Richard Branson, did you get the achievement from him or did you miss out?
He has opened the way to tourist trips, that is indisputable. Richard Branson has been the first to reach space with ships from his company Virgin Galactic. The businessman, 70 years old!, climbed up to 86 kilometers in altitude along with five other members of the crew. According to him, it was his "experience of his life".
On board the VSS unit were pilots Dave Mackay and Michael Masucci, and mission specialists Sirisha Bandla, as well as Sir Richard Branson, Colin Bennett and Beth Moses.
They flew over New Mexico in the machine that his company has been developing for 17 years and tested weightlessness for four minutes. In addition, they were able to admire the curvature of the Earth, in a trip that took place without drama and whose landing occurred about an hour after takeoff.
“To the children of the world: I used to dream as a child looking at the stars. Today I look at the Earth. If we could do this imagine what you can achieve the tycoon said.
However… He has detractors. Beyond the environmental costs, according to the International Aeronautical Federation –the body in charge of establishing air standards–, the Kármán line is the one that defines the beginning of outer space. And the cut rises to an altitude of 100 kilometers. If we listen to this, you have 14 km to go, Mr. Branson.
British billionaire Richard Branson achieved more than 50 miles on July 11 aboard his Virgin Galactic VSS Unity space rocket plane.
In his defense are NASA itself, the Federal Aviation Administration or the US Air Force, which allege that the limit to be able to define a flight as space It is located at 80 kilometers of altitude. The brand corresponds to the change between the mesosphere and the thermosphere, and gives the challenge as fulfilled.
Mr Richard waits start marketing the trips from next year. About 600 people have already paid the deposits for the tickets that will cost them up to 250,000 dollars (more than 210,000 euros). The price of an apartment in a Spanish capital, let's say.
Virgin Galactic founder Sir Richard Branson (left), with Sirisha Bandla on his shoulders, cheers with crew members after flying into space aboard a Virgin Galactic spacecraft.
"I have my notebook and I've written down 30 or 40 little things that will make the experience of the next person who goes into space with us that much better," he argued.
WELCOME, SPACE TOURISM
The competition is served. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos flew in turn on Tuesday, July 20, into space in a successful manned flight aboard his ship New Shepard. He was accompanied by his brother Mark, space race pioneer Wally Funk and student Oliver Daemen. Funk, at 82, and Daemen, at 18, became the oldest and youngest person, respectively. in traveling to space.
Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity rockets head into space after lifting off from Spaceport America for their first fully crewed test flight on July 11, 2021 in Truth Or Consequences, New Mexico.
Branson got there first, but Bezos reached higher, thanks to a rocket that took off vertically, from which a capsule was detached where the passengers went. The Virgin Galactic plane was taking off from a runway and was attached to a mother ship. Bezos' capsule at New Sephard, built by Blue Origin, his company, also had with large windows with spectacular views of the Earth.
The wake of the trend will be followed by Elon Musk, who plans to put a civilian crew into orbit at the end of 2021.
However, the career of the billionaires is called to give a strong boost to space tourism to the voice of ¡YA!