Out of This World! Inside Virgin Galactic's Spacecraft

Have you ever wondered what it looks like on the inside of a spaceship? You can stop wondering about this question on July 28 at 10:00A PT because Virgin Galactic is hosting a virtual walkthrough event to show you what their six-passenger vehicle, SpaceShipTwo Unity, for space tourism looks like. The spacecraft may soon hold the capability to take you to the edge of space and back for out-of-this-world views.

According to the company, the livestream experience will be a virtual tour of the cabin lead by the team who designed it. The design has 4 key elements: customer experience, zero g suitability, access to the amazing view of Earth, and a safe environment with no distraction.

What is the history of Virgin Galactic?

Richard Branson, a British aerospace and music entrepreneur, founded the company in 2004 with the vision of providing tourists the opportunity to experience minutes of weightlessness in space while viewing the curvature of the Earth. From winning the Ansari X-Prize, building Spaceport America, flight mishaps, and design changes, Virgin Galactic has come a long way. On December 13, 2018, the company achieved a major milestone when their VSS Unity test vehicle touched the boundary of space.

On June 22, 2020, Virgin Galactic announced it signed a Space Act Agreement with NASA. The Space Act Agreement will “encourage commercial participation in orbital human spaceflight to the International Space Station (“ISS”) while enabling the development of a robust economy in Low Earth Orbit.” In the words of Virgin Galactic, the company is “excited to partner with NASA on this private orbital spaceflight program, which will not only allow us to use our spaceflight platform, but also offer our space training infrastructure to NASA and other agencies. Based on the unsurpassed levels of spaceflight customer commitments we have secured to date, we are proud to share that insight in helping to grow another market for the new space economy. We want to bring the planetary perspective to many thousands of people.”

The unveiling of Unity’s interior is a key step in the next stage of their program: powered space flight for the first time from Spaceport America, New Mexico.

How much is a ticket to space on a SpaceShipTwo Spacecraft?

It will currently cost you $250,000 per ticket to board a Virgin Galactic flight. It’s not exactly clear as to the exact date commercial flights to space will begin aboard this spacecraft, but this private astronaut experience feels closer than ever after years of development.

Virgin’s passengers will become astronauts as they travel into space and back from the company’s new operating base at Spaceport America. These upcoming rocket-powered space flights will give passengers a chance to see the curvature of the Earth from space while floating in zero gravity.