The era of space and tourism is set to soar, with highly symbolic flights by rivals Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin scheduled just days apart. Branson and Bezos face off in the space tourism market. Virgin Galactic founded by flamboyant British billionaire Richard Branson was planning for July 11 space flight. While Blue Origin started by Jeff Bezos of Amazon fame is set to blast off on July 20.
The two companies will serve the nascent market for suborbital flights lasting just a few minutes, long enough for passengers to experience weightlessness and view the contour of the planet. Branson, who heads the Virgin Group conglomerate that includes everything from entertainment to financial services to telecoms. His previous daredevil exploits include crossing the pacific in a hot air balloon and navigating the English Channel in an amphibious vehicle.
The spacecraft developed by the two companies could not be any different. Virgin Galactic spacecraft is not a classic rocket. It’s attached to the belly of a large carrier airplane that takes off from a runway.
The spacecraft can accommodate two pilots and up to six passengers. The cabin has 12 large windows and 16 cameras. Blue Origin in contrast is more of a classic rocket experience, with a vertical blast-off that accelerates to more than March 3, three times the force of Earth’s gravity.
Elon musk will be flying to space on Branson’s Virgin Galactic, Richard Branson revealed to The Times. British billionaire Richard Branson on July 10 soared more than 50 miles above the New Mexico desert aboard his Virgin Galactic rocket plane and safely returned in the vehicle’s first fully crewed test flight to space, a symbolic milestone for a venture he started 17 years ago.
Branson said: “We’re here to make space more accessible to all,”. Branson said shortly after embracing his grandchildren following the flight, “Welcome to the dawn of a new space age.”
