Virgin Galactic Limited, run by Richard Branson, is a private company that sells tourist trips to space. Its main competitors are SpaceX and Blue Origin. Elon Musk's SpaceX has a goal to plant a greenhouse on Mars. Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin is working on a suborbital to orbital spaceflight for humans. Recently, Virgin Galactic's trip bookings have risen to the previous level before a fatal crash in October 2014. The individuals who are booking tickets and their desires to go to space are also insightful to explore for better understanding human psychology and progress.
Virgin Galactic was founded by Sir Richard Branson in 2004 as a spaceflight company within Branson's famous Virgin Group. Richard Branson is a British entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist who created the conglomerate Virgin Group in 1970. He had a net worth of about $5.2 billion in July 2015, according to Forbes. On its website, Virgin Galactic states that it is creating "the first commercial spaceline." It also states that people should travel to space for the mystery and the opportunity to learn new things. If one wants to book a seat to space with Virgin Galactic, then one must pay a $250,000 deposit up front. Thus, the only people reserving a Virgin space trip are the wealthy and high-net worth individuals. Over 700 individuals have booked tickets for a space trip.
In October 2014, Virgin Galactic's rocket plane SpaceShip Two crashed in the Mojave Desert in California due to the pilot's mistake unlocking a braking mechanism. After the incident, about 25 customers who had paid deposits decided to request a refund. But earlier this March, Virgin Galactic's Chief Executive Officer George Whitesides said that though the number of tourist bookings declined after the crash, now they are back to a normal pace. He sees increasing global demand for space experiences. Virgin Galactic is also testing a new craft named Unity unveiled in February. Whitesides said the tests are going well and a first flight is close, though he would not disclose a precise date. Although Virgin Galactic and Virgin Group are privately held companies and thus investors cannot publicly see stock movements, growing demand and technical investments should mean greater sales and revenue in the future.
So why are people so drawn to the space experience? And what exactly would a space trip entail? The answer to the first question is probably the sheer aura of being the first group of civilians to visit space. Humans are intrinsically curious and imaginative. So individuals with the means to book a space trip likely want to feed their desire to explore and try new things. As for what a space trip would be like, a few YouTube videos show that. A flight would be preceded by full training and custom flight suit fittings. Flights will be suborbital, reach altitudes above the 100-kilometer Kármán line, and allow travelers to view outer space and experience weightlessness for many minutes. The story also provokes questions on inequality. Perhaps in the future, greater competition and awareness will mean access to space adventures for not only the super rich but also the masses.
