THERE are just three days left on the countdown until Virgin Galactic embarks on its first-ever commercial spaceflight.
The launch is set allow Richard Branson’s space company to finally compete with Elon Musk‘s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin.
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Yesterday, Virgin Galactic revealed the crew members who will be aboard the upcoming “Galactic 01” mission on 29 June.
Colin Bennett, Virgin Galactic’s lead astronaut instructor, will be joined by Walter Villadei and Angelo Landolfi — two senior members of the Italian airforce — and Pantaleone Carlucci, a pilot and technical engineer from the National Research Council of Italy.
So, how much does it cost?
It’s not cheap.
But a once-in-a-lifetime trip to the stars was never going to be.
The total sum is an eye-watering $450,000 (£353,000).
However, it’s not one lump sum.
First, paying customers must hand over $10,000 (£7,860) to Virgin Galactic for a temporary credit card authorisation to submit their Spaceflight Application.
This is what guarantees your application is reviewed by the company.
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Once your application is accepted, you’ll be invited to discuss details and questions in a personal call with Virgin Galactic’s so-called Astronaut Office.
If you decide to make a firm reservation, you will then complete preliminary paperwork and pay a $150,000 (£118,000) deposit.
This is when your journey to space is officially confirmed, and you can start to get excited.
In the year before you fly, the remaining $300,000 (£236,000) balance is due.
Starry-eyed adventurers will be able to get $125,000 (£98,250) of their deposit back.
However, the other $25,000 (£19,650) is not refundable – and is simply the price you pay to win the title of ‘astronaut’.
That US space agency, alongside the US Air Force, award astronaut status to anyone who gets above 50 miles (80km).
In the successful launch in May, the VSS Unity spaceplane was suspended 54.2 miles above Earth’s surface for three minutes – when passengers could feel the weightlessness that comes from being that far from the planet.
The exclusivity in the number of seats helps us folk on the ground better understand the lofty price tag.
Only six people can fly at one time, which includes two pilots.
How long is the Virgin Galactic flight?
The flight, dubbed Galactic 01, will take just 90 minutes.
It’s the average length of a movie, but for around 30,000 times the price of a £15 cinema ticket.
But they make sure their passengers are comfortable, and have a good view out of one of the 17 port-hole-style windows inside the rocket.
While the time in space in short, and even shorter in microgravity (when flyers will be able to feel weightless), the time will be spent wisely.
The cabin of the SpaceShipTwo vehicle VSS Unity — the rocket-powered spaceplane housing Virgin Galactic’s passengers — has been converted into a suborbital science lab.
The crew will be conducting a series of suborbital science experiments during the 90 minute flight, including testing equipment for measuring cosmic radiation and studying various materials in microgravity conditions.
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