The two companies that lead the space travel race ensure that they are months away from the first expedition.
Virgin Galactic, founded by billionaire Richard Branson, and Blue Origin, by Amazon creator Jeff Bezos, compete with totally different technologies. They plan to end their testing and become the first company to offer this service, but have not yet set a date for the first trip.
Moments of Microgravity
Neither Virgin nor Blue pbadengers will go into orbit around the Earth and their microgravity experience will only last a few minutes. It's a very different experience from the first space tourists, who paid tens of millions of dollars to get to the International Space Station (ISS) in the 2000s.
After paying a much cheaper ticket – 250,000 (about R $ 780,000) to Virgin and not yet known to Blue Origin – these new tourists in the space will go to dozens of kilometers into the atmosphere before returning on Earth. For reference, the ISS is in orbit about 400 km from our planet.
The goal is to cross this imaginary line where outer space begins, whether it be the Karman line, 100 km from the Earth's surface, or the border recognized by the Army of the American air, which is 80 km.
In the case of Virgin Galactic, the capacity of his VSS craft, which has the appearance of a private jet, is six pbadengers and two pilots.
This unit will be attached to another spacecraft that will accompany it in its initial voyage – the WhiteKnightTwo – from which it will separate at a height of about 15 km. Once separated, the VSS will activate its thruster and go forward. The capacity of Virgin Galactic spacecraft will be six pbadengers and two pilots (Photo: HO / Virgin Galactic / AFP) The capacity of Virgin Galactic spacecraft will be six pbadengers and two pilots (Photo: HO / Virgin Galactic / AFP) / AFP ) "src =" data: image / jpeg; base64, / 9j / 4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD / 2wBDAAMCAgMCAgMDAwMEAwMEBQgFBQQEBQoHBwYIDAoMDAsKCwsNDhIQDQ4RDgsLEBYQERMUFRUVDA8XGBYUGBIUFRT / 2wBDAQMEBAUEBQkFBQkUDQsNFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBT / wgARCAARABkDASIAAhEBAxEB / 8QAGAAAAwEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGBAP / xAAXAQADAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAgME / 9oADAMBAAIQAxAAAAFs6m6JKvM8nzUyT8Md8iwFP // EAB0QAAICAwADAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMEAAIBBRUQEhT / 2gAIAQEAAQUCBoADqpryoVyw3SdBufSwRnG1Z9OhYE7RYtKw / j // xAAaEQACAgMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABEgACEEFS / 9oACAEDAQE / ASnMCbrn / 8QAHBEAAQMFAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQADEQIQMkGh / 9oACAECAQE / AZcjNEuaq4L / AP / EACcQAAECAwUJAAAAAAAAAAAAAAECAwAEERIzgaHCBSAhNFJxktHS / 9oACAEBAAY / AlUKBXGAliedaHSlXA4RznmB6i / ZhLje0GkIrUt2iQcosl + UpiNMGyuTHdazpi9k8 / d / 8QAIBABAAIBBAIDAAAAAAAAAAAAAARMARRA hQaFRYXGR8f / aAAgBAQABPyETxnc2Tm9EH2B6jw0Q43fTTk5sE lY0Qd6JkX + + bsws7jyPc / uSxJjM9P / aAAwDAQACAAMAAAAQRCj / AP / EABoRAAICAwAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAERABAhQcH / 2gAIAQMBAT8QyLWAvQ3 / AP / EABoRAAICAwAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AExABEQIUH / 2gAIAQIBAT8QG8XYq4CeMC8f / 8QAIhABAAICAQMFAQAAAAAAAAAAAREhAEExEGGxcYGhwdHx / 9oACAEBAAE / EGsQUjpiJJk1fOGNtrriWBF7DH0PuY0ZhJn0c / iv5hRAHYTJ5idEmnWG0RLdnkUVXPfHFoxKC5W5tvpr + Wec5vb7zwdP / 9k = "/> <img clbad =" content-media__image picture "itemprop =" contentURL "alt =" The ability of Virgin Galactic ship will Capacity of Virgin Galactic will be six pbadengers and two pilots (Photo: HO / Virgin Galactic / AFP) "data-src =" https: / / / / / /
The capacity of the Virgin Galactic spacecraft will be six pbadengers and two Pilots (Photo: HO / Virgin Galactic / AFP)
Pbadengers will float in a weightless environment for a few minutes before returning to Earth.
The descent is smoothed by a system that moves the tail of the ship towards a kind of bow before returning to its normal position, starting to hover and ending up landing at the Virgin spaceport in the desert of New Mexico.
The journey lasts a total of one and a half to two hours. During a test conducted May 29 in the Mojave Desert, the satellite reached a height of 34 km.
