Space tourism venture Virgin Galactic plans three space flights a month from 2023
The announcement comes after the company delayed ramping up its commercial flights this year, pushing back its space debut.
- Nov 9, 2021,
- Updated Nov 9, 2021 12:09 PM IST
Space tourism venture Virgin Galactic expects to be flying paying passengers three times monthly in 2023. The announcement comes after the company delayed ramping up its commercial flights this year, pushing back its space debut. Virgin Galactic, the company founded by ace entrepreneur Richard Branson, said that 100 people have already purchased more expensive tickets to fly on the spaceplane after reopening ticket sales this August.
In October, the company announced that it would not resume commercial flight operations until the end of 2022 due to a comprehensive enhancement of the company’s vehicles. The company completes an overhaul of its carrier plane, VMS Eve, which requires new horizontal stabilizers and a redesigned pylon to carry the spaceships to their drop altitude.
The company plans to offer three flights a month after it completes upgrades to its carrier airplane and introduces a second spaceship, Chief Executive Officer Michael Colglazier said Monday on a call with analysts.
Along with VSS Unity, Virgin Galactic rolled out another vehicle, VSS Imagine, in March, and the company is working on another vehicle called VSS Inspire. The start-up’s new VSS Imagine spaceship is to begin flight tests in early 2023 and will be flying twice-monthly later that year, joining the current VSS Unity ship, which will fly about once per month, Colglazier said.
“The pricing strategy we announced last quarter has been well received,” Colglazier said during a presentation on the company’s third-quarter earnings. Tickets were offered to a group of individuals who’d put down a refundable $1,000 deposit, showing their interest in flying with Virgin Galactic. Early next year, the company will open up ticket sales to people who inquire about flight information.
The company opted to list tickets at $450,000, significantly higher than the $250,000 price tag during Virgin Galactic’s initial ticketing round years ago. To secure a ticket, customers had to put down a $150,000 deposit, $25,000 of which was non-refundable, according to Colglazier.
Virgin Galactic reopened ticket sales a month after the company successfully flew its founder, Richard Branson, to the edge of space and back to VSS Unity, its primary spaceplane in July in Spaceport America in New Mexico. The company’s spacecraft are dropped from the carrier at about 50,000 feet before igniting a rocket motor and continuing to space.
Space tourism venture Virgin Galactic expects to be flying paying passengers three times monthly in 2023. The announcement comes after the company delayed ramping up its commercial flights this year, pushing back its space debut. Virgin Galactic, the company founded by ace entrepreneur Richard Branson, said that 100 people have already purchased more expensive tickets to fly on the spaceplane after reopening ticket sales this August.
In October, the company announced that it would not resume commercial flight operations until the end of 2022 due to a comprehensive enhancement of the company’s vehicles. The company completes an overhaul of its carrier plane, VMS Eve, which requires new horizontal stabilizers and a redesigned pylon to carry the spaceships to their drop altitude.
The company plans to offer three flights a month after it completes upgrades to its carrier airplane and introduces a second spaceship, Chief Executive Officer Michael Colglazier said Monday on a call with analysts.
Along with VSS Unity, Virgin Galactic rolled out another vehicle, VSS Imagine, in March, and the company is working on another vehicle called VSS Inspire. The start-up’s new VSS Imagine spaceship is to begin flight tests in early 2023 and will be flying twice-monthly later that year, joining the current VSS Unity ship, which will fly about once per month, Colglazier said.
“The pricing strategy we announced last quarter has been well received,” Colglazier said during a presentation on the company’s third-quarter earnings. Tickets were offered to a group of individuals who’d put down a refundable $1,000 deposit, showing their interest in flying with Virgin Galactic. Early next year, the company will open up ticket sales to people who inquire about flight information.
The company opted to list tickets at $450,000, significantly higher than the $250,000 price tag during Virgin Galactic’s initial ticketing round years ago. To secure a ticket, customers had to put down a $150,000 deposit, $25,000 of which was non-refundable, according to Colglazier.
Virgin Galactic reopened ticket sales a month after the company successfully flew its founder, Richard Branson, to the edge of space and back to VSS Unity, its primary spaceplane in July in Spaceport America in New Mexico. The company’s spacecraft are dropped from the carrier at about 50,000 feet before igniting a rocket motor and continuing to space.