Virgin Galactic is reopening ticket sales for its SpaceShipTwo spaceplane flights, if you’ve got a spare $600,000 tucked away somewhere.
Following founder Richard Branson’s successful flight to the edge of space last month aboard the SpaceShipTwo, Virgin Galactic is reopening sales — citing a surge in consumer interest as the reason behind it.
“Leveraging the surge in consumer interest following the Unity 22 flight, we are excited to announce the reopening of sales effective today, beginning with our Spacefarer community,” Virgin Galactic’s chief executive Michael Colglazier said in a press release.
“As we endeavour to bring the wonder of space to a broad global population, we are delighted to open the door to an entirely new industry and consumer experience.”
This is the first time tickets for the flight to the edge of space have reopened since a fatal incident during a test flight back in 2014. Following the accident, Branson promised he would take the trip himself to demonstrate his confidence in the flight’s safety before he would allow any paying customers onboard.
However, a ticket onboard the SpaceShipTwo will now cost you approximately $270,000 more than it did back in 2014, so you’d better start saving if you’re a normal, space-loving person and not another billionaire.
[related_content first=”1717034″]
Thankfully, you’ll have time to save because there’s already more than 600 paid customers who will be among the first to get onboard the edge of space flight, followed by approximately 1,000 more who have already paid a $1,000 deposit.
“Sales will initially open to the Company’s significant list of early hand-raisers, prioritising the Spacefarer Community, who, as promised, will be given first opportunity to reserve their place in space,” Virgin Galactic said. “A follow-on priority list will be opened to customers interested in reserving future spaceflights.”
According to the press release, Virgin Galactic will embark on its first for-profit trip as early as September 2021.