If your pockets are filled with cash and your head is filled with dreams of exploring the space, there is a luxurious trip to the galaxy waiting for you.
Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc on Tuesday unveiled the cabin of its VSS Unity also the ‘centrepiece’ of the experience through a virtual media tour. For this, customers who pay $200,000 or more for a ticket will become bona fide astronauts.
The interior of this pricy spacecraft includes everything one can ask for. It has seatback screens with live flight data, 16 cameras to record the experience from every angle, the largest mirror in a spaceship cabin and 12 cabin windows to gaze down at Earth.
Our spaceship is designed to carry astronauts but can also take payloads, or a combination of the two. This capability provides the scientific community access to high-quality microgravity, as well as to generally inaccessible regions of the upper atmosphere. pic.twitter.com/UMx6Lk0Ren
— Virgin Galactic (@virgingalactic) July 28, 2020
Chief space officer George Whitesides added,
“What we created was this really clever seat that has this special bending mechanism that clears out the cabin so that in space there’s this beautiful uninterrupted expanse, or volume inside our spaceship that people can explore and roam around in.
Twelve large windows contain “Halo” surrounds with soft extended edges, allowing astronauts to perfectly position themselves for awe-inspiring views, from the infinity of outer space to the beauty of our home planet pic.twitter.com/kdLuJXlbP5
— Virgin Galactic (@virgingalactic) July 28, 2020
The carrier plane drops the spacecraft at or above 45,000 feet which then ignites its rocket engine, propelling its two pilots and six passengers to an altitude of more than 68 miles above the Earth. This technically is space according to NASA.
Our Future Astronauts have made clear that photos and videos of their spaceflight experience are of paramount importance. 16 cameras will provide everything from the first Instagram posts to a beautifully edited and historically significant personal movie. pic.twitter.com/TU3rsvamvz
— Virgin Galactic (@virgingalactic) July 28, 2020
Even though the company has not announced yet when it will sending its passengers off to space, but it is estimated that it should be later this year.
