Virgin Galactic, one of the first commercial space tourism companies, is set to launch its first flight soon.
Owner Richard Branson said, “We should be going into space in about three or four months’ time,” according to a travelmole article .The company needs to only to be licensed by the FAA, a process expected to be done in 3 months time.
In January, Virgin Galactic achieved its third successful rocket-powered test flight into space from the Mojave Desert, in California.
“2014 is our year to do it for real,” Mike Moses, Virgin Galactic’s vice president of operations, told NBC.
The first flights have already sold nearly 700 tickets, each costing $250,000. The customer base includes numerous scientists, pilots and even celebrities.
Though Branson has an eye on Space, he remains earthbound. The ambitious founder of the Virgin Group said another goal for the company is to use space technology to cut travel time on Earth.
He said using rockets to fly from Australia to London would slash fly time by 80%. Branson warns though, this reality may be a decade away.
“I couldn’t be happier,” said Branson after the flight in California. “We will finally put our beautiful spaceship in her natural environment of space.”
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