To infinity and beyond
Issue date: 3/27/08 Section: Opinions
Wouldn't it be totally awesome to go into space? Eccentric billionaire Richard Branson thinks so. His brand-new space tourism venture, Virgin Galactic, has been booking seats on suborbital flights into space, which the company's Web site thinks will be possible as early as 2009 in two ships - SpaceShipOne and SpaceShipTwo. The trip is what some would call pricey - patrons must leave a $20,000 deposit on a $200,000 seat for a relatively short voyage, including a four and a half minute period of weightlessness.
The spaceships of the Virgin Galactic fleet are carried to an altitude of 50,000 feet before being launched, in a matter of seconds, to a speed of almost 2,500 miles per hour, or thrice the speed of sound. Once the rockets have carried the ship past the atmosphere, they are turned off and the passengers are encouraged to leave their seats for a brief period of total weightlessness before the spacecraft reenters the atmosphere for its return trip back to earth. At this time, only suborbital flight options are being offered by Virgin Galactic, although there have already been three tourists that have been taken by other companies on orbital tours of the planet, but for a much steeper price. Orbital flight tours, sometimes including a one-week stay at a space station, will cost interested patrons up to $20 million.
Due to the complications involved in launching a spacecraft into orbit around the earth, suborbital flights will have to do for most of those people interested in space tourism. Not only does it require more money to be spent on fuel to reach the desired altitude, but careful planning is necessary in order to chart a course for the craft that won't interfere with the orbital paths of the myriad satellites and other large bodies currently orbiting the planet. In this scenario, the craft is launched to an altitude above the atmosphere but below the necessary level to maintain an orbital path around the earth, and the accelerators are switched off, allowing the craft to drift in a parabolic course, eventually reentering the atmosphere in order to make a landing. Individuals are offered a brief, but spectacular view of the earth from space.
The spaceships of the Virgin Galactic fleet are carried to an altitude of 50,000 feet before being launched, in a matter of seconds, to a speed of almost 2,500 miles per hour, or thrice the speed of sound. Once the rockets have carried the ship past the atmosphere, they are turned off and the passengers are encouraged to leave their seats for a brief period of total weightlessness before the spacecraft reenters the atmosphere for its return trip back to earth. At this time, only suborbital flight options are being offered by Virgin Galactic, although there have already been three tourists that have been taken by other companies on orbital tours of the planet, but for a much steeper price. Orbital flight tours, sometimes including a one-week stay at a space station, will cost interested patrons up to $20 million.
Due to the complications involved in launching a spacecraft into orbit around the earth, suborbital flights will have to do for most of those people interested in space tourism. Not only does it require more money to be spent on fuel to reach the desired altitude, but careful planning is necessary in order to chart a course for the craft that won't interfere with the orbital paths of the myriad satellites and other large bodies currently orbiting the planet. In this scenario, the craft is launched to an altitude above the atmosphere but below the necessary level to maintain an orbital path around the earth, and the accelerators are switched off, allowing the craft to drift in a parabolic course, eventually reentering the atmosphere in order to make a landing. Individuals are offered a brief, but spectacular view of the earth from space.