Richard Branson says that he has to take the tourists into space; The cost of the pbadage is $ 250,000
In October 2014, a Virgin ship failed in flight due to a piloting error, and one of the two pilots on board died. The tests were then restarted with another ship.
The company has reached an agreement for the opening of a second spaceport at the Taranto-Grottaglie Airport, in southern Italy.
Branson said in May on a BBC program that he hopes to be himself one of the first pbadengers in the next 12 months. About 650 people are already on the waiting list for this trip, Virgin said.
Blue Origin is working with a technology closer to traditional rocket technology: the New Shepard.
In this ship, six pbadengers enter a capsule inserted into the tip of an 18-meter rocket. After the launch, this capsule separates from the rocket and continues its trajectory for several kilometers. During a test on April 29, the capsule exceeded one hundred miles. [Photo: HO / Blue Origin / AFP] Six pbadengers will be introduced into a capsule of the Blue Origin rocket (Photo: HO / Blue Origin / AFP) / AFP) "src =" data: image / jpeg; base64, / 9j / 4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD / 2wBDAAMCAgMCAgMDAwMEAwMEBQgFBQQEBQoHBwYIDAoMDAsKCwsNDhIQDQ4RDgsLEBYQERMUFRUVDA8XGBYUGBIUFRT / 2wBDAQMEBAUEBQkFBQkUDQsNFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBT / wgARCAARABkDASIAAhEBAxEB / 8QAGAAAAwEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQFAwL / xAAYAQEAAwEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACAQMEBf / aAAwDAQACEAMQAAAB35hOXCKpPllPYBztVJcIf // EAB4QAAICAQUBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQFAAMCARETFDE0 / 9oACAEBAAEFAlgi6whwAAEVnkJOYOBsB1dDR6K2Hxo3p6sb / XRNPJ xAAbEQABBAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQIQExQxQf // / // aAAgBAwEBPwGhNGM07H xAAbEQAABwEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQIDEBEUIv / aAAgBAgEBPwHWourG5yf / xAAoEAABAwIDBwUAAAAAAAAAAAABAAIDBBESEyEQFCIjM0GBMTJRcaH / 11ge 2gAIAQEABj8CpmTvLt5dgiDO6mjjmIyi0PEg9Li4 + + + i6wVG enL6qnN47nRVd4MuebDzvgBHjzb Avb + + p / hBDZ // xAAhEAEAAgEDBAMAAAAAAAA AAAABABEhMUFREGGRsXGh8f / aAAgBAQABPyFBeuhsFbdjEwPGcviXYg JRUpGguOZ + + + // axTbLUGXOHu6kqwrwnJBLzU3TDjFpx2nwec t6TVPv9P aAAwDAQACAAMAAAAQEt9C / 8QAGhEAAgIDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUEAEBExgf / aAAgBAwEBPxAE165gZj1 8Q AGxEAAQQDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQARMUEQkdH // / // 2gAIAQIBAT8QJ17RScoaPUYGP EACEQAQACAgEDBQAAAAAAAAAAAAEAESExURCx8EFhcYHB / 9oACAEBAAE / ELqzLXQHnIB5IJHaZP4usoGlD6SmPVNMN6aOZ4t + S9NRxNDNwHyPEKCvFlFPfYWVd / UBA6gQYBYq2aX8G8sp0pDvO5PA9jp 9k = // "/> <img clbad =" content-media__image picture "itemprop =" contentURL "alt =" Six pbadengers will be inserted in the capsule on the Blue Originals / AFP tip "Blue-sky rocket launcher (Photo: HO / Blue Origin / AFP)" title = "Six pbadengers will be inserted in a blue- / /
Six pbadengers will be inserted into the capsule at the end of Blue Origin (Photo: HO / Blue Origi After a few minutes of microgravity, where pbadengers can see the outside through large windows, the capsule gradually returns to Earth, helped in its descent by three large parachutes and thrusters that slow down the fall.
During the last test, the flight took ten minutes between takeoff and landing.
Up to now, only the dummies have been used in the tests, but one of the company's principals, Rob Meyerson, said that "soon" tests will begin with humans .
Company officials recently said that Blue Origin's first astronaut tests would take place "at the end of this year," with tickets to the public expected to be shipped in 2019.
But in comments to AFP, the company was more cautious.
"We did not set the ticket prices and we did not have any serious discussions within Blue about this problem," the company said.
"We have a flight test program and schedules of this kind always have uncertainties and contingencies, and whoever plans dates kicks."
SpaceX and Boeing develop their own capsules to transport NASA astronauts, expected to be completed in 2020 after some delays. This is a high investment that will probably be partly funded by the provision of private flights.
"If you are thinking of traveling in space, you will have four times more options than before," said Phil Larson, vice-chancellor of the School of Engineering of the United States. University of Colorado.
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