spent several minutes in zero gravity and carried out a series of experiments. Virgin Galactic’s spaceship will be the first to send tourists into space.
Founded by British billionaire Richard Branson
For Virgin Galactic, the flight may be the most important in the company’s history. Chief Michael Colglazier spoke of “a new era of repeatable and reliable access to space.” In 2021, the company won approval from the U.S. government to carry paying passengers on short trips to space. It was founded in 2004 by Richard Branson. The British billionaire is known for his lavish lifestyle and daring campaigns. He built an empire around the Virgin brand.
In the early 1970s, Branson and friends started the chain of record stores that would become Virgin Records. The start was brilliant: Mike Oldfield’s “Tubular Bells” record hit in 1973, and Branson laid the foundation for his future empire. The label later signed punk band the Sex Pistols, and eventually had their breakthrough with them.
Branson then formed a group of companies, the Virgin Group. Branson entered the airline industry with Virgin Atlantic in the mid-1980s. When the airline finally ran into financial trouble in 1992, he had to sell the record label for $1 billion to save the company. The Virgin group also includes retail chains, financial services providers and a rail company. In addition, the Brits have poured money into more exclusive ventures – such as Virgin Galactic.
first manned test flight about two years ago
However, Branson isn’t alone in thinking about pushing the boundaries of humanity. It’s clearly a prestigious and symbolic topic for other billionaires as well. Virgin Galactic, for example, finds itself facing stiff competition from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and Tesla boss Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which also wants to send tourists into space and has already done so. did. Virgin Galactic’s space tourism program has been delayed, especially after a 2014 accident that killed a pilot.
About two years ago, Branson finally flew his spacecraft into space for the first time. The 72-year-old conducted a test flight on the “VSS Unity” with two astronauts — just nine days ahead of Bezos. At the time, the trip was a successful PR coup against a rival that had already spent heavily touting his spaceflight. According to Virgin Galactic, the second spacecraft of the SpaceShipTwo class, VSS Unity, has climbed to an altitude of more than 80 kilometers. For comparison: The International Space Station The International Space Station is about 400 kilometers above the Earth’s surface.
Monthly tourist flights from August
However, some complications arose during the flight. According to the FAA, the spacecraft “deviated from air traffic control clearance” and flew outside its designated airspace corridor for nearly two minutes. Additionally, Virgin Galactic did not immediately notify the FAA of the issue. As a result, the authorities issued a launch ban on the aerospace plane, which was conditionally lifted three weeks later. It wasn’t until the end of May that “VSS Unity” completed its space test flight again after a nearly two-year hiatus.
Following today’s research flight, Virgin Galactic intends to conduct monthly flights with “VSS Unity” starting in August to give tourists a look at Earth. In 2026, the speed of the new spacecraft is expected to increase significantly. According to the company, Delta can carry six passengers, double the number, and fly once a week. The first test flight is planned for 2025. Cost point: $50-$60 million per spacecraft plus operating and depreciation expenses.
In return, Virgin Galactic expects to earn $2.7 million per flight. The company has sold about 800 charts for commercial space travel over the past decade. Interested parties are currently paying $450,000 for tickets, down from the original $200,000.
tour group Numbers in space are increasing
The potential revenue from all space tourism in 2030 is $3 billion to $12 billion, according to investment banks and industry servicers. However, spaceflight is risky, difficult to calculate and expensive. To save costs, Virgin Galactic combined aerospace with aerospace. After the carrier-based aircraft first brought the spacecraft from the runway to an altitude of about 15 kilometers, the spacecraft flew alone. SpaceX and Blue Origin, on the other hand, rely more on traditional rocket launches. Space tourism has grown significantly recently – and will continue to do so.
Last year, Blue Origin sent six people into space on an excursion using its highly automated New Shepard rocket system. On the first flight in July 2021, Amazon founder Bezos himself will be on board. The second, in October 2021, was attended by then 90-year-old Canadian actor William Shatner, best known for his role as “Captain Kirk” on “Star Trek.” In May, a privately funded spacecraft brought four space tourists to the International Space Station. Led by a former NASA astronaut, an American, a woman and a man from Saudi Arabia travel on the Axiom 2 mission to humanity’s outpost in Earth orbit.
SpaceX went one step further. Elon Musk’s team, which first launched four passengers into space in 2021, hopes not only to bring tourists into low-Earth orbit, but also to enable crewed missions to the Moon and Mars. In April, the expected rocket system “Starship” was tested for the first time as a whole – consisting of a “Super Heavy” booster about 70 meters long and an upper stage (also called “Starship”) about 50 meters long. The space company still considers the test a success, even though it ended in an unexpected explosion just minutes after it started.
Information from Till Bücker, ARD Finance.