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These guys are severely serious about setting up point-to-point spaceliner service across the planet.
LAS CRUCES, New Mexico – For Virgin Galactic—the passenger-carrying spaceliner company—plans are rapidly taking shape to offer suborbital space flights in the near-term but also to eventually offer point-to-point rocket travel around the globe, as well as to space hotels, and trips to the Moon.
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The business plan is for 50,000 people to visit space over a ten year time period, explained Alex Tai, vice president, operations for Virgin Galactic. Tai is trained as a pilot in the Royal Air Force and started at Virgin as an airline pilot for Virgin Atlantic before embarking on special projects for Branson.
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Beyond high-priced seats—those early adopters of spaceliner travel that are booking and spending big time dollars—look for the cost of access to space to drop.
“There will be incremental improvements to the technology,†Tai predicted. Initially, SpaceShipTwo, like its predecessor, will utilize the oomph of a hybrid rocket motor. But once the industry is underway, Virgin Galactic will look for other types of motors to plug in the back of spaceliners.
“Then the seat prices will tumble,†is the forecast from Tai. Branson plans to plow back money gained from early flights into extensions of space tourism, he added.
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There will be a Virgin Galactic cadre of spaceliner pilots. They are being drawn from Virgin’s network of airlines. “We pay top dollar. And that attracts some of the best pilots,†Tai said, with those selected for space travel duty picked after a meticulous training and preparation course.
“We’ll ensure that we get the best possible pilots. It’ll be a dreamy job,†Tai emphasized.
Passionate passengers
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Beyond the New Mexico spaceport—once the case for safety and turnaround time is made with the SpaceShipTwo system—perhaps semi-permanent facilities, even local municipal airports, could handle space travel operations, Tai suggested.
“It’s clearly a goal of Virgin Galactic of being a spaceline operator, not just for same-point-to-same-point space tourism,†Tai said. “We want to go point-to-point on the planet …with exceptional style and safety.â€
Getting cheap access to low Earth orbit, Tai continued, will be leveraged from the ability to globally hop about. “That’s where the real market is. It will be done off the back of point-to-point…not off going straight to low Earth orbit.â€
With that technology in hand, it’s onward to orbital destinations, space hotel stopovers, and to the Moon and beyond, Tai said. “That’s the big step, to break free of the surly bonds of Earth.â€
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The business plan is for 50,000 people to visit space over a ten year time period, explained Alex Tai, vice president, operations for Virgin Galactic. Tai is trained as a pilot in the Royal Air Force and started at Virgin as an airline pilot for Virgin Atlantic before embarking on special projects for Branson.
>
Beyond high-priced seats—those early adopters of spaceliner travel that are booking and spending big time dollars—look for the cost of access to space to drop.
“There will be incremental improvements to the technology,†Tai predicted. Initially, SpaceShipTwo, like its predecessor, will utilize the oomph of a hybrid rocket motor. But once the industry is underway, Virgin Galactic will look for other types of motors to plug in the back of spaceliners.
“Then the seat prices will tumble,†is the forecast from Tai. Branson plans to plow back money gained from early flights into extensions of space tourism, he added.
>
There will be a Virgin Galactic cadre of spaceliner pilots. They are being drawn from Virgin’s network of airlines. “We pay top dollar. And that attracts some of the best pilots,†Tai said, with those selected for space travel duty picked after a meticulous training and preparation course.
“We’ll ensure that we get the best possible pilots. It’ll be a dreamy job,†Tai emphasized.
Passionate passengers
>
Beyond the New Mexico spaceport—once the case for safety and turnaround time is made with the SpaceShipTwo system—perhaps semi-permanent facilities, even local municipal airports, could handle space travel operations, Tai suggested.
“It’s clearly a goal of Virgin Galactic of being a spaceline operator, not just for same-point-to-same-point space tourism,†Tai said. “We want to go point-to-point on the planet …with exceptional style and safety.â€
Getting cheap access to low Earth orbit, Tai continued, will be leveraged from the ability to globally hop about. “That’s where the real market is. It will be done off the back of point-to-point…not off going straight to low Earth orbit.â€
With that technology in hand, it’s onward to orbital destinations, space hotel stopovers, and to the Moon and beyond, Tai said. “That’s the big step, to break free of the surly bonds of Earth.â€