Now ready for commercial spaceflights, Virgin Galactic is filling the gaps of the imagination with a striking video explaining how future travelers can expect a trip to the cosmos to go.
The new promo, spanning almost four minutes, walks speeds you through the moment the engine’s wheels start turning, its suspension in microgravity, and when it finally touches down on Earth.
Rather than rip through the skies noisily and vertically like most rockets, Virgin Galactic gains momentum via a smooth runway takeoff, similar to those of commercial airliners. During this process, the spaceship is attached to a mothership, which makes a gradual ascension to save energy and create a comfortable experience for passengers.
When the spacecraft reaches the perfect altitude for liftoff, it’s time to break free from the mothership and pursue greater heights and speeds, which Virgin says can go up to “three times the speed of sound.”
The views are just as dynamic. Passengers will watch the atmosphere turn from blue to indigo and, finally, space-black. At this point, pilots switch off the rocket’s motors, giving passengers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to float within the now-low-gravity cabin, which is now showing beautiful sights of planet Earth beneath.
At US$450,000per ticket, one would hardly consider the experience to be bang for your buck. However, the video might justify the price, if only a little.