On 19 February, at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California, Virgin Galactic unveiled its second SpaceShipTwo, named VSS Unity. SpaceShipTwo is an air-launched suborbital spaceplane designed for space tourism. The name ‘Unity’ was chosen by British physicist Stephen Hawking, whose eye is prominently featured in Virgin Galactic’s logo. He also gave an amazing speech welcoming the VSS Unity. With the VSS Unity, Virgin Galactic hopes to become the world’s first commercial spaceline.
VSS Unity’s unveiling.
Professor Stephen Hawking Welcomes VSS Unity
So, what do you need to go on a trip to space with the VSS Unity? Well, first of all, lots of money, and secondly, a great desire to be among the first pioneers venturing into space. What can you expect? A few minutes of spaceflight and weightlessness, amazing views of our home planet, and a life-changing experience. Virgin Galactic seems to be a step ahead in the space tourism department. Their site really shows the beginning of space tourism, and offers a good amount of information.
Of course, going on a trip like this is not without risk. Space tourism is still in its infancy, but that doesn’t discourage people from wanting to go. Virgin Galactic already has roughly 700 future astronauts that paid the full price to get a chance of going up there. There are many critics that say suborbital spaceplanes are not the way to go because they’re just an expensive short trip for the rich, but their view is too narrow. It has to start somewhere, and it’s a learning process. This is just the first step, and innovation comes from something that precedes it. I actually think it’s the best way, taking it step by step.
We are witnessing the birth of space tourism, and it seems to be driven by the companies of billionaires who are putting their private funds to good use. Besides Richard Branson‘s Virgin Galactic, there are many more contenders that want a piece of the space tourism pie, and it’s an expensive pie filled with risk and technological advancements. Accidents have happened, and will probably happen again. Besides space exploration, technological advancements also makes it very interesting. Technological developments are going fast, and so will developments in space tourism. It might take some time for them to actually start flying, but soon they will, and we will be there, witnessing it.
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