Civilian Space Tourism Kicks Off... Billionaire Richard Branson's First Flight Success (Comprehensive Report 2)

Virgin Galactic's First Successful Space Tourism Flight
Spacecraft VSS Unity Reaches Altitude of 86.1km
4 Minutes of Weightlessness Experience Before Returning to Earth
"A Magical Experience... Anyone Can Do It"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] Richard Branson, the eccentric British billionaire and chairman of Virgin Group, earned the astronaut badge after completing the world's first private space tourism trip. This was the result of investing over $1 billion in the space travel business over 17 years.

On the 11th (local time), Branson successfully completed the unprecedented private space tourism aboard Virgin Galactic's spacecraft ‘VSS Unity.’ After the flight, upon landing, he emerged from the spacecraft and raised his fist high in celebration of the success.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

Branson's space trip was originally scheduled for 6 a.m. (Pacific Time) but started at 7:30 a.m. due to weather conditions. He arrived at the launch site riding a bicycle.

The spacecraft VSS Unity, carrying Branson, took off together with its mothership and ascended to an altitude of 14 km. After separating from the mothership, the spacecraft ignited its rocket and reached 86.1 km, three times the speed of sound, an altitude recognized as ‘space’ by NASA. Upon reaching space, Branson and his colleagues unbuckled their seat belts and enjoyed weightlessness. He also read a message to children from space.

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

Afterward, VSS Unity glided back to the launch site like a space shuttle. Although the journey lasted about 90 minutes, it was enough time to be etched as a historic moment in humanity’s space travel history.

After landing on the ground, Branson said, "Everything was magical. I achieved what I dreamed of since childhood," adding, "Welcome to the dawn of the space age. Space travel should be accessible to everyone."

Although the investment was like “pouring water into a bottomless jar,” Branson achieved his goal this time as well. His business journey, which started with a music magazine, expanded through record stores, mobile carriers, and airlines, and finally into space travel in his 70s.

He hurriedly embarked on the trip nine days ahead of Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder, who had announced a space trip on the 20th of this month, securing the title of the first private space traveler.

Regarding this flight, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) praised it as "opening the door to space tourism." CNN also emphasized its significance by stating, "The era of commercial space travel has begun." Branson plans to conduct two test flights within this year and start full commercial service early next year.

Although the space travel era has begun, it appears to remain the privilege of billionaires. Prior to this, Virgin Galactic received 600 applications for space tourism tickets priced between $200,000 and $250,000. The deposits from these reservations alone reached $80 million.

In the case of Blue Origin, led by founder Jeff Bezos, an anonymous passenger who will travel to space with Bezos reportedly paid $28 million through an auction. The fare for Blue Origin’s rocket flights has not yet been disclosed. Some expect Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin to charge less than $400,000 in the future.

The New York Times (NYT) introduced that unlike trips that only offer a taste of space, the cost to fully experience space is astronomical. Three people scheduled to travel to the International Space Station next year aboard Elon Musk’s SpaceX ‘Crew Dragon’ capsule paid $55 million.

Despite the high costs, thanks to those hoping to travel to space, the space tourism industry’s revenue is expected to perform well. The international investment bank UBS projected that by 2030, the space travel industry will generate annual sales of $4 billion.

Meanwhile, on this day, Branson announced that he would provide free space travel opportunities to two people and offer a chance to join a VIP tour with him.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.