Image via Virgin Galactic
Virgin Galactic, which successfully launched its
maiden crewed spaceflight in July, is now offering the public a chance to purchase a seat aboard one of its future space tours. It’ll cost you a pretty penny, though, with each seat going for US$450,000.
Richard Branson’s space venture announced the new ticket sales together with its
financial results for Q2 2021, and said that it was making “meaningful progress towards commencing commercial service in 2022.”
According to Engadget, in addition to single seats, Virgin Galactic is also offering multi-seat packages for groups, and even full-flight buy outs — if you’re so inclined.
The firm’s VSS Unity spacecraft can accommodate four passengers, excluding two pilots, so a full-flight purchase would consist a total of four seats. The company said it will prioritize the “significant list of early hand-raises” who have already expressed interest, but will be accepting more reservations for future flights.
CNBC reported that Virgin Galactic’s next crewed flight will have members of the Italian Air Force onboard. After which, it will take a break till mid-2022 to refurbish the VMS Eve, its jet-powered carrier aircraft.
This means that its first official paid flight will be delayed again, with the company pushing it back from early 2022 to the third quarter of 2022.
Thinking of hoping onboard Virgin Galactic’s spaceflight? Head over to the
official site to register your interest.
[via
Engadget, cover image via
Virgin Galactic]