background
Virgin Galactic’s first commercial flight took off today – and could mark the definitive beginning of space tourism. Who is behind the company, how is the business developing and who are the big rivals?
Space tourism company Virgin Galactic completes its first commercial flight into space. During the flight with the “VSS Unity”, which lasts a total of 90 minutes, two members of the Italian Air Force and an Italian researcher spend several minutes in zero gravity and carry out a series of tests. Virgin Galactic’s spaceship will be the first to transport tourists into space.
Founded by British billionaire Richard Branson
For Virgin Galactic, the flight is likely to be the most important in the company’s history. Chief Michael Colglazier spoke of a “new era of repeatable and reliable access to space”. In 2021, the company received US government approval to send paying passengers on short space trips. It was founded in 2004 by Richard Branson. The British billionaire is known for his extravagant lifestyle and daring activities. He built an empire around the Virgin brand.
In the early 1970s, Branson and friends started a chain of record stores that later became Virgin Records. The start was brilliant: a record by Mike Oldfield, “Tubular Bells”, sold so successfully in 1973 that Branson was able to lay the foundation stone for his future empire. The label later signed the punk band Sex Pistols and finally made their breakthrough with them.
Branson then formed a group of companies, the Virgin Group. In the mid-1980s, Branson entered the airline industry with Virgin Atlantic. When the airline finally ran into financial difficulties, he had to sell the record label for $1 billion to save it in 1992. The Virgin Group also includes retail chains, financial service providers and a railway company. In addition, the Brit also put his money into more exclusive ventures – such as Virgin Galactic.
First manned test flight almost two years ago
However, Branson is not alone in the idea of pushing the boundaries of humanity. For other billionaires, this is apparently also a prestigious and symbolic topic. Virgin Galactic, for example, finds itself in stiff competition from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and Tesla boss Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which also want to take tourists into space and have already done so. Virgin Galactic’s space tourism program has had a history of delays, particularly after an accident in 2014 that killed a pilot.
Almost two years ago, Branson finally made his way into space with his spaceship for the first time. The 72-year-old embarked on a test flight with two astronauts in the “VSS Unity” – just nine days before Bezos. At the time, the trip was a successful PR coup against the competitor, who had already advertised his flight into space at great expense. According to Virgin Galactic, the “VSS Unity”, the second spacecraft of the “SpaceShipTwo” class, climbed to an altitude of more than 80 kilometers. For comparison: The international space station ISS is about 400 kilometers above the earth’s surface.
Monthly tourist flights from August
However, complications arose during the flight. According to the US Federal Aviation Administration, the spacecraft “deviated from its air traffic control clearance” and traveled outside of its assigned airspace corridor for nearly two minutes. In addition, Virgin Galactic did not immediately notify the FAA of the problem. Therefore, the authority issued the space plane a launch ban, which was lifted after three weeks subject to conditions. It was not until the end of May that “VSS Unity” completed a test flight into space again after an almost two-year break.
After today’s research flight, Virgin Galactic intends to carry out monthly flights with the “VSS Unity” from August onwards and allow tourists a look at the earth. In 2026, a new spaceship is expected to significantly increase the speed. According to the company, “Delta” can transport six passengers twice as many as before and will fly weekly. The first test flight is scheduled for 2025. Cost point: $50 to $60 million per spacecraft plus operations and depreciation.
In return, Virigin Galactic expects revenue of $2.7 million per flight. In the past ten years, the company has sold about 800 commercial space travel charts. Interested parties are currently paying $450,000 for a ticket, down from $200,000 initially.
tourist missions in space are increasing
According to investment banks and industry services, the potential revenue from all space tourism in 2030 is $3 billion to $12 billion. However, space flights are risky, difficult to calculate and expensive. To save costs, Virgin Galactic combines aerospace and aerospace. After a carrier aircraft first takes the spaceship from a runway to an altitude of around 15 kilometers, the spaceship then flies on alone. SpaceX and Blue Origin, on the other hand, rely more on conventional rocket launches. Space tourism has grown significantly recently – and will continue to do so.
Last year, Blue Origin sent six people on a short trip into space with the largely automated “New Shepard” rocket system. On the first flight in July 2021, Amazon founder Bezos himself was on board. The second in October 2021 was attended by the then 90-year-old Canadian actor William Shatner, who became world famous with his role as “Captain Kirk” in “Star Trek”. In May of this year, four space tourists were also brought to the ISS by a privately financed spacecraft. With the Axiom 2 mission, led by an ex-NASA astronaut, an American and a woman and a man from Saudi Arabia had reached the outpost of mankind in Earth orbit.
SpaceX goes one step further. Elon Musk’s group, which sent four passengers into space for the first time in 2021, not only wants to bring tourists into low-Earth orbit, but also enable manned missions to the Moon and Mars. In April, the intended rocket system “Starship” was tested in its entirety for the first time – consisting of the approximately 70 meter long “Super Heavy” booster and the approximately 50 meter long upper stage, also called “Starship”. Although it ended with an unplanned explosion a few minutes after the start, the space company still rated the test as a success.
With information from Till Bücker, ARD finance department.