Virgin Galactic recently launched their first ever civilian space flight. How much did it cost, you wonder? For some passengers, it was just under a tenner.
Forget about hopping on a plane and crossing the continent, how about jumping on board and leaving earth entirely? Cue in outer space tourism, a form of travel reserved for the extravagantly wealthy, which is bound to become the next hot venture for those with millions in the bank.
6. That is the number of people aboard the Virgin Galactic sub-orbital flight which took a mother and daughter, a retired olympian, pilots and crew members into outer space. It was the first-ever civilian flight, and it ticked a bunch of impressive headline records. First female astronauts from the Caribbean, First mother-daughter duo to go to space, Youngest person to go to space, First majority female spaceflight, The sixth and seventh Black women to go to space, Second person with Parkinson’s to go to space and Third oldest person to go to space are amongst some of the records the journey beat.
Michael Colglazier, CEO of Virgin Atlantic spoke about the intrepid milestone. “Today Virgin Galactic took another historic leap forward by flying our first private astronaut mission and demonstrating how our spaceflights will broaden access to space.” He spoke. “Jon, Keisha and Ana each embody our fundamental belief that space is for everyone, and we are proud that today’s flight has inspired people and communities around the world. This is just the beginning, as we plan to continue flying monthly spaceflights while also developing our Delta Class production spaceships to scale our business.”
Although the flight itself only happened this month, records show that the 80-year-old olympian passenger, Jon Goodwin, actually signed up for the journey back in 2005, long before he was diagnosed with Parkinsons. In recent interviews, he described the experience as being “far more dramatic” than he expected, in relation to the sheet acceleration and surreality of looking down on earth, from above.
So, you’re thinking, “How on Earth—or off it—can I hitch a ride to outer-space?” The reality is, despite all the buzz about turning space travel into the next big thing, it’s not exactly like picking up a cosmic latte at your local intergalactic café. For starters, you have to wait until Virting Galactic opens up their waiting list once again. There are about 800 people currently ahead of you in the line. Then you would need to face the whopping price tag, £354,000, unless you scored lucky like mother-daughter duo Keisha Schahaff and Anastatia Mayers managed to do. Thanks to a charity raffle hosted by Virgin Galactic in 2021, the pair managed to make it to space for under a tenner.